May 2024
03May

The ‘father of the 401(k)’ talks about the death of pensions, the future of retirement, and what disturbs him about his own creation

Americans have a lot of anxiety around retirement. Many people are dipping into their nest eggs to make ends meet amid soaring inflation, some boomers aren’t prepared to leave the workforce as they enter their golden years, and people are increasingly working past the typical retirement age. The most popular method for workers to save for retirement is the 401(k), which allows employees without employer-backed pensions to independently contribute to their own retirement savings, often with employer matching. But it’s not right for everyone, and the man who...

May 3, 2024
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02May

US. The Longevity Question

In his annual letter, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stressed the need to find solutions to the concerns Americans face when they plan for retirement. “We focus a tremendous amount of energy on helping people live longer lives. But not even a fraction of that effort is spent helping people afford those extra years,” Fink wrote. Most public pension funds in the U.S. are underfunded, according to research from the Equable Institute, which released a  State of Pensions 2023 report that...

May 2, 2024
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April 2024
29Apr

25% of Americans over 50 don’t expect to retire. How to start saving

About a quarter of Americans above the age of 50 say they expect to never retire as the cost of living rises faster than their income, according to a new AARP study. Certified financial planner Shinobu Hindert joined NewsNation’s “Morning in America” with tips on how to plan for retirement amid rising prices. Hindert says when planning for retirement, a person should ideally have the equivalent of one year’s salary saved by the time they are 30, three times their annual salary...

April 29, 2024
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26Apr

Economic Consequences of Pension Bailouts: Evidence from the American Rescue Plan

By Michael Dambra, Phillip J. Quinn & John Wertz Multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs) provide retirement benefits for 11 million participants, yet until recently, hundreds of these pension plans – covering 3 million participants – faced insolvency. We use the 2021 passage of the American Rescue Plan Act to examine how pension bailouts affect the management and administration of pension plans. Consistent with the ARP inducing moral hazard, we find that MEPPs increase risk taking in investment allocations, increase benefit payments,...

April 26, 2024
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26Apr

2024 Corporate Pension Funding Study

By Zorast Wadia & Alan Perry The 2024 edition of the Milliman Corporate Pension Funding Study (PFS) is our 24th annual analysis of the financial disclosures of the 100 U.S. public companies sponsoring the largest defined benefit (DB) pension plans. These 100 companies are ranked highest to lowest by the value of their pension assets as of the end of fiscal year (FY) 2023. These values have been reported to the public, to shareholders, and to the U.S. federal agencies...

April 26, 2024
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26Apr

Nearly Half of the Largest US Pension Funds are More Than 100% Funded, Milliman Reports

Milliman, which tracks the status of the largest 100 corporate defined benefit plans in the U.S., reported that corporate pension funding is near its all-time highs in the recent results of its 2024 corporate pension funding study. Among Milliman’s findings, the funded status of these plans declined slightly from 99.4% to 98.5%, due to a slight decline in plan discount rates. The funded deficit of these plans increased from $8.5 billion to $19.9 billion in 2023. However, this is far from...

April 26, 2024
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25Apr

U.S. corporate pension funding remains near 100% in 2023 — Milliman

U.S. corporate pension plan funding ratios fell slightly to 98.5% in 2023 due to falling discount rates, according to Milliman’s annual Corporate Pension Funding Study. The study of the 100 U.S. public companies with the largest defined benefit plans showed that the average funding ratio fell from 99.4% a year earlier due to a 17-basis-point decline in the average discount rate to 5.01% from 5.18% at the end of 2022. The study also showed that 48 of the top 100 plans...

April 25, 2024
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24Apr

US. Government announces rule that updates investment advice fiduciary definition

The Biden-Harris administration announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor has finalized its Retirement Security Rule to protect the millions of workers who are saving for retirement diligently and rely on advice from trusted professionals on how to invest their savings. This final rule will achieve this by updating the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. The final rule and related amended prohibited transaction exemptions require trusted investment advice...

April 24, 2024
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23Apr

ESG increasingly part of core business, CFO survey finds

An increasing number of companies integrate sustainability into their core business strategies, according to a survey of chief financial officers released April 22 by accounting and advisory firm BDO. The 2024 ESG Risk & ROI Survey found that companies see numerous benefits to ESG programs beyond simply responding to regulatory mandates. “By embedding ESG and sustainability initiatives into their organization’s overarching strategic agenda, CFOs can help retain top talent, better manage risk, and drive long-term resilience,” said Karen Baum, managing principal for the Sustainability...

April 23, 2024
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22Apr

US. Climate-related funds grow 16% in 2023 to $540 billion — Morningstar

Assets in mutual and exchange-traded funds with a climate-related mandate globally rose by 16% in 2023 to $540 billion, according to data collected by financial services firm Morningstar. The report said the increase was driven by continued inflows, product launches and market appreciation. Europe accounted for 84% of the climate-related assets, while China and the U.S. had market shares of 7% and 6%, respectively. However, the $40 billion of inflows into climate funds last year represented the lowest levels in four...

April 22, 2024
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