August 2021
10Aug

Access, participation and income: The state of retirement plan coverage in the U.S.

A study from The Inclusive Wealth Building Initiative starkly illustrates the gulf between those employees with access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan and those who participate—and, perhaps unsurprisingly, much of that participation depends on income levels. The Initiative, a project of The Economic Innovation Group, derived its data from various surveys, including the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Compensation Survey. The study also used the 2019 Current Population Survey’s Annual...

August 10, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
06Aug

US. Pandemic not stopping workers from contributing to retirement plans

An overwhelming majority of U.S. workers are still saving for retirement despite the adverse economic, health and employment impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies said Thursday. Eighty-two percent of workers are saving for retirement through a 401(k) or similar retirement plan and/or outside the workplace, the center reported. "Given the magnitude of the challenges workers have faced during the pandemic, it is truly remarkable that they have maintained focus on their future retirement," Catherine Collinson, CEO...

August 6, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
06Aug

Revisiting Retirement and Social Security Claiming Decisions

By Neha Bairoliya, Kathleen McKiernan Why do individuals retire and claim their Social Security benefits at the age they do? Understanding the key drivers of these decisions has been an important topic of research as it can help guide policy discussions on the impact of potential reforms to the Social Security program. We revisit this crucial question by exploring new sources of heterogeneity in these decisions as well as novel mechanisms governing these trade-offs. Using data from the Health and...

August 6, 2021
Articles, Pension design, ,
Read more...
05Aug

US. Government to pilot online retirement application

By Jessie Bur Federal employees planning to retire may soon have the option to complete the requirements using an online system, rather than through the paper format most widely used across the U.S. government. Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja told reporters on an Aug. 4 call that the agency will pilot an online retirement application system to address some short-term problems with the federal retirement system, namely slow processing times. Modernization of the federal retirement system has been a central...

August 5, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
05Aug

US. Best retirement plans for the self-employed

Retirement plans for the self-employed range from the good to the outrageously good, and can allow you to save much more than you ever could with a traditional employer. A well-chosen retirement plan can allow entrepreneurs and the self-employed to bankroll a bright retirement. The self-employed have several plan options, including defined contribution plans such as a solo 401(k), SEP IRA and SIMPLE IRA. But they also have some defined benefit options, too. Here are the details on some of the...

August 5, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
04Aug

US. Lockheed Martin offloads $4.9 billion in pension liabilities

Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md., purchased group annuity contracts from Athene Holding Ltd. to transfer about $4.9 billion in U.S. pension plan liabilities. The purchase completed Tuesday will transfer the benefit-paying responsibilities for about 18,000 U.S. retirees and beneficiaries to Athene's wholly owned subsidiaries Athene Annuity and Life Co. and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, a news release from the aerospace and defense company said Tuesday. The Athene subsidiaries will begin paying benefits to the retirees and...

August 4, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
04Aug

How can the retirement system help more people afford retirement?

You don’t have to be a mechanic to drive a car, and you shouldn’t have to be a financial expert to prepare for a secure and adequate retirement. In a nutshell, that’s the theme of a new book we edited and contributed to, Wealth after work: Innovative reforms to enhance retirement security. We propose a variety of ways to make the current retirement system work better for the majority of American workers. A better-working retirement system should provide broader and more...

August 4, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
03Aug

World’s biggest pension fund makes record cut to U.S. bond weighting

The Government Pension Investment Fund made a record cut to the weighting of Treasuries in its portfolio last fiscal year as the world’s safest asset led a global debt selloff. Read also US. Pandemic not stopping workers from contributing to retirement plans GPIF, as the world’s biggest pension fund is known, lowered U.S. government bonds and bills to 35% of its foreign debt holdings in the 12 months ended March, from 47% previously, according to an analysis by Bloomberg of the...

August 3, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
02Aug

US. Three NYPD execs drawing both pensions, salaries: payroll review

Three top NYPD execs are collecting hefty pensions from their time on the force in addition to six-figure salaries for their current civilian roles — including the man tasked with keeping cops honest, Internal Affairs boss Joseph Reznick, a Post review has found. And despite carrying the lofty title, the trio isn’t even technically deputy commissioners by the letter of the City Charter, which the department has apparently flouted for years to swell its well-compensated executive ranks. The Post uncovered the...

August 2, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

July 2021
30Jul

Cliffwater: U.S. state pension plans’ 10-year returns drop in latest annual report

U.S. state pension plans saw average median returns of 8.6% and 5.8% for the 10 and 20 years ended June 30, 2020, respectively, said Cliffwater's most recent annual state pension performance report. State plans saw an average annualized return of 9.7% for the 10 years ended June 30, 2019. Pensions & Investments' Pension Fund Returns Tracker shows that the two top-performing state pension plans for the 10 years ended June 30, 2020, were the $22 billion Oklahoma Teachers' Retirement System, Oklahoma...

July 30, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...