April 2019

24Apr

US Corporate Pension Funding Ratio Rises to 87.1% in 2018

The funded ratio of the 100 largest US corporate pension plans rose to 87.1% in 2018 from 85.8% at the end of 2017, despite investment losses of 2.8%—the worst asset performance since 2008, according to consulting firm Milliman. “This was the first time in our study’s history that we had a negative asset return and yet corporate pension funding improved,” Zorast Wadia, co-author of Milliman’s Pension Funding Study (PFS), said in a release. The investment losses reduced plan assets...

April 24, 2019
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18Apr

US. Small Business Owners Need a Nudge to Offer Retirement Plans

Data gathered by SCORE, a nonprofit provider of mentor services to U.S. small businesses, shows that 34% of small business owners do not have retirement savings plans for themselves, and the fewer employees a business has, the less likely it is to offer a retirement plan for its employees. Only 28% of businesses with fewer than 10 employees offer retirement plans for employees, 51% of businesses with 10 to 24 employees offer retirement plans, and 63% of businesses with 25 to 49...

April 18, 2019
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17Apr

US. Here’s What Public Pension Funds Can Do To Protect Against Insolvency

The severity of the pension crisis is quite clear at this point because news and data about it are widely available. However, one thing that hasn’t been prevalent is potential solutions to the problem. Public pensions are starting to put their proverbial heads together to tackle this major issue, but so far, efforts have generally not been enough to protect even the largest pension funds from potential insolvency. Now one organization has examined the pension crisis as it applies...

April 17, 2019
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15Apr

Political Parties Do Matter In U.S. Cities… For Their Unfunded Pensions

By Christian Dippel Using data covering a wide range of municipal public-sector pension plans from 1962– 2014, I establish that unfunded pension benefits grow faster under Democratic-party mayors, using a regression discontinuity design (RDD) focusing on narrow mayoral races. Previous evidence shows that parties do not matter for a range of fiscal outcomes in U.S. cities, and suggests this is because Tiebout sorting imposes fiscal discipline. This paper shows that parties do matter for types of fiscal spending...

April 15, 2019
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11Apr

US. Millennials Are Making This Major 401(k) Mistake

Participating in an employer's 401(k) plan is a good way to set aside funds for the future, especially if your company offers a generous match that helps boost your savings. But new data from investment banking company Natixis reveals that a large chunk of younger workers are making a major mistake on the 401(k) front: removing funds from their plans. Specifically, 30% of millennials have taken out a 401(k) loan, while 26% have taken an early withdrawal. And the...

April 11, 2019
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07Apr

Lump-sum Pension Payments: Who Are the Winners and Losers?

By Olivia Mitchel The U.S. Treasury department’s move last month to allow private companies to pay lump-sum pension payments to retirees and beneficiaries, instead of monthly payments, is good news for companies that do not want to be saddled with long-term pension obligations – particularly for private sector employers who have underfunded pension plans.However, lump-sum pension payments may not work out well for retirees who opt for them. While a debate has ensued on the merits and risks of lump-sum...

April 7, 2019
Articles, Pension design, Pension Management, Savings, ,
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05Apr

US. Democrats want to force businesses to contribute to retirement plans, and they’ll pay for it by raising taxes on the wealthy

Democrats aren’t just pushing for a higher minimum wage. Now they’re talking about “minimum retirement.” Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota planned to introduce a bill Thursday that would make companies contribute to employee retirement plans. Here’s what the measure calls for: Businesses would be required to pay at least 50 cents into an employee retirement plan for every hour worked. To offset that cost, companies would receive a tax credit for a portion of...

April 5, 2019
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04Apr

US. Miners and retirees learn about legislation to save pensions

More than 300 active members and retirees of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) attended a conference Wednesday to learn more about their benefits. The union is urging Congress to pass legislation that will save pensions for more than 106,000 active miners and their widows. Miners from West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia were invited to the informational conference at a hotel in Charleston. Organizers filled them in on the status of the legislation. Congress is considering adding...

April 4, 2019
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04Apr

61% of Major Global Digital Firms Invest in Blockchain, Report Finds

61 percent of high-profile digital companies worldwide are investing in blockchain, according to a report by identity management firm Okta shared with Cointelegraph on April 2. San Francisco-based enterprise identity provider Okta has released a survey on new trends in technological developments and business opportunities of the world’s largest companies. In its first “Digital Enterprise Report,” Okta surveyed 1,050 IT, security and engineering decision makers from global companies with at least $1 billion in revenue. Okta explained that decision...

April 4, 2019
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02Apr

U.S. pension fund managers pledge investments in Kenya’s infrastructure

More than 30 representatives of U.S. pension and assets management funds said on Monday they plan to channel capital towards development of critical infrastructure in Kenya. The senior executives who manage assets worth about 100 trillion Kenyan shillings (about 1 trillion U.S. dollars) said they are keen to invest in roads, water, sanitation and housing projects to help realize socio-economic transformation in Kenya. "By moving from traditional investments in stocks and bonds to new opportunities in Kenyan roads, power...

April 2, 2019
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