The Role and Importance of Individual Retirement Accounts

What are now called “traditional IRAs” (Individual Retirement Accounts) were created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Roth IRAs were added in 1997. Employer-sponsored Simplified Employee Pensions–IRAs were added in 1978 and Savings Investment Match Plans for Employees–IRAs (and 401(k)s) in 1996. Together IRAs hold $8.8 trillion in assets, one third of the total $27.1 trillion in all retirement plans. This article examines the role and importance of IRAs in the U.S. retirement system and the development of the different types of IRAs and their interaction with each other.

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Navigating complex financial decisions at retirement: evidence from annuity choices in public sector pensions

Journal of Pension Economics and Finance ◽

10.1017/s1474747218000410 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (04) ◽

pp. 594-611 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Robert L. Clark ◽

Robert G. Hammond ◽

David Vanderweide

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Literacy ◽

Pension Plan ◽

Well Being ◽

Retirement Income ◽

Income Security ◽

Financial Decisions ◽

Administrative Records ◽

Different Types ◽

Retirement Income Security

AbstractChoices regarding the disposition of wealth at retirement can have substantial implications for retirement income security. We analyze the factors determining annuity payout option choices within the context of a public sector defined pension plan with no default annuity option. Using combined administrative records and survey data, we explore the role of individual and household characteristics as well as risk preferences, time preferences, and financial literacy. We also document retiree well-being and satisfaction with retirement decision making. The evidence is consistent with predictions over which households might benefit most from each annuity option. Comparing retirees who chose different types of annuities, we find that these groups of retirees report very different levels of well-being in retirement. All retirees report lower levels of retirement income security over time, with strong differences among those who chose different types of annuities.

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Erisa.

Journal of the Staple Inn Actuarial Society ◽

10.1017/s0020269x00009245 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 65-90

Author(s):

A. S. Fishman

Keyword(s):

Private Sector ◽

Retirement Income ◽

Insurance Company ◽

Income Security ◽

Vital Importance ◽

Pension Schemes ◽

Retirement Income Security ◽

The U.S

In my opinion, the implications of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which was enacted in the U.S. on 2 September 1974, are of vital importance to U.K. pensions' actuaries.Pension schemes which are established in the U.K. by U.K. branch operations of a U.S. parent are subject to the provisions of ERISA. Furthermore, there have recently been suggestions that U.K. subsidiary company operations of a U.S. parent might also be required to prepare ERISA-style reports.Since U.S. enterprises account for some 13% of the U.K.'s total gross product in manufacturing in the private sector, almost every U.K. insurance company, firm of consulting actuaries or pension consultants will have come into contact with some aspect of, or question relating to, ERISA.

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The President and American Retirement Planning

The President and American Capitalism Since 1945 ◽

10.5744/florida/9780813056524.003.0012 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Paula K. Gajewski

Keyword(s):

Financial Markets ◽

Retirement Planning ◽

Retirement Income ◽

Income Security ◽

Retirement Accounts ◽

The Creation ◽

The Individual ◽

Retirement Income Security

In 1974, President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which revolutionized American private retirement practices. The legislation created the Individual Retirement Account (IRA), the cornerstone of modern retirement planning. The creation of massive individual and corporate retirement accounts has significantly reshaped financial markets.

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The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

10.1525/california/9780520242739.001.0001 ◽

2005 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

James Wooten

Keyword(s):

Retirement Income ◽

Income Security ◽

Retirement Income Security

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ERISA Preemption and Regulation of Managed Health Care: The Case for Managed Federalism

American Journal of Law & Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0098858800010728 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 23 (2-3) ◽

pp. 251-289

Author(s):

Margaret G. Farrell

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Retirement Income ◽

Structural Reforms ◽

Unborn Child ◽

Income Security ◽

Care Plans ◽

Managed Health Care ◽

Federal Statute ◽

Managed Care Organizations ◽

Retirement Income Security

The result ERISA compels us to reach means that the Corcorans [who lost their unborn child allegedly as a result of United Healthcare’s negligent determination that hospitalization was not medically necessary] have no remedy, state or federal, for what may have been a serious mistake. This is troubling....In the words of its sponsor, Senator Jacob Javits, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted in 1974 “to maintain the voluntary growth of private [pension and employee benefit] plans while at the same time making needed structural reforms in such areas as vesting, funding, termination, etc. so as to safeguard workers against loss of their earned or anticipated benefits....” Ironically, one of ERISA’s provisions—its indeterminate provision for the preemption of state law—has probably created more uncertainty about the adequacy and security of health care benefits than any other piece of legislation. Neither ERISA nor any other federal statute comprehensively regulates the content of employer provided health care plans, including benefits provided through managed care organizations (MCOs).

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