Pension News – CORPaTH

23 09, 2021

State worker pension systems in best shape since 2008

CORPaTH2021-09-23T09:52:54-07:00September 23rd, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: state pension systems|

By Geoff Mulvihill Source: Associated Press Pension systems for state government workers across the U.S. are in their best shape since the Great Recession began more than a dozen years ago, according to a study released Tuesday. The Pew Charitable Trust report credits a booming stock market over the past year as well as states’ longer-term steps, which include boosting taxpayer contributions to public pension funds and reducing promised retirement benefits, particularly to newly hired workers. “The better decisions, [...]

23 09, 2021

PBGC’s multiemployer outlook greatly improves after help from Congress

CORPaTH2021-09-23T09:51:00-07:00September 23rd, 2021|Categories: PBGC|Tags: multiemployer plans|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s multiemployer program outlook has substantially improved following passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, according to the agency's fiscal year 2020 annual report. Last year's report projected a very high likelihood of the program's insolvency by September 2025 and near certainty by September 2026. In the latest report, released Monday, the most pessimistic scenario projects the fund to go insolvent in fiscal year 2036, while optimistic scenarios [...]

13 09, 2021

Three Things You Need to Know About the Retirement Security Crisis

CORPaTH2021-09-13T08:57:37-07:00September 13th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|

Source: NPPC

30 08, 2021

Why the 401k Fails and What A ‘Better’ System Looks Like, According to Teresa Ghilarduci

CORPaTH2021-08-30T08:31:42-07:00August 30th, 2021|Categories: 401(k)|

By John Sullivan Source: 401K Specialist Teresa Ghilarducci once called the 401k an immature, underdeveloped child that needs help over a mudpuddle to the curb when crossing a street. While we disagree, we love the imagery. A labor economist and nationally recognized expert in retirement security with The New School for Social Research, Ghilarducci is a consistent and prolific advocate for a better system, however defined. Read the full article

30 08, 2021

40% of 401(k) participants say fees a mystery, GAO reports

CORPaTH2021-08-30T08:29:09-07:00August 30th, 2021|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: Department of Labor, Government Accountability Office|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments Almost 40% of 401(k) plan participants do not fully understand the fees they are paying, a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday found. Moreover, 41% of participants incorrectly believe that they do not pay any 401(k) plan fees, according to the report. The Department of Labor requires plans to provide participants with fee disclosures, but GAO found that 45% of participants are not able to use the information in disclosures to determine [...]

18 08, 2021

Milliman: Multiemployer pension funding rises to 92%

CORPaTH2021-08-18T16:29:06-07:00August 18th, 2021|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|Tags: DB Plans, milliman|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments The estimated aggregate funding ratio of multiemployer defined benefit plans in the U.S. reached 92% as of June 30, up from 88% at the end of 2020, according to a study from Milliman. The first six months of the year continued a strong market recovery that had already brought funding levels to their highest ratio since Dec. 31, 2007, when the level was 85%. The estimated investment return for Milliman's simplified portfolio [...]

18 08, 2021

Pandemic pushed an additional 1.7 million Americans into retirement

CORPaTH2021-08-18T16:27:13-07:00August 18th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: COVID-19, retirement|

By Stephanie Asymkos Source: Yahoo! Money The pandemic forced more older workers to retire — often before they were ready financially — a new study found, widening the country’s growing retirement inequality gap and leaving certain baby boomers vulnerable to poverty in their golden years. During the pandemic, an additional 1.7 million Americans retired earlier than what would have been expected during the normal times, according to a recent report from The New School’s Retirement Equity Lab. While the [...]

16 08, 2021

US. Pandemic Puts Secure Retirement at Greater Risk for Many

CORPaTH2021-08-16T08:01:33-07:00August 16th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: COVID-19, retirement|

Source: Pension Policy International The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsize effect on people 50 and older: Not only did it impact older adults’ health more severely than younger ones, but it also forced many into early retirement and prompted others to take withdrawals from their savings earlier than they had planned. “The prospects of a secure retirement for millions of workers will be even more precarious following the pandemic, and more Americans of all ages will need to [...]

