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Private Pension Issues
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Reports
Report: Comparing Wealth
in Retirement: State-Local Versus Private Sector Workers (October 2011)
The Center for
Retirement Research at Boston College has compared the compensations of
state-local employees with those of their private sector counterparts.
The results clearly show that overall, 65-year-old state-local worker
couples do not receive more benefits at retirement than their private
sector counterparts. However, the one-third of state-local employment
who spent more than one-half of their career in public employment were
11 percent to 18 percent richer by the time they turn 65 years old than
those in the private sector. Furthermore, those with state-local
employment--those who spent less than half their career as a public
worker--ended up with less wealth than private sector employees.
Report:
US:
The
Rising
Tide
of Pension Contributions Post-2008: How Much and When?
(October 2011)
As the US economy climbs out of the recession, businesses that sponsor
single-employer defined benefit pension plans face the challenge of
rising levels of contribution requirements for their pension plans. The
report provides a system-wide analysis of the expected contribution
requirements for this pension system. It illustrates how sensitive the
current system is to equity market returns and raises questions about
whether this cyclicality is good for the system.
Report: Comparing Wealth in
Retirement: State-Local versus Private Sector Workers (October 2011)
Private employees typically receive more wages but less pension payouts
than state-local employees. The report features a study that determines
if state-local employees amass more wealth at retirement than private
sector employees.
Articles
Elderly
Will Benefit from Tax Relief (December 1, 2011)
The Levy Court in Kent County has approved a “break” that elderly and
disabled property owners enjoy on their taxes. Senior citizens welcomed
the move because they will have more disposable income to improve their
quality of life, especially against the backdrop of rising market
costs.
Parnell Administration Opposes
Retirement Change (October 14, 2011)
A member of the Parnell administration told an Alaskan state Senate
Committee that reverting to a traditional pension plan would cost more
than continuing with the state’s new 401K-style program. The
administration prefers the existing program because it wants employees,
not the state, to bear the risk of any retirement funding shortfalls.
Average 401(k) Balance Near $75,000 (May 11,
2011)
Fidelity reported that the average US 401 (k) retirement-savings
account balances have risen to a record of around $75,000 as plan
participants have been increasing their contributions. This development
in the 401 (k) balances is mainly due to stock market gains on the one
hand, and to workers seeing their employment-based pensions fade on the
other.
Big Banks Competing for Retirement
Accounts (April 4, 2011)
Big banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan
Chase and Wells Fargo, are increasing staff, developing technology and
competing on fees in an effort to sell retirement plan services to
employers and win a bigger share of the trillions of dollars in 401(k)
savings plans. According to experts, US employers held $2.9 trillion in
401(k) plans since September, and the total may reach $4 trillion by
2015.
42% Guessing How Much Money They’ll Need
in Retirement (March 15, 2011)
According to the 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey,
Americans are not confident about their retirement. Today’s workers are
more pessimistic than workers surveyed over the past 20 years. The
survey reveals that one-quarter of workers are fearful they will not
have enough money to live a comfortable retirement life.
Rewriting Pension History (March 9, 2011)
Moving away from longstanding practices of reporting pension earnings,
some big companies are now reporting gains and losses in the same year
they are incurred. The companies say the changes will make their
earnings reports more transparent and it will be more immediately clear
to investors how their pension plans have performed.
Ford's Pension
Plan Underfunding Rises (March 2, 2011)
The Ford Motor Co.’s US pension plans were underfunded by $6.7 billion
at the end of 2010. Pension benefit obligations increased by $2 billion
but the pension plan assets increased only by $1.5 billion. Ford did
not disclose the exact amount of their last year US pension
contribution, but stated that they made $1 billion in plan
contributions within and outside of the US.
GM Seeks to Fully Fund Pension Funds (January
12, 2011)
General Motors’ pension is currently underfunded. GM is vulnerable
because its 70,000 workers support a pensioned community of 700,000 US
retirees, ten times its current work force. Chris Liddell, GM’s chief
financial officer, noted GM’s plan to fund pensions, changing its
assets to include more bonds and fewer equities for asset
stability.
Not Your
Grandfather's Retirement: 'Boomers' to Hit 65 (October 26, 2010)
The baby boom generation turns 65 on January 1, but it’s not yet time
to retire. A study shows fewer than half of boomers expect to be
retired between the ages of 65 and 69, whereas in the past
three-fourths expected retirement within a few years of hitting 65. The
demographic trend, however, means a shock to the economy, government
finances, a strain for the health care system and even a potential
shift in America's role as a global superpower.
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