October 2024
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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22Aug

US. Reduction in Pension Benefits Leads to Wider Income Inequality, Study Finds

The continuing decline of the number of defined benefit pension participants in the U.S. is widening America’s income equality gap, which in turn is stunting economic growth, according to a recent study from the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. The study also found that public policies aimed at cutting public costs by reducing pension benefits or switching to defined contribution plans may actually increase the need for public spending due to “the dynamic interrelationship between pension reforms, income inequality, the...

August 22, 2024
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July 2024
25Jul

US. A Philly Small Business Network May Have an Answer to America’s Retirement Crisis

Americans are woefully underprepared for retirement. So it's no surprise that employer-sponsored retirement programs are a high priority for all workers. Fifty-five-year olds in the U.S. currently have median retirement savings of less than $50,000, and two-thirds fear they will outlive their savings, a Prudential report recently revealed. However, only around one-third of small employers offer retirement savings plans, according to Fidelity Investment's 2023 Small Business Retirement Index, which cited time and cost as the biggest barriers small-business owners face in offering retirement benefits. First, employers must pay...

July 25, 2024
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16Jul

Pensions Have ‘Critical’ Role in Strengthening Public Safety Workforce

For states and municipalities, offering public safety workers a sufficient defined benefit pension benefit is key to maintaining a healthy public safety workforce, according to new research, with a knock-on effect on both public safety and protecting property. For states and cities, offering pension plans to police officers and firefighters—particularly—is critical to sustain a robust public safety workforce to fight fires and maintain public safety, according to a National Institute of Retirement Security paper, “The Role of Defined Benefit Pensions in...

July 16, 2024
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June 2024
24Jun

Americans Want Pensions To Make a Comeback. Will They?

It’s financially challenging to comfortably retire in the U.S. and many Americans work, without necessarily “wanting” to, well into their golden years. Though not being able to save enough for a secure retirement isn’t a particularly new crisis, the struggle has become more widespread in recent decades. One of the factors fueling the problem is the mass decline of the traditional pension plan. Americans want pension plans to make a comeback. According to a recent report from the National Institute for Retirement Security, 83%...

June 24, 2024
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18Jun

UK. DC contributions exceed DB pensions for the first time

A report published today by Barnett Waddingham (BW), the leading professional services consultancy shows that for the first time, contributions paid by the FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) scheme sponsors into defined contribution (DC) schemes exceeded those paid into DB schemes. BW conducted an analysis of the FTSE 350 companies with DB pension schemes over the last twelve months to 31 May 2024. The data reveals that contributions totalling £8.1 billion were paid into DB schemes (consisting of £4.7bn of...

June 18, 2024
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10Jun

US pension plans are disappearing but there are alternatives

Over the past few decades, a significant shift has occurred in the landscape of retirement planning in the United States. The traditional “defined benefit” retirement plans, commonly known as pension plans, have become increasingly rare. These plans provided retirees with a guaranteed benefit, typically in the form of a fixed monthly or yearly payment. In their place, “defined contribution” plans, such as 401(k) plans, have become the norm. These plans focus on specified contributions, with the eventual retirement benefits depending largely on the performance of the investments made with those contributions. The current state...

June 10, 2024
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