April 2024

US. House committee advances resolution to overturn SEC climate rule along party lines

Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee advanced a resolution to overturn the SEC’s climate disclosure rule, in addition to advancing several other resolutions aimed at rolling back various Biden administration rule-making. “Let us make no mistake, the commission finalized this rule despite no clear authorization from Congress,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., who introduced the resolution to overturn the SEC’s climate rule, at the markup April 17. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to disapprove, by a simple majority vote, a final...

US. Pension funds, hedge funds must up game on liquidity in stressed markets — FSB

Pension funds, hedge funds and other non-bank market participants need to up their game when it comes to liquidity preparedness in times of marketwide stress, the Financial Stability Board said. A consultation paper published on April 17 by the FSB, an international body that monitors the global financial system and makes recommendations, identified weaknesses in risk management and governance as key causes of inadequate liquidity preparedness by some market participants during recent periods of liquidity stress in markets. The report highlighted recent...

How The US Economy Avoids The Longevity Trap

By Anthony Roth   The anticipated increase in the proportion of the American population aged 65 and older—from 58 million in 2022 to a projected 82 million by 2050—calls attention to the economic implications of increased longevity. Yes, this trend will bring significant challenges to continued economic growth. Fortunately, I believe the U.S. is uniquely positioned to overcome these challenges and capitalize on the economic opportunities related to longevity. Strength In Aging A key to any discussion of the increasing age of our population should also...

US. Why Staying in Your 401(k) After Retirement Makes Sense

Many Americans heading into retirement confront a weighty question that doesn’t have an easy answer: Should they retain their savings in their 401(k) plans, move them to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or cash out and pay taxes (and perhaps penalties) on the assets withdrawn?A new research paper titled “The Pros and Cons of Remaining in a 401(k) Plan After Retirement” addresses this question, especially for “the vast majority of Americans who enter retirement with low or moderate levels...

Americans think they need almost $1.5 million to retire. Experts say to focus on another number instead

When it comes to retirement, Americans have a new number in mind — $1.46 million — for how much they think they will need to live comfortably, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual. That estimate is up 53% since 2020, when Americans said they would need $951,000, as the cost of living has surged in recent years. It is also up 15% from last year, when respondents said they would need $1.27 million. For many savers, that goal may sound daunting, particularly as...

US. CWA Union Fights Back Against So-Called Pension De-Risking

Before its bankruptcy in 1991, Executive Life Insurance Company accepted transfer contracts from companies to pay their retirees’ pensions instead of the companies defined benefit pension plan. Employers saved money in the transfer because Executive Life offered high interest rates — which were discovered later to be backed by junk bonds – and because their retirees lost Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protection when the companies stopped paying PBGC premiums. Retirees from RJ Reynolds, Pacific Lumber suffered significant cuts in pensions...

U.S. More people are working well past retirement age. It’s not easy

Hope Murray retired in 2013 after a 50-year career that ranged from game show producer to Hollywood party planner to casino executive. She settled into a life of golf, game nights and pickleball in her San Diego community, her daughter living nearby. Then things got more expensive. Gas was nearly $5 a gallon, medication costs were adding up, the grocery bill was increasing. So she downsized, stopped driving as much and waited longer between haircuts. But she could no longer afford some of...

Progress and priorities: reviewing sustainability in key pension systems

Pension funds are long-term investors and their ability to generate long-term returns relies on the performance of the markets and economies in which they invest. Because sustainability factors such as climate change and biodiversity loss threaten the performance of the markets and economies on which they rely for financial returns, pension funds have a responsibility to consider whether sustainability-related risks will inhibit their ability to protect long-term value and provide an adequate pension to their members or beneficiaries. Accordingly,...

Retirement insecurity 2024 americans’ views of retirement

By Dan Doonan & Kelly Kenneally T he ground is shifting when it comes to retirement. Most Americans are experiencing increased financial pressures "I am scared to be broke." Dream. Eighty-three percent of Americans say that all workers should have a pension so they can be and low levels of retirement savings. Amid growing concerns about Americans’ retirement readiness, policymakers recently enacted measures to help address the grave savings shortfall. On the federal level, Congress passed important retirement legislation in...

Latent Cumulative Disadvantage: US Immigrants’ Reversed Economic Assimilation in Later Life

By Leafia Z Ye One of the most salient findings in research on immigration has been that immigrants experience substantial economic mobility as they accumulate more years in the host-society labor force and eventually approach earnings parity with their native-born counterparts. However, we do not know whether this progress is sustained in retirement. In this paper, I develop a framework of Latent Cumulative (Dis)advantage and hypothesize that even as immigrants are approaching parity with the native-born in terms of current...