US Archives - Page 78 of 200 - Pension Policy International

26MayMay 26, 2023

Pension Reform: Conceptual Foundations and Practical Challenges

By Seamus Duffy & Oliver Giesecke Underfunded pension are the largest liability for state and local governments across the United States. As a result of increasing recognition of the associated risks, recent statutory funding mandates led to a sharp increases in required contributions, threatening city services and employee bases. As funding pressure mounts, pension reforms offer a viable tool for prudent economic policy. We propose five general principles that guide pension reform considerations and discuss how these principle stand in...

May 26, 2023

Articles, System Sustainability2023, Defined Benefit, Funding, Pension Reform, US

24MayMay 24, 2023

US. House passes bill requiring Treasury report on economic risks from China

The House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that would require the Treasury Department, along with several federal regulators, to issue a report on risks posed to the U.S. by China's financial sector. In a 400-5 vote, the House passed the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act of 2023 Monday, introduced by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Roger Williams, R-Texas. The bill directs the Treasury secretary — in consultation with the chairmen of the Federal Reserve, SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the...

May 24, 2023

NewsInvestment, Regulation, US

23MayMay 23, 2023

US. Major pension funds are steering big dollars to infrastructure

Major U.S. pension funds are increasingly turning to infrastructure for its solid risk-adjusted return profile and strong performance resilience. Since 2011, Pensions & Investments has tracked more than 950 infrastructures hires totaling more than $134 billion committed, paced by 148 hires and $17.7 billion committed in 2021. Maine Public Employees Retirement System, Augusta, is also drawn to infrastructure due to its ability provide diversification from the plan's public and private equity and fixed-income assets, said William Proom, managing director of investments...

May 23, 2023

NewsInvestment, Pension Management, US

22MayMay 22, 2023

US. Divesting fossil fuels looms larger for more funds

As the race toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels to address climate change heats up, more pension funds may look at divestment, willingly or otherwise. According to a divestment commitment database maintained by Stand.earth, a climate action advocacy group, 1,591 organizations worldwide with a collective $40.51 trillion in assets have publicly committed to some level of fossil fuel divestment. Pension funds represent 11.7% of those commitments, compared with 35.8% from faith-based organizations, 15.7% from educational institutions and 11.9%...

May 22, 2023

NewsESG, Investment, Pension Management, US

19MayMay 19, 2023

But What If a Pension Fund is Overfunded?

By James Tatum Currently, the consensus is that if a pension fund is less than 100 percent funded, it is underfunded.1 In other words, if the pension fund does not presently have all the assets needed to pay liabilities in the future (and without consideration of future contributions to the pension fund), the pension fund and retiree benefits are theoretically imperiled. So, out of concern for “underfunded” pension funds, of which there are many, there have been innumerable research papers,...

May 19, 2023

Articles, Pension Management2023, Funding, US

18MayMay 18, 2023

US. Pension Funds Appear Unfazed by Potential US Default

With the X-date looming for when the U.S. government could default on its bonds and welch on paying other obligations due to the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling, there is scant panic among pension plans. While they have little to say publicly about the prospect of a default, one CIO said, “We have enough liquidity to get through this, and we think [the impasse in Washington] will be resolved quickly.” Typically, plans exude an outward calm. A spokeswoman for...

May 18, 2023

NewsPension Management, Risk, US

17MayMay 17, 2023

US. Pension risk transfer market off to strong start this year

The U.S. pension risk transfer market had a very strong first quarter, with an estimated $6 billion in total volume, according to a report from Legal & General Group. The estimate exceeds the previous record for a first quarter set last year at $5.3 billion. Legal & General noted that PRT activity has traditionally been the slowest during the first half of the year and projects a total of $23 billion in volume for the first half of 2023. The...

May 17, 2023

NewsPension Management, Risk, US

16MayMay 16, 2023

What the debt ceiling standoff could mean for your retirement plans

President Biden is expected to meet with congressional leaders on Tuesday about the debt ceiling, with just about two weeks until the country could run out of money to pay its bills. Economists and administration officials have warned that a potential default on the national debt — for the first in U.S. history — would amount to financial disaster, wreaking havoc on the domestic economy and rattling global markets, too. "Our economy would fall into a significant recession," Biden told reporters...

May 16, 2023

NewsPolitical economy, US

15MayMay 15, 2023

US. Debt-ceiling apocalypse could offer opportunities as well, observers say

The ongoing debt-ceiling standoff between Democrats and Republicans could result in buying opportunities for institutional investors as long as widespread faith that the two sides will eventually do whatever is necessary to avoid a U.S. debt default proves well-founded. If not, all bets are off. For now, even as the "X-date" where the government won't be able to cover all of its Treasury bonds and bills coming due approaches— as early as June by some estimates — most market participants say...

May 15, 2023

NewsPolitical economy, US

12MayMay 12, 2023

“Milliman’s Pension Funding Index. May 2023”

By Milliman The funded status of the nation’s 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans decreased by $7 billion during April, as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). A decrease in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities led to an increase in these liabilities of $10 billion for the month. As of April 30, the funded ratio fell to 99.5%, from 100.1% at the end of March. April saw the funding surplus...

May 12, 2023

Books, Books, Reports, System Characterization, System Sustainability2023, Funding, Occupational Pensions, US