27 07, 2021

How to close the wealth gap from the bottom up

CORPaTH2021-07-27T13:40:40-07:00July 27th, 2021|Categories: Economy|Tags: wealth gap|

Source: The Washington Post More taxation of capital gains and estates could help shrink the United States’ wealth gap from the top down. The gap must also be closed from the bottom up, by bolstering access to the three key ingredients of middle-class wealth: owner-occupied homes, which represented the majority of household wealth for most people in 2019; financial assets, such as stocks, whose value, measured by the Dow Jones industrial average, has increased sevenfold since 1989; and human [...]

22 07, 2021

CAAT Pension Plan brings on 55 more employers in first half of year

CORPaTH2021-07-22T14:50:13-07:00July 22nd, 2021|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|Tags: caat, canada, Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments Pension plan participants at 55 Canadian employers joined the C$15.8 billion ($12.7 billion) Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan, Toronto, in the first half of 2021. With those moves, more than 3,300 new participants joined CAAT's DBplus plan, spokeswoman Lindsay Grillet said in an email. The additions bring the total to 125 employers in 10 industries that have joined the CAAT Pension Plan. The plan, which was originally established for [...]

22 07, 2021

Now Is The Time To Re-Think Retirement Plan Conventional Wisdom

CORPaTH2021-07-22T14:48:10-07:00July 22nd, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: retirement|

By Dan Doonan Source: Forbes Retirement plan design can make or break an employee’s ability to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Over the past several decades, many private sector companies implemented a complete overhaul in retirement plan design, shifting from defined benefit pensions to 401(k)-style defined contribution accounts. Originally designed to supplement rather than replace pensions, 401(k) plans have become the primary employer-sponsored plan for many U.S. workers. This transition meant sacrificing a number of important features [...]

19 07, 2021

5 key questions on pensions

CORPaTH2021-07-19T13:53:05-07:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada|

By: Jeffrey R. Smith Source: HR Reporter Employer-sponsored pension plans have shifted some of the responsibility for retirement saving to employees, but a supportive plan can be a good tool for recruitment and retention. Canadian HR Reporter spoke about pension plan strategies with Som Seif, founder and CEO of Purpose Investments in Toronto, which recently launched the Longevity Pension Fund. Q: How has an aging workforce affected employers’ approach to pension plans? A: “It’s one of the biggest social [...]

19 07, 2021

PBGC multiemployer rule gets mixed reviews

CORPaTH2021-07-19T09:10:25-07:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: PBGC|Tags: American Rescue Plan Act, multiemployer plans|

By: Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s interim final rule about how underfunded multiemployer plans can get special financial assistance is getting mixed reviews. The assistance was part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 enacted in March and provides an estimated $94 billion in federal assistance grants for the most at-risk plans to pay benefits, if it will help them survive for 30 years. The interim final rule, issued July 9, provides [...]

9 07, 2021

PBGC and IRS Issue Guidance on Special Financial Assistance for Financially Troubled Multiemployer DB Pension Plans; Comments Requested

CORPaTH2021-07-09T15:17:41-07:00July 9th, 2021|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|Tags: DB Plans, irs, PBGC, SFA|

Source: IFEBP The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance on Special Financial Assistance (SFA) for financially troubled multiemployer defined benefit (DB) pension plans. PBGC issued an interim final rule implementing a new SFA Program. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) — passed by Congress and signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021 — contains provisions to provide an estimated $94 billion in assistance to eligible plans that are severely underfunded. Additionally, it assists [...]

7 07, 2021

Canadian DB pensions see improved funded position, investment returns

CORPaTH2021-07-07T09:03:28-07:00July 7th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada, pension funding|

Source: Benefits Canada The aggregate funded ratio for Canadian defined benefit pension plans in the S&P/TSX composite index increased from 94.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 to 95.6 per cent in the second quarter, according to a new report from Aon. It also found pension assets rose by four per cent during the same period. The rise was credited to positive returns on fixed income assets and continued strong equity market performance. However, long term Government of [...]

