April 2020

13Apr

US. Retirement planning during coronavirus pandemic: Here’s what to watch for

Retirement in the age of coronavirus isn't going to be easy. True, seniors and pre-retirees can take advantage of some flexible and lenient new rules on retirement accounts. Some people might see new opportunities for part-time employment, especially those who can work from home. In many other ways, things could get tougher, especially for people who already were behind on their retirement preparations. More reliance on Social Security As happened during prior recessions, many older workers will lose...

April 13, 2020
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06Apr

US. Underfunded public plans facing a new round of woes

The coronavirus has increased pressure on underfunded public pension plans that were already facing significant stress before the crisis. Not only have plans' investment portfolios taken double-digit losses as a result of the pandemic, but government plan sponsors will need to increase their contributions at a time when revenues are down and expenditures are up. Read also US. Some companies are cutting 401(k) matches because of the coronavirus "This has put a lot of strain and stress on pension deficits,...

April 6, 2020
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03Apr

Pension Policy in Europe and the United States – Towards a New Public-Private Pension Mix

By Onorato Castellino, Elsa Fornero, Christina Benita Wilke Pension reform has occupied and will continue to occupy an important place in the welfare state reform agenda on both sides of the Atlantic. In both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) demographic forces in the form of an aging population and low fertility pose significant long-run fiscal challenges to traditional public pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems. In addition, the pace of pension reforms in most EU countries has accelerated...

April 3, 2020
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03Apr

US. Highlights of Employee Benefits Provisions in the CARES Act

The President recently signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or “CARES Act.” The CARES Act is primarily a stimulus package that addresses the current coronavirus crisis, and it includes several provisions relating to employee benefit plans. Retirement Plans Penalty-free coronavirus-related distributions — The 10% early withdrawal penalty under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 72(t) is waived for “coronavirus-related distributions” of up to $100,000. In addition, the 20% withholding requirement on these distributions does not...

April 3, 2020
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02Apr

US. Coronavirus Is Making the Public Pension Crisis Even Worse

For years, the country’s public pension plans have faced a yawning gap between what they owe and what they can pay. From the State of California’s public employees’ retirement plan, with more than 1.6 million participants, to tiny funds for employees of local mosquito-control programs in Illinois, public pensions are the time bomb of government finance. Now the coronavirus pandemic has it ticking faster. Already chronically underfunded, pension programs have taken huge hits to their investment portfolios over the...

April 2, 2020
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01Apr

U.S. Pension Funds May Pour $400 Billion Into Stocks, Lifting Virus-Hit Markets: JP Morgan

U.S. pension funds that delayed rebalancing their portfolios are likely to pump about $400 billion into stocks over the next two quarters, analysts at JP Morgan said, providing a potential boost to equity markets battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Weeks of asset price volatility may have pushed some fund managers to postpone rebalancing portfolios where equity allocations have been knocked out of whack by a sharp decline in stocks, the bank said in a note to investors. The S&P...

April 1, 2020
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March 2020

28Mar

Who Takes Advantage of Tax-Deferred Savings Programs? Evidence From Federal Income Tax Data

By David P. Richardson, David Joulfaian This paper provides insight into the attributes of wage-earning households that participate in tax-deferred retirement savings plans. Examining data from federal tax returns, we find that approximately 52 percent of individuals and 55 percent of households participated in a retirement savings program in 1996. Excluding households with wages within the 1996 poverty thresholds and individuals under age 21 or over age 70, the age-wage restricted participation rates were 66 percent and 79 percent...

March 28, 2020
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28Mar

Opting Out of Social Security: An Idea That’s Already Arrived

By David P. Richardson Under current law, workers can partially opt out of Social Security and reduce Medicare tax liability by accepting compensation in forms exempt from payroll taxes. Changing forms of compensation has an ambiguous effect on a worker's lifetime consumption possibilities. With respect to Medicare, all households are better off since they reduce tax contributions to a fixed benefit. For Social Security, the effect is ambiguous since the tax reduction implies future benefit reductions. Analyzing a hybrid...

March 28, 2020
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27Mar

US Public Pensions Lose $1 Trillion from Market Crash

Moody’s says governments are in a worse position to smooth costs than during financial crises. US public pension investment losses are approaching $1 trillion as a result of the stock market crash caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which will “severely compound” the pension liability difficulties many governments are already dealing with, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service.  Read also US. Pension Plan Funding Relief Needed ASAP Moody’s said US public pension systems are on pace to see investment losses of...

March 27, 2020
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20Mar

Pension Superpowers and Financial Markets in the Sino-American Century

By M. Nicolas J. Firzli In this primer published in the Feb. 2020 issue of Private Debt Investor (PDI), Nicolas J. Firzli, World Pensions Council, looks at how institutional asset owners will come to the fore in the new geo-economic context defined by renewed Sino-American "coopetition" across ASEAN countries, Australia, Eastern Europe and the MENA area, Brexit and the resurgence of one-nation conservatism in Britain, the slow, relative decline of the European Union and the secular rise of "Pension...

March 20, 2020
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