December 2019

02Dec

US. Washington state pension fund’s lawsuit against corrupt Brazilian conglomerate allowed to proceed

The Washington State Investment Board, which oversees $141.8 billion for 17 state retirement plans, can move forward with a lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars from a soured investment in a Brazilian conglomerate that was discovered to be engaged in an international bribery scandal of unprecedented scale. The company, Odebrecht, was the target of a fraud probe by the Department of Justice that resulted in a $4.5 billion plea deal in 2016. The feds found Odebrecht created...

December 2, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

November 2019

29Nov

How Much Should the Poor Save for Retirement? Data and Simulations on Retirement Income Adequacy Among Low-Earning Households

By Andrew G. Biggs Both policymakers and members of the public are concerned regarding the adequacy of U.S. households’ retirement savings. In response, proposals have been made to expand Social Security benefits and to establish state government-run retirement plans for private sector employees. In both cases, the largest effects would be on low-earning households, who currently have low rates of retirement plan coverage and participation and who rely heavily upon Social Security benefits in retirement. However, there has been...

November 29, 2019
Articles, Pension design, Savings, , , ,
Read more...
27Nov

US. Federal Pension Balks at Bill Banning China Investments

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which administers a defined contribution plan for US federal employees, has balked at proposed legislation that would prevent the fund from holding direct or indirect investments in China-based companies. The FRTIB oversees the Thrift Savings Plan, a tax-deferred defined contribution plan for federal employees that had approximately $560 billon in net assets as of the end of 2018. According to a letter seen by Reuters, the FRTIB said the proposed legislation “discriminates...

November 27, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
26Nov

10 Top Stock Picks of America’s Largest Pension Funds

One of the simplest things that everyday investors can do to improve their performance over the long haul is to study the best practices and investments of the world's top investors. And while that typically invokes names such as Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn, don't forget the money managers overseeing billions of dollars at mammoth pension funds. Understanding the secrets of large-scale investors can put you miles ahead of those people who simply wing it without first coming up with...

November 26, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
22Nov

The People’s Money: Pensions, Debt, and Government Services;Urban Agenda

By Michael A Pagano American cities continue to experience profound fiscal crises. Falling revenues cannot keep pace with the increased costs of vital public services, infrastructure development and improvement, and adequately funded pensions. Chicago presents an especially vivid example of these issues, as the state of Illinois's rocky fiscal condition compounds the city's daunting budget challenges. In The People's Money, Michael A. Pagano curates a group of essays that emerged from discussions at the 2018 UIC Urban Forum. The...

November 22, 2019
Books, Pension design, , ,
Read more...
22Nov

How Would 401(K) ‘Rothification’ Alter Saving, Retirement Security, and Inequality?

By Vanya Horneff, Raimond Maurer, Olivia S. Mitchell The US has long incentivized retirement saving in 401(k) and similar retirement accounts by permitting workers to defer taxes on contributions, levying them instead when retirees withdraw funds in retirement. This paper develops a dynamic life cycle model to show how and whether ‘Rothification’ – that is, taxing 401(k) contributions rather than payouts – would alter household saving, investment, and Social Security claiming patterns. We show that these changes differ importantly...

November 22, 2019
Articles, Pension design, Savings, ,
Read more...
21Nov

US. Great News From The IRS For Retirement Savers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gave retirement savers an early holiday gift this year in the form of higher contribution limits for 2020. According to its November 6th announcement, workplace retirement plan contribution limits would be increased in 2020. Likewise, the income limits for Traditional IRAs and ROTH IRAs will also rise in 2020. Larger contributions to retirement accounts will allow you to further minimize your current tax bills. Additionally, higher retirement account contribution limits can be great for...

November 21, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
20Nov

US. Longevity Project explores the nuanced implications of longer life

As longer life expectancy brings about substantial changes in the make-up of American society, Americans are still grappling with the implications of longer life on how we work, live and learn, according to a poll fielded by the Longevity Project, a new initiative developed in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL). Read also Young people are saving more for retirement than Boomers and Generation X — and this is why The mission of the Longevity Project is...

November 20, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
20Nov

US. Fisher Investments loses Chicago police pension; total losses exceed $3 billion

The Chicago police pension fund is ending its $67 million relationship with Fisher Investments. The Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago joins a number of institutional investors that have cut ties with the Camas, Washington-based asset manager following sexist comments billionaire founder Ken Fisher made at a conference on Oct. 8. There, he likened winning new clients to picking up women at a bar. The Windy City’s police pension fund has about $2.6 billion in total assets as...

November 20, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
19Nov

US. Understanding The FedEx Pension Closure

“FedEx Closes Pension Plan to New Hires”: that’s the headline at the Wall Street Journal today. Or, as the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported, “FedEx to launch a new 401k plan with a higher match, but no pension with it. ” Superficially, it looks like a repeat of the same old story of employers taking pensions away from their employees. But, in fact, there are a few wrinkles here. In the first place, FedEx had already frozen its traditional pension plan,...

November 19, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...