18 06, 2021

House passes ESG disclosure bill

CORPaTH2021-06-18T13:58:44-07:00June 18th, 2021|Categories: ESG|Tags: Corporate Governance Improvement and Investor Protection Act|

By Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments Legislation requiring public companies to disclose ESG metrics was narrowly approved by the House Wednesday. The proposed Corporate Governance Improvement and Investor Protection Act received no Republican support, leaving its prospects uncertain as it advances to the Senate for consideration. The White House supports the measure, saying in a policy statement that the legislation would make "important changes to the manner in which publicly traded companies account for and disclose certain activities [...]

18 06, 2021

Are we headed for a retirement crisis?

CORPaTH2021-06-18T13:56:55-07:00June 18th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: canada, retirement crisis|

By Jim Wilson Source: Canadian HR Reporter Two-thirds (67 per cent) of Canadians feel that the country is facing an emerging retirement crisis, according to a new report. Why? More than six in 10 (63 per cent) have not set aside anything for retirement in the past year, up by five per cent from data recorded in 2020. Plus, 65 per cent said that saving for retirement is prohibitively expensive, according to the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). [...]

17 06, 2021

PBGC ‘To-Do’ List: Work on Benefits, Penalties and More

CORPaTH2021-06-17T16:55:39-07:00June 17th, 2021|Categories: PBGC|Tags: PBGC|

By John Iekel Source: ASPPA The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in its spring regulatory agenda enumerates a variety of proposals and actions close to implementation that will address benefits payments, assistance, valuation assessments, penalties and more. Proposals The following proposed rules are on the PBGC’s radar screen. Valuation Assumptions and Methods. The PBGC proposes a rule on valuation assumptions and methods concerning interest and mortality assumptions for asset allocation in single-employer plans, and concerning mass withdrawal liability determination [...]

17 06, 2021

Canada’s largest pension funds come together at inaugural climate change event

CORPaTH2021-06-17T16:53:50-07:00June 17th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans, Sustainable Investing|Tags: canada, sustainable investing|

Source: Benefits Canada Representatives from eight of Canada’s largest pension funds — known as the Maple Eight — participated in the first meeting of the Sustainable Finance Action Council last week. On June 11, representatives of the Alberta Investment Management Corp., the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the [...]

11 06, 2021

DB Plan Funded Status Remains Stable in May

CORPaTH2021-06-11T14:27:07-07:00June 11th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: pension funding|

By: Rebecca Moore Source: Plan Sponsor The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. defined benefit (DB) pension plans sponsored by S&P 500 companies increased by an estimated 0.1 percentage point month-over-month in May to end the month at 94.2%, according to Wilshire. The monthly change in funding resulted from a 0.6 percentage point increase in asset values partially offset by a 0.7 percentage point increase in liability values. The aggregate funded ratio is estimated to have increased by 6.4 and [...]

7 06, 2021

Gensler directs SEC staff to weigh further proxy-voting rules

CORPaTH2021-06-07T14:49:11-07:00June 7th, 2021|Categories: Pension Reform|Tags: proxy-voting advice rule, sec|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments The SEC's division of corporation finance will not recommend enforcement actions related to a series of amendments to the proxy-voting advice rule that were finalized last year after Chairman Gary Gensler announced Tuesday that he asked the staff to consider recommending further regulatory action on the issue. In July, the SEC, in a 3-1 vote with Republicans in control, approved sweeping changes to rules governing proxy advisory firms. The rule amendments made [...]

