November 2022
03Nov

State and Local Pensions: What Now?

By Alicia H. Munnell In the wake of the financial crisis and Great Recession, the health of state and local pension plans has emerged as a front burner policy issue. Elected officials, academic experts, and the media alike have pointed to funding shortfalls with alarm, expressing concern that pension promises are unsustainable or will squeeze out other pressing government priorities. A few local governments have even filed for bankruptcy, with pensions cited as a major cause. Alicia H. Munnell draws on...

November 3, 2022
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03Nov

Trends in State and Local Pension Funds

By Oliver Giesecke & Joshua D. Rauh Unfunded public pension obligations represent the largest liability for state and local governments in the United States. As of fiscal year 2021, the total reported unfunded liabilities of these plans is $1.076 trillion. In contrast, the market value of the unfunded liability is approximately $6.501 trillion. As a result, the reported funding ratio of 82.5% falls to 43.8% under a market-based valuation. The market values reflect the fact that accrued pension promises are...

November 3, 2022
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02Nov

U.S. Allianz Life Launches Income Annuity for Use in DC Plans

Allianz finds growing numbers of U.S. workers want guaranteed income options in their employer-sponsored retirement plan. Allianz Life Insurance North America launched the Lifetime Income+ Annuity, an in-plan guaranteed lifetime income option for defined contribution plans. The Allianz Life fixed index annuity is now available to any plan sponsor connected to the iJoin/IPX Retirement network of recordkeepers, a spokesperson said in an email. “We designed this product to be personalized, flexible, and portable for users,” said...

November 2, 2022
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01Nov

US. Some workers halt 401(k) plan contributions to cope with inflation

More than half of American workers have cut or stopped contributing to their retirement savings plans to cope with soaring prices and 40-year-high inflation rates. The findings come from a third-quarter market perceptions study by Allianz Life Insurance of North America. The September survey of 1,004 workers found that 54% halted or reduced their 401k and other retirement savings between July and September. Perhaps more alarming, 43% admitted dipping into retirement nest eggs to cope with the higher cost of gas, utilities,...

November 1, 2022
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October 2022
31Oct

US. SECURE 2.0 could pass before new Congress

The upcoming midterm elections could change the trajectory on many congressional priorities, but strengthening retirement security has remained a bipartisan issue. Congressional leaders and their staffs are currently working to pass another retirement security package, referred to as SECURE 2.0, that could pass before a new Congress starts. There are three bipartisan bills that House and Senate members are discussing behind the scenes, attempting to reconcile any differences between the bills and put forth a package aimed at bolstering Americans' retirement...

October 31, 2022
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28Oct

US. Faculty Wants Pensions Out of Fossil Fuels

Student activists have been demanding that higher education institutions divest their endowments from fossil fuel companies for over a decade. Now, as more institutions move toward sustainable investment, a group of faculty is calling on its pension fund to go green. About 300 clients of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America–College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA), which hundreds of higher education institutions use to invest faculty members’ pensions, are calling on the fund to divest from companies they say...

October 28, 2022
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27Oct

The American healthcare system is broken, here’s what we can do to fix it

The United States is amid a major demographic shift that is testing the limits of an already strained healthcare system, with Americans living longer and requiring more extensive healthcare services than past generations. Improving access to primary care is a clear way to improve outcomes in our aging population, which is expected to reach nearly 84 million by 2050. Yet, despite this, primary care continues to be deeply undervalued — accounting for just 5% to 7% of total healthcare...

October 27, 2022
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26Oct

In the U.S., Income and Wealth are Concentrated at the Top. Where Does This Leave Older Americans?

Disparities in income and wealth among older Americans have widened in recent decades. Higher income and wealth are both associated with better prospects for living a long life. So where does this leave older Americans? Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our new report on these trends with older Americans and retirement, as well as what we can see happening in three other countries with large economies—Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. How does the U.S. compare? In some ways, we are similar to...

October 26, 2022
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26Oct

US. Early retirement took off during the pandemic

Even as many Americans have returned to work over the past year, making up for most of the pandemic losses in the labor force, a sizable number of older workers are choosing to remain on the sidelines. In September, the share of people 55 and older who were working or looking for work was down 1.5 percentage points as compared with February 2020, according to the Labor Department. (For comparison, prime-age workers, or those 25 to 54 years old, are...

October 26, 2022
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24Oct

US. IRA Limits Are Rising in 2023. Here’s What Retirement Savers Need to Know.

You have an even greater opportunity to build yourself a strong nest egg. Building a nest egg is an important thing to do if you want to retire in a comfortable manner. Sure, you can tell yourself you'll just fall back on Social Security -- but doing so might lead to a serious income shortfall down the line. Now when it comes to saving for retirement, you have options. If your employer sponsors a 401(k) plan, it could pay to contribute....

October 24, 2022
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