US Archives - Page 31 of 175 - Pension Policy International

11MarMarch 11, 2024

Climate Change Is A Financial Threat To Your Retirement

Climate change has not yet broken through as a bipartisan issue. Surveys from Gallup and the Pew Research Center indicate large gaps between Democrats and Republicans in their views of the immediacy and importance of climate change. Retirement security, on the other hand, is most certainly a bipartisan issue, earning high levels of concern among members of both parties. The National Institute on Retirement Security found that 79% of Americans surveyed agree that we have a retirement crisis, up 12 points since 2020. It might be time...

March 11, 2024

NewsClimate crisis, US

08MarMarch 8, 2024

The anti-ESG backlash is playing out across the US as pensions and investments become a political football

After years of headlines about the growing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement in investing, ESG has been met with understandable skepticism from taxpayers, who both underwrite state and local government pension plans and government borrowing. After all, if the managers of these operations take their focus off properly balancing risk and return–pursuing ideological investment goals instead–taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of billions in additional liabilities. Yet, that focus must go in both directions. Forcing those...

March 8, 2024

NewsESG, US

07MarMarch 7, 2024

U.S. corporate pension surpluses rise in February – 4 reports

U.S. corporate pension plan funding surpluses grew in February thanks to positive returns from growth assets as well as falling liabilities, according to four new reports. Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans reached 109.4% as of Feb. 29, up from 106% a month earlier. "U.S. corporate pension plans have maintained their overfunded status for 14 consecutive months since early 2023," said Ned McGuire, managing director at Wilshire, in a news release March 6. "February's increase in...

March 7, 2024

NewsFunding, Occupational Pensions, US

06MarMarch 6, 2024

U.S. Centenarians Projected To Quadruple By 2054—Will You Be Prepared?

In 30 years. the number of people reaching age 100 in the U.S. is projected to quadruple, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. The center projects that by 2054, the U.S. will be the home of 422,000 centenarians, up from 101,000 in 2024. And the percentage of the total population that is age 100 or older will increase from 0.03% today to 0.1% in 2054. The projected increase in super-agers is one sign of the increased health and...

March 6, 2024

NewsAging, Longevity, US

05MarMarch 5, 2024

US. More households are prepared for retirement – but this good news might not last

Even with the improvement, two out of five households are still at risk, according to the National Retirement Risk Index. The release of the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) offers an opportunity to reassess Americans' retirement preparedness as measured by the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). The NRRI estimates the share of American households that are at risk of being unable to maintain their preretirement standard of living in retirement. Constructing the NRRI involves three steps: 1) projecting a replacement...

March 5, 2024

Newssavings, Social Security, US

05MarMarch 5, 2024

UK. Updated: Risk of ‘unintended consequences’ from DC pension reforms

Plans to force defined contribution (DC) schemes to publicly disclose their level of investment in the UK and improve the performance of poorly performing schemes could risk having “unintended consequences” – causing plans to become more risk averse and potentially “compromising” trustee fiduciary duties. On Saturday (2 March), chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced proposals to require DC funds to disclose their levels of investment in British businesses, as well as their costs and net investment returns. He said they would also need...

March 5, 2024

NewsInvestment, Regulation, US

05MarMarch 5, 2024

US. Pension Funds Are Tapping Affordable Housing for High Returns — Not the Social Benefits

While affordable multi-family housing has become a key part of some pension funds’ real estate allocations, most of these funds are selecting investments that don’t have long term affordability in mind. This is according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The FRBNY has embarked on a research project to explore investments by institutions, specifically state pension plans, in multifamily housing. This is the second in a series of papers on the subject. The first, “Alternative...

March 5, 2024

NewsInvestment, Returns, US

04MarMarch 4, 2024

US. Retirement Account Balances Hit Their Highest Levels in Nearly Two Years

Key Takeaways 37% of workers increased their retirement savings contribution in 2023, boosting average account balances to their highest levels in nearly two years. Fidelity recommends that individuals save at least ten times their income by age 67, or 15% of their annual pre-tax income each year, to retire comfortably. As of year-end 2023, the average 401(k) balance of Gen X workers had reached more than half a million dollars ($501,000). Improved market conditions and consistent contributions boosted average retirement...

March 4, 2024

Newssavings, US

01MarMarch 1, 2024

Pension Funding Index February 2024

By Zorast Wadia The funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by $12 billion during January as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). The funding surplus improved to $40 billion as a result of liability decreases that outweighed asset losses during the month. Pension liabilities fell due to an increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value those liabilities. As of January 31, the plans’ funded ratio climbed...

March 1, 2024

Books, Books, Pension Management, Reports2024, Funding, Occupational Pensions, US

01MarMarch 1, 2024

Fiscal Stimulus or Debt Relief: The Effect of Federal Pandemic Aid on State and Local Pensions

By Grace Brang, Sewin Chan & Travis St. Clair Between 2020-2021, the U.S. federal government passed four major pieces of legislation that included nearly $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments. One concern with distributing federal stimulus in the form of intergovernmental transfers is that subnational governments may use the aid to pay down unfunded pension liabilities or other debt rather than preserve employment. We examine the effect of fiscal stimulus passed in response to Covid-19 on public...

March 1, 2024

Articles, System CharacterizationCOVID-19, Public Pensions, US

March 2024