October 2023

US Corporate Pension Funding Rises Slightly in September

U.S. corporate pension funding status increased in September, despite a decline in equities. September’s funding status was a return to the norm, following an August that saw pension funding decline for the first time this year.  Insight Investment found that pension funding status improved by one percentage point in August, to 107.5% from 106.5%. Equity losses were offset by a roughly 40 bps increase in discount rates, causing liabilities to decline faster than assets. Assets decreased by 4.5% in September,...

US Corporate Pension Funding Rises Slightly in September

U.S. corporate pension funding status increased in September, despite a decline in equities. September’s funding status was a return to the norm, following an August that saw pension funding decline for the first time this year.  Insight Investment found that pension funding status improved by one percentage point in August, to 107.5% from 106.5%. Equity losses were offset by a roughly 40 bps increase in discount rates, causing liabilities to decline faster than assets. Assets decreased by 4.5% in September,...

US. New SEC Names Rule getting mixed reaction from industry

Opinions vary on the SEC's choice to expand the scope of its Names Rule — while some industry players feel the new rule will help prevent misleading fund names, others say it will be a disruption to the industry. According to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the rule amendments "will help ensure that a fund's portfolio aligns with a fund's name. Such truth in advertising promotes fund integrity on behalf of fund investors," he said in a news release Sept. 20...

Why we often struggle to pivot from saving to spending

Here's the retirement quandary for many Americans. They spend years building good financial habits so, if all goes well, they have sufficient funds by the end of their working years. Then, when it’s time to transition, they often struggle in the shift from saving to spending their nest egg. The no-stress years suddenly become the all-stress years. "It's disappointing to get to your first couple of years of retirement, and just constantly be stressed out about your income generation strategy from...

Understanding Trends in Hispanic and African American Retirement Preparedness in the US

By Edward Nathan Wolff  Retirement income security refers to households’ ability to provide an adequate income stream during the period of their retirement from the labor force. Expected retirement income is based on four components: standard wealth holdings, defined contribution pensions, defined benefit pensions, and social security benefits. Using the Survey of Consumer Finances, I find that Black and Hispanic households made remarkable progress in terms of retirement income, poverty reduction, and replacement rates over 1989-2007. This was followed by...

Replacement Rates and the Retirement Crisis

By Andrew G. Biggs  In 2014, the annual Social Security Trustees Report removed measures of Social Security replacement rates, which represent Social Security retirement benefits as a percentage of pre-retirement earnings. The Trustees expressed concerns that the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) actuaries’ methodology produced results that differed meaningfully from other common approaches. In 2023, the Social Security Trustees returned replacement rates to the report, without changes to the SSA methodology or discussion of their decision. The SSA replacement rate methodology produces...

U.S. corporate pension funding rises in September on falling liabilities

U.S. corporate pension plan funding ratios increased in September despite a second straight month of negative market returns thanks to falling liability values, according to three new reports. Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans increased 0.7 percentage points during the month to 105.3% as of Sept. 30. The increase was driven by the largest drop in liability values since September 2022 that resulted from the continued rise in U.S. Treasury yields, said Ned McGuire, managing director...

US. Social Security Will Not Provide Sufficient Retirement Income for Low-Wage Workers

Even with the benefit of Social Security checks, low-income workers fall considerably short of replacing their income in retirement, emphasizing a need for policymakers and plan sponsors to step in to help improve options, according to Vanguard’s newest research.   By providing wider access to workplace retirement plans and implementing features like automatic enrollment and “under-saver sweeps,” policymakers and plan sponsors have an opportunity to help low-income workers address this shortfall. Delaying retirement and liquidating home equity are also strategies to...

90% of U.S. companies with DB plans looking for exits via PRT – MetLife

Nearly 90% of U.S. corporations with defined benefit plans look to fully transfer all their liabilities in an average of just four years, according to a new poll conducted by MetLife. In MetLife's 2023 Pension Risk Transfer Poll, the insurer said 89% of respondents said they plan to fully divest all their liabilities. Among that population, they plan to do so in an average of 4.1 years. Also, 94% of respondents said they are weighing the DB plan's value against the...

US. SEC proposes changes for registered index-linked annuities

The SEC proposed rule amendments that would customize the registration form and disclosure requirements for registered index-linked annuities, also known as RILAs. The move comes after Congress passed a law in December directing the SEC to do so. "Given the complexity and growing popularity of RILAs, it is important that investors receive the information they need — in plain English — to make informed investment decisions," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a news release Sept. 29. "Implementing Congress' mandate, today's...