May 2024

US Corporate Pension Funding Mixed on Stock Declines

Changes to the average funded status of the largest U.S. corporate defined benefit plans were mixed in April as lower stock returns weighed on the positive effect of higher interest rates, according to monthly pension trackers from some of the country’s largest pension consultancies. The mixed results come off all-time highs booked in March. Meanwhile, pension fund investors are on interest rate watch, with the Federal Reserve still expected to cut rates later this year depending on how inflation, employment and...

US. Pending DOL Report to Consider Pension Risk Transfer Changes

Report to Congress in clearance process, EBSA chief says DOL weighing in may have chilling effect on risk transfers Large employer pensions looking to offload their funding liabilities through pension risk transfers are anticipating tougher future regulatory scrutiny as the US Labor Department prepares a report for Congress on the $45 billion de-risking market. The Employee Benefits Security Administration’s report appears likely to propose changes to a 1995 interpretive bulletin on pension risk transfers that laid out standards for employers...

US. The Myth That Public Workers Don’t Care About Pensions

Although some may argue that pensions are no longer a relevant tool for recruiting and retaining public workers, the historical data and broader research show otherwise. However, with financial literacy being a significant challenge in the United States, it is critical that employers provide the necessary education around these benefits to maximize their potential in the battle to attract and keep talent. As pensions have become less common in the private sector, they have increasingly become a highly coveted benefit for current...

Policy Ideas for Boosting Defined Benefit Pensions In The Private Sector

By Dan Doonan, John Lowell, Jonathan Price, Michael Kreps, Tyler Bond & Zorast Wadia In response to a request for information issued by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the National Institute on Retirement Security has submitted a research issue brief with policy ideas to help expand defined benefit (DB) pension coverage for private-sector employees. The research brief, Policy Ideas for Boosting Defined Benefit Pensions In The Private Sector, details six options  for Congress to consider to...

US. Congress Should Incentivize Pension Plan Creation, NIRS Report Says

The National Institute on Retirement Security has published a report providing recommendations to Congress about how to increase defined benefit plan creation in the private sector. The report was commissioned by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The report makes six core policy recommendations: reduce Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation insurance premium rates; formally recognize risk-sharing plans; provide more flexibility for overfunded plans; allow pre-tax employee contributions; and permit transfers between defined contribution and DB plans. Lower Insurance Premiums The PBGC charges...

US. Public Retirement Systems Need Policies for Navigating Volatile Financial Markets

Over the past decade, policy reforms and increased financial contributions have dramatically improved the cash flow situation of some of the nation’s most troubled state pension plans. Thanks to these changes, no state was at risk of pension insolvency as of fiscal year 2021. Yet for some states, these improvements won’t be enough to provide their pension systems—and the public employees and retirees who rely on them—with long-term stability. In 2021, once-in-a-generation investment returns raised state pension funding to levels...

US. Corporate pension funding surpluses remain high in April – 3 reports

U.S. corporate pension fund surpluses remained high in April despite negative market returns for the month, according to three new reports. Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 110.8% as of April 30, an increase of 1.1 percentage points above the 109.7% funding ratio estimated as of March 31. "April’s funded status increase resulted from the increase in Treasury yields, which led to the largest monthly decline in liability values since September 2022. Corporate bond yields,...

The US prison system is turning into a de facto nursing home

In late 2018, Richard Washington sent a memo to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with the subject line “Notice I am being killed.” The 64-year-old man, who decades earlier was convicted on armed robbery charges, was serving a 63-year prison sentence in Arizona. In his letter, he alleged that the Department of Corrections was refusing to give him medication for his various health issues, which included diabetes, hypertension, and hepatitis C. Because of the lack of...

US. Prudential Survey Reveals Insights on Retirement Planning

Prudential conducted a survey of 198 financial advisors to gain insight on how they are investing and constructing portfolios for retirees. 80% use separate portfolios that are specifically designed for retirees. Additionally, the use of targeted portfolios was higher among advisors who were more knowledgeable about planning for retirement. Another takeaway from the survey is that 50% of retirees prefer to live off of income from their portfolios. Thus, advisors need to ensure that their portfolios generate income for clients while balancing...

Financial Fragility, Financial Resilience, and Pension Distributions

By Robert Clark & Olivia S. Mitchell  We evaluate Americans’ financial robustness during the COVID-19 pandemic, using measures of financial resilience and financial fragility derived from U.S. surveys of persons aged 45 to 75 from 2020 to 2022. We analyze which factors were associated with resilience and fragility, discuss how these measures changed during the pandemic, and assess whether prepandemic resilience led to better outcomes during the period. Results show that stronger resilience was protective in terms of financial fragility,...