2 06, 2021

House Democrats reintroduce sustainable investing bills

CORPaTH2021-06-02T14:48:11-07:00June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Sustainable Investing|Tags: erisa, Investment Advisers Act, Retirees Sustainable Investment Policies Act, Sustainable Investment Policies Act|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments A group of House Democrats reintroduced two bills that would require retirement plan fiduciaries and investment advisers to take into account and explain how they consider environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions. The Sustainable Investment Policies Act, which would amend the Investment Advisers Act, and the Retirees Sustainable Investment Policies Act, which would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, stipulate that investment advisers and retirement plan fiduciaries must [...]

27 05, 2021

Investment consultants form sustainability group

CORPaTH2021-05-27T16:39:55-07:00May 27th, 2021|Categories: Sustainable Investing|Tags: sustainable investment practices|

By Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments A group of 14 institutional investment consulting firms have joined forces to promote and improve sustainable investment practices in the U.S. The Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group. The ICSWG-US said Wednesday that its member firms have a collective $33 trillion under advisement worldwide. Read the full article

27 05, 2021

Pandemic pushes firms to up allocations to social investments – research

CORPaTH2021-05-27T16:38:06-07:00May 27th, 2021|Categories: ESG|Tags: COVID-19, esg|

By Sophie Baker Source: Pensions & Investments The social factor within ESG will be of increasing importance to global pension funds over the next three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with passive allocations set to rise. Research by DWS and CREATE-Research found that 66% of pension funds intend to increase allocations to the 'S' pillar through passive allocations over the coming years. Two-thirds (67%) said they will choose their passive managers based on a track record of achieving [...]

27 05, 2021

Bill Would Clear a Surer Path for Plans to Offer ESG Funds

CORPaTH2021-05-27T14:53:20-07:00May 27th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|

By Lee Barney Source: Plan Sponsor U.S. Senators Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, and Patty Murray, D-Washington, and U.S. Representative Suzan DelBene, D-Washington, have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress that they say would provide legal certainty to workplace retirement plans that choose to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their investment decisions or offer ESG investment options. The bill, called the Financial Factors in Selecting Retirement Plan Investments Act, would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act [...]

21 05, 2021

Bill seeks to clarify ESG responsibilities under ERISA

CORPaTH2021-05-21T09:39:14-07:00May 21st, 2021|Categories: ESG|Tags: erisa|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments Democrats in the Senate and House introduced a bill Thursday that would amend ERISA to make clear that retirement plans may consider ESG factors in their investment decisions and that ESG investments are permitted as qualified default investment alternatives in ERISA-covered plans. Under the bill — the Financial Factors in Selecting Retirement Plan Investment Act, sponsored by Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. — plans [...]

19 05, 2021

Multiemployer plans weather 2020 with strong returns

CORPaTH2021-05-19T14:45:06-07:00May 19th, 2021|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|

By Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments Multiemployer pension plans managed to ride out the economic turbulence of 2020, thanks largely to investment returns, according to a Segal zone status survey released Wednesday. Segal surveyed nearly 200 calendar-year plans that had to certify their zone status by April 30. Those plans, with a collective $125 billion in assets, represent approximately 25% of all multiemployer plan participants. Read the full article

19 05, 2021

We loved our pensions. Then our employers took them away. How was that allowed to happen?

CORPaTH2021-05-19T08:31:10-07:00May 19th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|

By Nicholas Goldberg Source: Los Angeles Times In a recent column in the New York Times, Paul Krugman argued that if President Biden succeeds in giving Americans affordable childcare, universal pre-K and paid family leave, it will be almost impossible to take them back. People would never allow such desirable, transformational benefits to be taken away once they had become part of the fabric of our society, he wrote. Officials wouldn’t dare try because the backlash would be too [...]

12 05, 2021

F.B.I. Asking Questions After a Pension Fund Aimed High and Fell Short

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:27-07:00May 12th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: FBI, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System|

By Mary Williams Walsh Source: The New York Times The search for high returns takes many pension funds far and wide, but the Pennsylvania teachers’ fund went farther than most. It invested in trailer park chains, pistachio farms, pay phone systems for prison inmates — and, in a particularly bizarre twist, loans to Kurds trying to carve out their own homeland in northern Iraq. Now the F.B.I. is on the case, investigating investment practices at the Pennsylvania Public School [...]

