Impact of defaults on participation in state supplemental retirement savings plans

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Robert L. Clark ◽  
Denis Pelletier
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Pension Plan ◽  
Retirement Savings ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Benefit Pension Plan ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Newly Hired

Abstract This study examines the impact of the adoption of automatic enrollment provisions by the state of South Dakota for its supplemental retirement saving plan (SRP). In South Dakota, state and local government employees, including teachers, are covered by a defined benefit pension plan and by Social Security. Prior to the introduction of automatic enrollment, the proportion of newly hired employees who were contributing to the SRP was less than 5% in their first year of employment. After the introduction of automatic enrollment, over 90% of newly hired workers who were auto-enrolled were participating in the plan. Using a difference-in-difference approach we find that automatic enrollment changes differences in the participation rate by age, sex, and income. We also find that prior to the adoption of auto-enrollment, agencies that ultimately chose to implement this policy had higher participation rates compared to those that did not adopt auto-enrollment.

scholarly journals The missing link: economic exposure and pension plan risk

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-303
Author(s):  
Paul Sweeting ◽  
Alexandre Christie ◽  
Edward Gladwyn
Keyword(s):  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Pension Plan ◽  
Asset Returns ◽  
Oil Price ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Defined Benefit Pension Plan ◽  
Asset Class ◽  
Normal Shape ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe funding position of a defined benefit pension plan is often closely linked to the performance of the sponsoring company’s business. For example, a plan sponsor whose financial health is dependent on high oil prices may struggle during periods of oil price weakness. If the pension plan’s assets perform poorly at this time, the ability of the sponsor to address any funding requirement could be restricted precisely when the need for funding is heightened. In this paper, we propose an approach to dealing with joint plan and sponsor risk that can provide protection against extreme adverse events for the sponsor. In particular, adopt a strategy of minimising a portfolio’s expected losses in the event of an assumed drop of x% in the oil price. Our methodology relies on an asset allocation framework that takes into account the impact of serial correlation in asset returns, as well as the negative skewness and leptokurtosis resulting from the non-normal shape of marginal distributions of historical asset returns. We also make use of copulas to measure the dependence between asset class returns.

Public Pension Governance and Opportunistic Accounting Choice: A Politico-Economic Approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 027507402095439
Author(s):  
Odd J. Stalebrink ◽  
Pierre Donatella
Keyword(s):  
Pension Plan ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Certified Public Accountant ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
Pension Governance ◽  
State And Local ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Pension Liabilities ◽  
The Impact

The selection of actuarial assumptions used to value state and local government pension liabilities is an important culprit of the looming state and local pension crisis in the U.S. Due to the impact these selection choices have on the value of pension liabilities and annual required contributions (ARC), pension plans are often said to make these choices opportunistically for purposes of freeing up budget resources and making pension funding look better. Using empirical data on 114 state-administered pension plans, this research shows that the likelihood of such opportunistic pension accounting choices (OPAC) increases when the plan is underfunded, organized as a cost-sharing plan, governed by a politically embedded fiduciary body, and when the sponsoring government is surrounded by a high degree of unionization, and is divided in terms of partisan control. The results also show that the likelihood of OPAC decreases when a pension plan is subjected to an audit by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), suggesting that professional gatekeepers can play an important role in limiting the adverse effects of OPAC behavior, including insufficient ARC payments and reduced transparency of governmental financial reports.

A Comprehensive Review of the Evolution of Accounting Standards for State and Local Government Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits in The United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77
Author(s):  
Dale L. Flesher ◽  
Craig Foltin ◽  
Gary John Previts ◽  
Mary S. Stone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
State And Local

ABSTRACT Both the business media and the popular press have emphasized the underfunding problems associated with pension funds that are set aside for state and local government workers, a group that also includes teachers and professors at state-affiliated colleges and universities. The realization that pension funds are typically underfunded stems from the fact that the accounting standards associated with state and local government employee pension funds have led to greater transparency since 2011. This paper examines, explains, and interprets the historical development over the last 70 years of accounting standards for state and local government pension funds in the United States. Changing accounting standards, along with economic and social change, have led to consequences such as employers transforming their pension programs to avoid substantial costs and significant liabilities, for example by changing from defined benefit to defined contribution plans.

Getting More from Less in Defined Benefit Plans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Wallick ◽  
Daniel B. Berkowitz ◽  
Andrew S. Clarke ◽  
Kevin J. DiCiurcio ◽  
Kimberly A. Stockton
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Pension Plan ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Portfolio Risk ◽  
Defined Benefit Pension Plan ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Investment Returns ◽  
Defined Benefit Plans ◽  
Asset Class ◽  
Reduced Costs

As global interest rates hover near historic lows, defined benefit pension plan sponsors must grapple with the prospect of lower investment returns. We examine three levers that can enhance portfolio outcomes in a low-return world: increased contributions; reduced investment costs; and increased portfolio risk. We use portfolio simulations based on a stochastic asset class forecasting model to evaluate each lever according to two criteria: the magnitude of impact and the certainty that this impact will be realized. We show that increased contributions have the greatest and most certain impact. Reduced costs have a more modest, but equally certain impact. Increased risk can deliver a significant impact, but with the least certainty.

The Potential for Inflating Earnings through the Expected Rate of Return on Defined Benefit Pension Plan Assets

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Adams ◽  
Mary Margaret Frank ◽  
Tod Perry
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
Pension Plan ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Rate Of Return ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Operating Income ◽  
Defined Benefit Pension Plan ◽  
Reported Earnings

SYNOPSIS Using a sample of firms over the period of 1991 through 2005, we examine the opportunity that exists for firms to inflate earnings through the expected rate of return (ERR) assumption associated with defined benefit pension plans. The evidence suggests that, on average, the ERR is not overstated relative to several benchmarks, including contemporaneous actual returns, historical cumulative actual returns, and expected future returns based on asset allocation within the pension. We also find that actual changes in the ERR are infrequent and typically have less than a 1 percent impact on annual operating income. We also estimate that a 0.5 percent change (50 bps) in the ERR will result in a cumulative effect on operating income over a five-year period of approximately 0.5 percent or less for the majority of firms. When we examine firms with the highest ERRs or with the greatest opportunity to inflate earnings, again, we find that the ERR is not overstated relative to several benchmarks. Although we do not observe pervasive inflating of reported income through the ERR during our sample period, we do find that for some firms, small increases in ERR can have a material impact on reported earnings. Our results provide evidence related to the pervasiveness, materiality, and impact of overstated earnings through the ERR, which helps regulators assess the costs and benefits of eliminating this discretion in financial reporting.

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