The Retirement Puzzle

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Occupational Pension ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Occupational Plans

This chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book analyzes the three paths followed by the development of old-age income security over the half century since the New Deal: occupational plans were adopted as a supplement to Social Security; their assets were invested by employers into the stock market; and, most recently, they were turned into 401(k) plans. In particular, it addresses three historical questions: Why was the collectively-bargained occupational pension system established after World War II in the place of real increases in Social Security benefits? Once these private systems were established, what explains the subsequent employer consolidation of pension fund control and the shift of their investment into the stock market, mimicking the investment trends in corporate finance? Why, within the system of employer-provided pensions, was there a subsequent shift toward much riskier defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, away from the traditional defined-benefit plan in the late 1970s and 1980s. The book offer answers to each of these questions and provides a more general explanation of pension marketization through the use of comparative historical analysis.

scholarly journals What the Stock Market Decline Means for the Financial Security and Retirement Choices of the Near-Retirement Population

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan L Gustman ◽  
Thomas L Steinmeier ◽  
Nahid Tabatabai
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Retirement Study

This paper investigates the effect of the current recession on the retirement age population. Data from the Health and Retirement Study suggest that those approaching retirement age (early boomers ages 53 to 58 in 2006) have only 15.2 percent of their wealth in stocks, held directly or in defined contribution plans or IRAs. Their vulnerability to a stock market decline is limited by the high value of their Social Security wealth, which represents over a quarter of the total household wealth of the early boomers. In addition, their defined contribution plans remain immature, so their defined benefit plans represent sixty five percent of their pension wealth. Simulations with a structural retirement model suggest the stock market decline will lead the early boomers to postpone their retirement by only 1.5 months on average. Health and Retirement Study data also show that those approaching retirement are not likely to be greatly or immediately affected by the decline in housing prices. We end with a discussion of important difficulties facing those who would use labor market policies to increase the employment of older workers.

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.

scholarly journals Addressing Longevity Risk: How Best to Annuitize Defined Contribution Assets?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 686-686
Author(s):  
Alicia Munnell ◽  
Gal Wettstein ◽  
Wenliang Hou
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Longevity Risk ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Economics Of Aging ◽  
Distribution Rules ◽  
Lifetime Income ◽  
The Social ◽  
Defined Benefit Pensions ◽  
Deferred Annuity

Abstract Unlike defined benefit pensions, 401(k) plans provide little guidance on how to turn accumulated assets into income. The key risk that retirees face is outliving their assets. Insurance against such risk is available through several routes, including immediate annuities, deferred annuities, and additional Social Security through delayed claiming. Under this Social Security bridge option, participants would tap their 401(k) for payments equal to their Social Security to delay claiming. This paper compares these three options in simulations against a baseline in which no assets are used to obtain lifetime income. In each option, assets not allocated to purchasing lifetime income are consumed following the Required Minimum Distribution rules. The analysis finds that, when market and health shocks are included alongside longevity uncertainty, the Social Security bridge option is generally the best for households with median wealth. Wealthier households can benefit from combining the bridge option with a deferred annuity. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Economics of Aging Interest Group.

scholarly journals The Effects of Investing Social Security Funds in the Stock Market When Fixed Costs Prevent Some Households from Holding Stocks

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B Abel
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Equilibrium Model ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Equity Premium ◽  
Fixed Costs ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Security Funds

With fixed costs of participating in the stock market, consumers with high income will participate in the stock market, but consumers with lower income will not participate. If a fully funded defined-contribution Social Security system tries to exploit the equity premium by selling a dollar of bonds per capita and buying a dollar of equity per capita, consumers who save but do not participate in the stock market will increase their consumption, thereby reducing saving and capital accumulation. Calibration of a general-equilibrium model indicates that this policy could reduce the aggregate capital stock substantially, by about 50 cents per capita. (JEL H55)

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.

scholarly journals Contribution volatility and public pension reform

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
TRAVIS ST. CLAIR ◽  
JUAN PABLO MARTINEZ GUZMAN
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Unfunded Liabilities

AbstractIn the wake of the economic downturn of 2008–2009, researchers and policymakers have focused considerable attention on the extent of unfunded liabilities in US public sector pension plans and the implications for the long term fiscal sustainability of state and local governments. In response to the growth in liabilities, many states have introduced legislation that cuts back on defined benefit (DB) plan commitments, in some cases even shifting the pension system from a DB to a defined contribution or hybrid plan. This paper explores the factors that have led states to engage in pension reform, focusing particular attention on one factor that has only recently gained attention in the research literature: contribution volatility. While unfunded liabilities have significant long-term solvency implications, in the short term fluctuations in the amount of required contributions pose substantial difficulties for the ability of plan sponsors to balance budgets and engage in strategic planning. We begin by quantifying the volatility in the required contributions US states were expected to make between 2001 and 2013 and comparing the volatility of pension spending to other relevant tax and spending measures. Next, we describe the various types of pension reforms that states have implemented and examine the fiscal pressures facing those states that have engaged in reform. States with greater fluctuations in their required payments have been more likely to reduce benefits and increase employee contributions; they have also been more likely to institute these reforms sooner.

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