November 2024
12Nov

US. Why do workers yearn for defined-benefit pension plans?

A closer look at the Boeing negotiations only makes the question more puzzling Boeing Co. unionized workers recently voted to accept the aerospace company's third contract offer and end their strike. The agreement does not include reopening the Boeing (BA) defined-benefit pension plan, which was cited as the major reason that the union rejected the second offer. Even though the strike is over, I find the fact that reopening the pension plan played such a prominent role in the negotiations really...

November 12, 2024
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11Nov

Gen X slip between DB and DC pension cracks

The tail-off in defined benefit (DB) pension provision around the millennium and a lack of compulsion around defined contribution (DC) saving until 2012 has had a lasting impact according to Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report. • Majority of Gen X (54%) are worried their finances won’t cover their retirement – compared to 31% among Baby Boomers • 45% Gen X expect their living standard to be worse in retirement compared to 29% of Millennials • Gen X most likely...

November 11, 2024
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01Nov

US. The union fight to resuscitate the Boeing pension is a battle over the American dream

Machinists at aerospace giant Boeing have been on strike for nearly seven weeks. The union members want larger pay increases and improved retirement benefits, and the two sides have made some headway on the terms of a new contract. But there is one issue where they remain far apart: the revival of the company pension plan. The work stoppage has shuttered Boeing’s  BA 3.68%  production in the Pacific Northwest and contributed to a recent $6 billion loss for the company,...

November 1, 2024
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October 2024
30Oct

Striking Boeing workers may have leverage, says pension expert Teresa Ghilarducci

Machinist workers striking against Boeing Co., Chicago, may have the leverage to potentially set a precedent in their demands for the company to restore its defined benefit plan, says Teresa Ghilarducci. Ghilarducci, professor of economics at The New School for Social Research and the director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and The New School's Retirement Equity Lab, is a longtime advocate for retirement security. She said that companies like Boeing, where reliability and consistency are essential in high-stakes...

October 30, 2024
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29Oct

UK. Research reveals ‘clear need’ for greater DB support at retirement

More than a third (38 per cent) of pre-retiree defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members do not feel confident about planning their retirement, according to research from Just Group, which highlighted a "clear need" for greater support at retirement. In addition to this, the survey found that one in five pre-retired DB members over the age of 50 are yet to start planning for life after work. Given this, Just Group argued that there is a "clear need" to help private...

October 29, 2024
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09Oct

US. A Little Bit of Everything in September for DB Plans

September is a little bit of everything. It’s summer, it’s fall. Baseball season, football season. In like manner, the funding status of private-sector pension plans showed slight progress — or slight decline — this September, depending on the analysis. But the common theme is that there was relative stability. This marks the second consecutive month in which the funding of private-sector pension plans had mixed results. They fared similarly in August, when a number of analyses diverged on whether private-sector pension...

October 9, 2024
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02Oct

Canadian defined benefit pension plans show decreased funded levels in Q3: Aon

- Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, announced today that the aggregate funded ratio for Canadian pension plans in the S&P/TSX Composite Index percent compared to 106.9 percent at the end of the second quarter, according to the Aon Pension Risk Tracker. The Aon Pension Risk Tracker calculates the aggregate funded position on an accounting basis for companies in the S&P/TSX Composite Index with defined benefit plans. To access Aon's interactive tracker, which dates to 2013, click here. Key findings for the quarter...

October 2, 2024
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September 2024
25Sep

UK. TPR data shows improvements in DB pension funding

The statistics show that overall, 47% of schemes reported a surplus on the Technical Provision (TP) funding basis in tranche 17 – schemes with effective valuation dates from 22 September 2021 to and inclusive of 21 September 2022 – a significant increase on the 32% in surplus in their previous valuation cycle (tranche 14). The average funding level had increased by 5% (97% in tranche 17 (median: 99%), compared to 92% in tranche 14 (median: 93%)) and recovery plan lengths...

September 25, 2024
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10Sep

Study Suggests Reforming U.S. Retirement System with Modern Framework

After studying international retirement systems, researchers from the TIAA Institute are proposing a new U.S. model featuring a “hybrid” system consisting of the best elements from defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans. In noting that the average retiree can now expect to spend about two decades in retirement, roughly double the time from 50 years ago, the study (The Future of Retirement Security) looks at how seven countries have adapted their retirement systems to account for these extended...

September 10, 2024
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August 2024
26Aug

India approves assured pension scheme for federal government employees

The Indian government approved on Saturday a pension scheme which will guarantee federal government employees 50% of their base salary as a pension, moving away from a current scheme where the payout is linked to market returns. The Modi government has been forced to reassess the current pension system, adopted after a significant fiscal reform in 2004, as some states switched back to the older, fiscally straining system of fully funding a guaranteed pension. The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for India's...

August 26, 2024
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