November 2017

09Nov

Prudential, PIC Reach $1.2 Billion Longevity Reinsurance Agreement

Prudential Retirement, a unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU), and Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), have entered into their fifth longevity reinsurance transaction since 2015. In the agreement, The Prudential Insurance Company of America assumes the longevity risk for $1.2 billion (about £900 million) in pension liabilities, covering approximately 4,000 pensioners across four pension schemes. The transaction highlights the rebounding demand for pension de-risking solutions in the U.K., and the desire of many U.K. pension insurers to manage their risks and...

November 9, 2017
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08Nov

US. Educators present ‘Shared Responsibility’ pension plan in Frankfort

Barren County Schools Superintendent Bo Matthews traveled to Frankfort on Monday with other educational leaders for a joint press conference at Woodford County High School to present an alternative pension plan – called the Shared Responsibility Plan – to the one presented by the office of Gov. Matt Bevin, according to an email from Matthews to media outlets. According to a press release from the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS), the Shared Responsibility Plan is “designed to address challenges...

November 8, 2017
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07Nov

US. How Tax Bill Affects Retirement Plans

The House tax bill doesn’t slash 401(k) pre-tax contributions, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect retirement savings, writes InvestmentNews. Example: under the House bill, employees would have more time to repay 401(k) loans if they leave the company or the plan is ended. The current window is 60 days; after that, the loan becomes a taxable distribution as well as a potential early-withdrawal penalty. The bill gives participants up to their tax-return due date to replace the borrowed amount. Hardship...

November 7, 2017
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03Nov

The Nation’s Retirement System: A Comprehensive Re-Evaluation Is Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security

By Charles A. Jeszeck, Margie K Shields, Justine Augeri, Christina Cantor, Gustavo Fernandez, Jennifer Gregory, Adam Wendel, Seyda Wentworth (Government Accountability Office) The U.S. retirement system, and the workers and retirees it was designed to help, face major challenges. Traditional pensions have become much less common, and individuals are increasingly responsible for planning and managing their own retirement savings accounts, such as 401(k) plans. Yet research shows that many households are ill-equipped for this task and have little or no...

November 3, 2017
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03Nov

The Nation's Retirement System: A Comprehensive Re-Evaluation Is Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security

By Charles A. Jeszeck, Margie K Shields, Justine Augeri, Christina Cantor, Gustavo Fernandez, Jennifer Gregory, Adam Wendel, Seyda Wentworth (Government Accountability Office) The U.S. retirement system, and the workers and retirees it was designed to help, face major challenges. Traditional pensions have become much less common, and individuals are increasingly responsible for planning and managing their own retirement savings accounts, such as 401(k) plans. Yet research shows that many households are ill-equipped for this task and have little or no...

November 3, 2017
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02Nov

Here’s How The Gender Gap Applies To Retirement

In its 2016 study “Shortchanged in Retirement,” The National Institute on Retirement Security explored financial hardships facing employed women, women approaching retirement and retired women. Co-authored by Manager of Research Jennifer Brown, the study identified that women are much more likely to face poverty in retirement than their male counterparts. The analysis attributes the gender disparity to what it calls the dysfunctional “three-legged stool” of middle class retirement: social security, a pension and personal retirement savings. “After decades of restructuring...

November 2, 2017
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October 2017

31Oct

US. Congressional Scrooges want to cut 401(k) contribution limit

The holiday season is fast approaching. It is a time most people feel more generous to loved ones or to the less fortunate. Not so when it comes to Congress. If lawmakers have their way, taxpayers may have to work longer in their lives, work more hours or have to take more risk in the investment markets to live the retirement they envision now. This is what reducing the 401(k) plan contribution limit could mean. This is what Congress is calling...

October 31, 2017
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27Oct

Retirement Age Effects of Pension and Salary Reforms: Evidence from Wisconsin Teachers

By Barbara Biasi (Princeton University) Public sector employees in the US receive a large part of their lifetime compensation in the form of defined benefit pensions, financed in part with employees’ salary contributions. Combined with different wage structures, these pension plans can affect workers’ decisions on the optimal retirement age and, in turn, the composition of the workforce. In this paper I study the retirement effects of a reform which increased all Wisconsin teachers’ contribution to the pension fund, and...

October 27, 2017
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26Oct

US. GOP shouldn’t raid 401(k) plans to pay for tax cuts

Republicans in Congress are planning to include a proposal in their tax reform bill that would push millions of Americans to save less for retirement. Despite President Trump tweeting his strong and unambiguous opposition to the plan on Monday, House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady made clear on Wednesday that the proposal that makes changes to 401(k) retirement savings plans is still likely to be included in the House Republicans' tax legislation scheduled for committee consideration next...

October 26, 2017
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25Oct

US. Nearly 1 in 5 Pension Plans Are Overfunded

Nineteen percent of defined benefit plan sponsors in a survey released Tuesday by investment consulting firm NEPC reported funded status of more than 101%, up from 9% a year ago. NEPC noted that this was the highest funded status since it inaugurated the survey in 2011. Of the overfunded plans, 65% invest in alternatives, and 55% use liability-driven investment strategies, with a majority of users executing with derivatives. The rising of variable rate premiums, implemented by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.,...

October 25, 2017
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