5 05, 2021

Variable Benefit Plans a Solution for All Types of Plan Sponsors

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:26-07:00May 5th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans, variable benefit plans|

By Rebecca Moore Source: Plan Sponsor Plan sponsors and others in the retirement plan industry have been showing an increased interest in new defined benefit (DB) plan designs that minimize cost volatility and/or provide risk sharing. During a recent webinar on the subject, Rachel Barnes, a member of the pension committee at the American Academy of Actuaries, noted that many corporate plan sponsors have been taking steps to transfer or eliminate their traditional DB plan obligations. While some have [...]

4 05, 2021

Dutch funding ratios continue to rise

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:26-07:00May 4th, 2021|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: europe|

By Natalie Tuck Source: European Pensions The average Dutch coverage ratio increased to 109 per cent from 108 per cent in April, according to Aon’s latest analysis. Its Pension Thermometer found also revealed that policy funding ratio has increased to 98 per cent. This funding ratio is above the adjusted temporary statutory minimum requirement of 90 per cent. Aon believes that the increases over the past three months mean that most pension funds are “out of harm’s way” and [...]

3 05, 2021

72% of Canadian pension funds considering consolidation options: survey

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:25-07:00May 3rd, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada, consolidation|

Source: Benefits Canada The majority (72 per cent) of Canadian pension funds said they’re currently focused on consolidation options that offer greater certainty they’ll be able to meet their liabilities, according to a survey by CIBC Mellon. It also found 50 per cent of pension funds surveyed plan on implementing consolidation plans over the next three to five years. The same percentage (50 per cent) of respondents that said they’re considering merging other funds’ assets into their owns plans [...]

27 04, 2021

A Graying China May Have to Put Off Retirement. Workers Aren’t Happy.

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:25-07:00April 27th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: china, retirement|

By Vivian Wang and Joy Dong Source: The New York Times For Meng Shan, a 48-year-old urban management worker in the Chinese city of Nanchang, retirement can’t come soon enough. Mr. Meng, who is the equivalent of a low-level, unarmed law-enforcement official, often has to chase down unlicensed street vendors, a task he finds physically and emotionally taxing. Pay is low. Retirement, even on a meager government pension, would finally offer a break. So Mr. Meng was dismayed when [...]

23 04, 2021

Borderless Pension Plans

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:24-07:00April 23rd, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: pension gap|

By Michael Brough Source: HR Daily Advisor As organizations become more global, HR leaders face the challenge of how best to reward and protect certain groups of their international staff. Pensions and savings benefits are often tightly bound by local rules and restrictions that can exclude some workers or render the benefits unattractive or insecure. One option is to look at the increasingly popular “borderless” or international pension plans that exist outside of domestic frameworks. When the first Willis [...]

23 04, 2021

DB plan solvency in best position since financial crisis: FSRA

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:24-07:00April 23rd, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, Ontario|

By James Langton Source: Advisor's Edge In the first quarter of 2021, the funding status of defined-benefit (DB) pensions in Ontario surged to its best level since the financial crisis. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) reported that the median solvency ratio for the province’s DB pensions rose to 103% (as of March 31), up from just 85% in March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic began. In the first quarter, the median solvency ratio rose from 98% [...]

21 04, 2021

DC Plans More Vulnerable to ERISA Litigation Than DB Plans

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:23-07:00April 21st, 2021|Categories: ERISA|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans, erisa|

Source: AI-CIO.com Defined contribution (DC) retirement plans are far more susceptible to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) lawsuits than defined benefit (DB) plans, lawyers argue in a lawsuit filed against The Wesco Distribution Inc. Retirement Savings Plan. “The potential for imprudence is much greater in defined contribution plans than in defined benefit plans,” said the lawsuit. The complaint, which alleges Wesco neglected its fiduciary duties by allowing excessive fees, said that companies with DC plans are much more [...]

