April 2020

22Apr

US. Trump pressed to halt federal pension investments in China’s ZTE, Hikvision: Reuters

Lawmakers and former officials are making a last-ditch push to persuade the Trump administration to halt plans to invest billions of federal employee retirement dollars in Chinese companies that Washington suspects of human rights abuses or threatening U.S. security, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters. Read also Coronavirus will make US cities feel the pressure of pension debt The campaign, which includes letters and calls from Republicans and a sharply worded memo shared with White House Chief of...

April 22, 2020
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21Apr

US Public Pension Funding Levels Plunge to 66% in Q1

The funded level of the 100 largest US public defined benefit pension plans plunged to 66% during the first quarter from 74.9% at the end of last year, according to Milliman. It was the largest quarterly drop in the history of the firm’s public pension funding index (PPFI), and it eliminated the funding level improvements made during 2019. Volatility from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in net negative cash flow of approximately $24 billion and a $419 billion loss in...

April 21, 2020
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17Apr

Culture and Gender Allocation of Tasks: Source Country Characteristics and the Division of Non-Market Work among US Immigrants

By Francine D. Blau, Lawrence M. Kahn, Matthew Comey, Amanda Eng, Pamela Meyerhofer, Alexander Willen There is a well-known gender difference in time allocation within the household, which has important implications for gender differences in labor market outcomes. We ask how malleable this gender difference in time allocation is to culture. In particular, we ask if US immigrants allocate tasks differently depending upon the characteristics of the source countries from which they emigrated. Using data from the 2003-2017 waves...

April 17, 2020
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17Apr

Milliman analysis: Public pensions hammered by COVID-19 economic volatility, shedding $419 billion in market value in Q1

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the first quarter 2020 results of its Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI), which consists of the nation's 100 largest public defined benefit pension plans. During Q1 2020, the overall funded ratio for these plans suffered the single largest quarterly drop in the history of the PPFI, decreasing from 74.9% to 66.0% between Jan 1 and March 31. Economic volatility from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a $419 billion...

April 17, 2020
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14Apr

US Corporate Pensions See Shocking $93 Billion Funding Gain in March

Defying forecasts of another grim month due to global market volatility, the funded status of the 100 largest US corporate pension funds surprisingly increased $93 billion in March despite deteriorating economic conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Just a month after hitting its lowest level in more than three years the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI), which tracks the funded ratio for the 100 largest corporate pension plans in the US, rose to 85.6% from 82.1% at the end...

April 14, 2020
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14Apr

Athene pays $45 mln fine in first settlement of NY pension transfer probe

Athene Holding Ltd ATH.N agreed on Monday to pay a $45 million civil fine to settle charges it conducted insurance business in New York without a license, the first settlement in a probe into an industry where life insurers take over corporate pension plans. Linda Lacewell, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, said Athene's unlicensed Athene Annuity & Life unit conducted 14 large pension risk transfer transactions covering tens of thousands of policy holders, and engaged in...

April 14, 2020
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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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