June 2018

Public Pensions: State and Local Government Contributions to Underfunded Plans

By United States General Accounting Office (GAO)  Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of public pension plan funding, focusing on the basic pension plans of state and local governments. GAO found that: (1) states and localities with underfunded pension plans run the risk of reducing future pension benefits to taxpayers or raising revenues; (2) unfunded liabilities for all state and local pension plans totalled $200 billion in 1992; (3) contributions to pension funds in 1992 fell short of...

Management and Regulation of Pension Schemes: Australia a Cautionary Tale (Routledge Research in Finance and Banking Law)

By Nicholas Morris Perhaps the greatest long-term challenge facing modern economies is how to pay for the living expenses and care costs of the elderly. Following policy decisions made in Australia in the 1990s, a substantial part of the pension requirements of the next cohort of retirees will be met from savings accumulated during working years. The effective management of these savings is crucial. If they are invested wisely, the assets available to fund pensions and care will grow; if...

January 2018

Securing the Future for Old Age in the Asia and Pacific Region: Short-Term and Historical Challenges

By Christian Aspalter (BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai, China) This paper sets out to summarize major conundrums, and some of their solutions, in pension reform policy of the years ahead, with particular reference to the Asia-Pacific Region, and here again, Japan and Thailand. The repercussions for non-action pertaining to the reform and overhaul of public pension systems go far beyond the realm of social policy and economic development. The twin-issue of old-age poverty and fiscal sustainability of public pension systems...

September 2017

Annuity Options in Public Pension Plans: The Curious Case of Social Security Leveling

By Robert L. Clark, Robert G. Hammond, Melinda S. Morrill, David Vanderweide Social Security Leveling is an annuity option that allows participants to receive a level income before and after age 62. The retiree receives a larger pension benefit prior to age 62, but then the pension benefit is lowered at age 62 when the individual is expected to claim Social Security benefits. This option is not uncommon in public pension plans, yet little is known about how this option...

August 2017

Sistemas de Pensiones en America Latina y Mexico

Por Juana Isabel Vera Lopez A nivel mundial, los sistemas de pensiones se encuentran en crisis debido a que sus regimenes y beneficios consideraron una situacion distinta a la actual. Fenomenos como el envejecimiento poblacion, aumento de la esperanza de vida, el aumento del trabajo informal, subempleo, auto empleo, entre otros factores han agravado esta situacion. En Mexico, en 1995 y 2007 se reformaron las legislaciones del IMSS e ISSSTE siguiendo los parametros internacionales. En estas dos decadas transcurridas desde...

The State of Public Pension Funding: Are Government Employee Plans Back on Track?

By Andrew G. Biggs (American Enterprise Institute) The public-sector pension industry is claiming a comeback from losses suffered during the Great Recession. But this recovery is greatly exaggerated: even years past the end of the recession, most pension sponsors are unable to their full annual contributions, and pensions are taking as much investment risk as ever. The first step to effective pension reforms is an honest, accurate view of the costs and risks that public plans impose on government budgets...