21 04, 2021

What Comes After 2051 Pension Relief Sunset? It Depends, Attorneys Say

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:23-07:00April 21st, 2021|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: PBGC|

By Austin R. Ramsey Source: Bloomberg Law Now that special financial assistance has been signed into law for union-brokered pensions, all eyes are on the year 2051—the date through which a federal stimulus package is intended to prop up the most underfunded of those plans. Actuarial assumptions federal agencies are poised to make now about who qualifies and how much money multiemployer plans will receive could determine whether those plans survive after that date. Without financial assistance, about 124 [...]

21 04, 2021

Public pensions funded ratio continues strong recovery; hits new high-water mark of 79.0% in Q1 2021

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:20-07:00April 21st, 2021|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: public pensions|

By Rebecca A. Sielman Source: Milliman The first quarter (Q1) of 2021 marked a fourth consecutive quarter of high-water marks for both assets and liabilities for public pensions, with the estimated funded status of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans growing from 78.6% at the end of December 2020 to 79.0% at the end of March 2021, as measured by the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI). The deficit between estimated assets and liabilities closed slightly from [...]

9 04, 2021

Florida Senate bill seeks to close state pension plan to most new hires

CORPaTH2021-04-09T15:40:01-07:00April 9th, 2021|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: florida, new hires|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments Florida's Senate approved a bill that would close the $183.1 billion Florida Retirement System Pension Plan to most new hires. The bill, approved Thursday 24-16, would close the defined benefit plan to most new hires starting June 30, 2022 and automatically enroll them in the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan, the state's $15.3 billion 401(a) plan. New hires currently have the option of joining either plan when they become state employees. "Special [...]

7 04, 2021

UK universities propose cutting benefits to save pension scheme

CORPaTH2021-04-07T16:22:15-07:00April 7th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: pension cuts, uk|

By Bethan Staton and Josephine Cumbo Source: Financial Times Hundreds of thousands of university sector staff in the UK would see their retirement benefits cut under employer proposals to avert “unaffordable” rises in contributions as the sector struggles with a years-long pensions crisis. Plans outlined on Wednesday by Universities UK, which represents more than 340 higher education sector employers, would see guaranteed pensions for about 200,000 of the 460,000 members become less generous, with higher-earning academics taking the biggest [...]

7 04, 2021

Strengthening markets affect contributions

CORPaTH2021-04-07T10:16:19-07:00April 7th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: contributions|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments U.S. corporate pension plans continue to lower their pension contributions as a strong market and accelerated pension contributions in the past have kept funding levels healthy despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. corporations plan to contribute a total of slightly less than $15 billion to their global pension plans in 2021, according to Pensions & Investments' analysis of S&P 500 companies that announced contributions of at least $100 million. The [...]

2 04, 2021

Canadian pension plans register big funding boost in Q1

CORPaTH2021-04-02T09:06:43-07:00April 2nd, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada|

By Rob Koslowski Source: Pensions & Investments The aggregate funding ratio of Canadian pension plans rose to 94.8% as of March 30 from 89.4% three months earlier, according to a survey from Aon. The overall funding deficit was about $21 billion. Overall pension assets lost about 2.3% in value over the quarter ended March 30 due to negative returns on fixed income that were partially offset by strong equity gains, according to a news release Wednesday announcing the survey. [...]

1 04, 2021

Canada’s DB pension plans continue to improve in 2021

CORPaTH2021-04-01T14:47:30-07:00April 1st, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada|

By Steve Randall Source: Wealth Professional Good news for Canada’s retirement savers, pension funds are continuing to improve their financial health in the first three months of 2021. The aggregate funded ratio for Canadian defined benefit pension plans in the S&P/TSX Composite Index increased from 89.4% to 94.8% in the first quarter according to the Aon Pension Risk Tracker. The strong performance of Canadian stocks helped bolster the position of pension funds, partially offsetting negative returns on fixed income assets, [...]

