Financial Advice, Plan Choice, and Retirement Plan Satisfaction

2020 ◽  
pp. JFCP-18-00050
Author(s):  
Michael P. Ryan ◽  
Brenda J. Cude
Keyword(s):  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Plans ◽  
Retirement Plan ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Plan Choice ◽  
Public Sector Employees ◽  
Selection Of

Most private sector employees have access to defined contribution retirement plans while public sector employees often may choose defined benefit or defined contribution plans. This research utilized a survey of faculty to analyze retirement plan satisfaction. Advice from a financial planner was positively associated with satisfaction with portability. Retirement plan knowledge was negatively associated with satisfaction on the decision period. Selection of a defined benefit plan was positively related to four aspects of satisfaction and negatively related to regret. Financial planners assisting individuals who face such choices should acknowledge the decision's challenges and evaluate the client's level of retirement planning knowledge. Focusing on long-term goals and the client's investment and mobility risk tolerance may be helpful, especially after market corrections.

scholarly journals The use of stock options and retirement plans to retain non-executive employees

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-72
Author(s):  
Kathleen Weiden ◽  
Jane Mooney
Keyword(s):  
Stock Options ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Plans ◽  
Compensation Contracts ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Retirement Plan ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Defined Benefit Plans

Firms expend significant resources to retain employees. In this paper, we examine how firms that use stock options grant them differently when they also utilize retirement plans in non-executive employee compensation contracts. Using a large sample of US firms, we examine the relation between the stock option proportion of pay of non-executive employees and firms’ use of a retirement plan of any type. We then examine how firms’ use of stock options is affected by the type of plan (defined benefit or defined contribution) used by the firm. We find that firms reduce their use of stock options when there are other deferred pay mechanisms in place, suggesting they act as substitutes. We also find that firms with defined benefit retirement plans reduce their use of stock options for non-executives to a greater extent than firms with defined contribution plans, suggesting a greater degree of substitutability between defined benefit plans and stock options than between defined contribution plans and stock options.

scholarly journals Use of Advisors and Retirement Plan Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-356
Author(s):  
Rui Yao ◽  
Weipeng Wu ◽  
Cody Mendenhall
Keyword(s):  
Portfolio Allocation ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Retirement Savings ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Plans ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Retirement Plan ◽  
Research Gap

As defined contribution (DC) plans become more popular than defined benefit (DB) plans, American workers are increasingly responsible for their retirement savings. Because retirement plan participants' portfolio allocation is constrained by the available funds in the plan, the construction of a plan's investment menu has become extremely important. No research has evaluated fund selection in retirement plans or compared plans involving an advisor with self-directed plans. To fill this research gap, this study employs cross-sectional, nationwide data that include 5,570 retirement plans with 100 or more participants in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Results show that in most cases, using advisors is not related to plan performance. Plan sponsors should require advisors to periodically evaluate the performance of plans under their management using objective measures.

Retirement Planning Decisions: Choices Between Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susannah Bruns Ali ◽  
Howard A. Frank
Keyword(s):  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Plans ◽  
Planning Decisions ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Plan Selection ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Florida International University

As states move toward offering defined contribution retirement plans as an alternative or addition to traditional defined benefit pensions, they need to consider the preferences and long-term consequences for different groups of employees. This study looks at which plan employees choose when given the option of either a defined contribution or defined benefit plan. The strongest driver of that choice is education level where the most educated prefer defined contribution plans and the least educated stay in defined benefit plans. A unique contribution of this study is that we include region of origin as a study and determine that cultural differences influence plan selection. The study also explores the role of sex, age, and tenure. Challenging other studies on financial planning, these findings indicate that sex and age are not significant factors. This research was conducted using data from more than 4,000 employees from Florida International University and an interview with HR professionals. By understanding retirement preferences in a more nuanced way, we can better craft our approaches to retirement security and financial literacy training in public sector organizations.

Defined benefit pension decline: the consequences for organizations and employees

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 654-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebony de Thierry ◽  
Helen Lam ◽  
Mark Harcourt ◽  
Matt Flynn ◽  
Geoff Wood
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Cost Cutting ◽  
Critical Literature

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the theoretical and empirical pension literatures to question whether employers are likely to gain any competitive advantage from degrading or eliminating their employees’ defined benefit (DB) pensions. Design/methodology/approach – Critical literature review, bringing together and synthesizing the industrial relations, economics, social policy, and applied pensions literature. Findings – DB pension plans do deliver a number of potential performance benefits, most notably a decrease in turnover and establishment of longer-term employment relationships. However, benefits are more pronounced in some conditions than others, which are identified. Research limitations/implications – Most of the analysis of pension effects to date focuses primarily on DB plans. Yet, these are declining in significance. In the years ahead, more attention needs to be paid to the potential consequences of defined contribution plans and other types of pension. Practical implications – In re-evaluating DB pensions, firms have tended to focus on savings made through cost cutting. Yet, this approach tends to view a firm's people as an expense rather a potential asset. Attempts to abandon, modify, or otherwise reduce such schemes has the potential to save money in the short term, but the negative long-term consequences may be considerable, even if they are not yet obvious. Originality/value – This paper is topical in that it consolidates existing research evidence from a number of different bodies of literature to make a case for the retention of DB pension plans, when, in many contexts, they are being scaled back or discarded. It raises a number of important issues for reflection by practitioners, and highlights key agendas for future scholarly research.

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.

Pension Reforms and Public Sector Turnover

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenia Gorina ◽  
Trang Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
State Level ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
Employment Benefits ◽  
Pension Reforms ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Retirement Systems ◽  
State Pension

Abstract Over the past decade, many states have reformed their retirement systems by reducing benefit generosity, tightening retirement provisions, introducing non-defined-benefit (DB) plan options and even replacing DB plans with defined-contribution plans. Many of these reforms have affected post-employment benefits that public workers will receive when they retire. Have these reforms also affected the attractiveness of public sector employment? To answer this question, we use state-level data from 2002 to 2015 and examine the relationship between state pension reforms and public employee turnover following the reforms. We find that employee responsiveness to the reforms was tangible and that it differed by reform type and worker education. These results are important because the design of public retirement benefits will continue to influence the ability of the public sector to recruit and retain high-quality workforce.

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