1 04, 2021

Pensions In The Sunshine State: Avoiding Unintended Dark Clouds

CORPaTH2021-04-01T14:47:54-07:00April 1st, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: florida, Florida pension system|

By Dan Doonan Executive Director, National Institute on Retirement Security Source: Forbes Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would eliminate retirement plan choice for state employees. The proposed measure would do away with defined benefit pensions for newly-hired employees, offering only a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan. Other states and localities that have implemented dramatic shifts to their public employee retirement plans have experienced unfortunate, unintended consequences – from skyrocketing costs to losing experienced employees who deliver essential public services. [...]

1 04, 2021

More should be done to help part-time employees into pensions, say experts

CORPaTH2021-04-01T14:48:39-07:00April 1st, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: part-time workers|

By Vicky Shaw Source: Yahoo! Sport Only about 58% of part-time UK employees have a workplace pension, figures show. Nearly nine in 10 (86.4%) employees who work full-time have a workplace pension, but that figure falls to just over half (57.8%) of those working part-time, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures, from 2020, also show that just over a third (34.8%) of people with a workplace pension are in a “gold-plated” defined benefit (DB) scheme, [...]

24 03, 2021

Too embarrassed to ask: what’s the difference between a defined benefit pension and a defined contribution pension?

CORPaTH2021-03-24T14:53:59-07:00March 24th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: DB Plans, DC Plans|

A pension is simply a tax-efficient savings vehicle, or “tax wrapper”, that allows you or your employer to invest for your long-term future. For most of us, the main goal of a pension is to provide us with money to live off in later life, usually once we’ve retired from full-time employment. The rules governing pensions can seem confusing, particularly as the government fiddles with them at almost every other budget. But at the most basic level, there are [...]

24 03, 2021

Trump’s tax cuts in 2017 helped decrease risks for pension plans

CORPaTH2021-03-24T14:07:56-07:00March 24th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: pension derisking|

Defined-benefit pensions are an economically significant source of retirement income in the United States. About 37 million private sector workers rely on one of the 25,000 defined-benefit plans sponsored by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for retirement income. These employees receive a defined sum of money, i.e., “defined benefit”, on retirement. A key feature of defined-benefit plans, which differentiates them from defined-contribution plans, is that the responsibility for funding future benefits falls primarily on the company sponsoring the [...]

24 03, 2021

77 Percent of Americans Support Pensions for All Workers

CORPaTH2021-03-24T10:08:20-07:00March 24th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: pensions|

A new national survey finds that 77 percent of Americans agree that all workers, not just those working for state and local government, should have a pension. And even though the nation is deeply divided on many other issues, support for pensions is consistent across party lines. Eighty percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Independents agree that all workers should have access to a pension. These findings are contained in a new issue brief [...]

16 03, 2021

Uber grants UK drivers worker status after losing major labor battle

CORPaTH2021-03-16T15:27:38-07:00March 16th, 2021|Categories: Economy|Tags: uber, uk|

On the heels of losing a major labor battle in the United Kingdom, Uber will reclassify all U.K.-based drivers as workers. Under the new designation, more than 70,000 drivers will receive some benefits, including minimum wage, holiday time and pension contributions, but they will not get full employee benefits. Uber announced the change in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that its U.K. ride-hailing business accounted for 6.4% of all mobility gross bookings in the fourth quarter of [...]

11 03, 2021

Teamsters celebrate passage of COVID-19 stimulus bill delivering pension relief

CORPaTH2021-03-11T11:47:27-08:00March 11th, 2021|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|Tags: American Rescue Plan, COVID-19|

The Teamsters are euphoric about the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) clearing its final legislative hurdle in the House today, ensuring more than 1 million U.S. workers and retirees in struggling multiemployer pension plans will receive the nest eggs they were promised while other Americans hit hard by the global pandemic get the help they need. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law shortly. And when he does, it will mark the culmination of a [...]