Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

March 2024

Financial Fragility, Financial Resilience, and Pension Distributions

By Robert L. Clark & Olivia S. Mitchell We evaluate Americans’ financial robustness during the Covid-19 pandemic, using measures of financial resilience and financial fragility derived from US surveys of persons age 45-75 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 pre-pandemic resilience led to better outcomes during the period. Results show that stronger resilience was protective in terms of financial fragility, and financial literacy...

US. Retirement Savings System Under Fire at Senate Hearing

A hearing that was billed as “taking a serious look at the retirement crisis in America” with a focus on improving the defined benefit system ended with witnesses agreeing that some reforms are needed, but calling for drastically different measures. The Feb. 28 hearing was held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Included among the single panel of witnesses testifying were: Teresa Ghilarducci, Irene and Bernard L Schwartz Professor of...

US. New York Fed Case Study Finds Pension Funds Invested More Frequently in Preserving Existing Affordable Housing than New Development

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released a case study focused on pension fund investments in affordable apartments. The case study, “Alternative Investments in Community Development: A Case Study of Pension Fund Investments in Multifamily Affordable Housing,” is based on a survey of a non-representative sample of seven pension funds that made commitments totaling over $2.7 billion for investments in affordable apartments during a five and a half-year period ending June 2023. The case study also found...

February 2024

U.S. public pension funding dips in January

The overall estimated funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans fell to 77.7% at the end of January, according to the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding index. The fall in funding ratio from the year-end number of 78.2% was the result of flat investment returns and rising liabilities. According to Milliman, the aggregate estimated investment return for January was zero, with estimated returns ranging from -1% to 1.1% for the month. "Despite January's lack of investment gains and the...

US. More People Tapping Retirement Plans for Emergency Expenses

Retirement accounts are designed to provide financial security for the future, but a growing number of Americans are using them to pay for emergencies today. “We’ve been seeing a steady increase in early withdrawals over the last five years or so,” says Kirsten Hunter Peterson, vice president of thought leadership at Fidelity Investments, one of the largest providers of retirement plans. According to company data, the number of Fidelity plan participants who took a hardship withdrawal more than tripled from...

US. People want pension plans, worry about retirement security – NIRS

National anxiety about retirement security continues to grow, and the vast majority of Americas believe all workers should have a pension plan, according to a new report from the National Institute for Retirement Security. According to the report, 79% of respondents to a national public opinion poll of working-age Americans believe that the nation faces a retirement crisis, up from 67% that expressed that sentiment in 2020, the last time NIRS conducted such a poll. Also, 83% of respondents said they...

US. NYC Pensions Are Sued for Shedding Fossil Fuels

Monica Weiss attended her first fossil-fuel divestment protest on a frigid February day in 2015. She joined college students, financial experts, faith leaders, and then-New York City Public Advocate Letitia James in front of the New York Stock Exchange to demand that the city’s five public pension funds factor the financial risks of climate change into their investment decisions. Over the course of her two-decade career teaching first and third grade in New York City public schools, Weiss infused nature...

Urgent Action Needed Amidst U.S. State Pension Debt Crisis

By Howie Jones   The United States is grappling with a severe state pension debt crisis, with a whopping $1.49 trillion in unfunded obligations causing significant economic strain. Areas like San Jose are particularly affected, facing a staggering unpaid debt of $3.5 billion, potentially leading to a tax burden of around $3,600 per resident. This crisis could drastically impact the public sector, potentially decreasing the quality and availability of public services. San Jose’s Odd Fellows society recently held a community improvement forum...

Investors trying to change the world: Why climate investing is so difficult

Responsible asset owners are preparing their portfolios for the climate transition, reducing holdings in companies with high emissions and pledging billions to climate investments. But climate proofing portfolios is proving one of the most arduous and complex challenges investors have ever faced. Like concerns that many of the underlying companies in their portfolios haven’t meaningfully reduced their emissions; or the fact investors know they need to continue to provide capital to hard to abate sectors yet the financial rewards for...

U.S. public pension plans’ average funding ratio declines to 75.4% in 2023: survey

The average funding ratio for U.S. public pension plans declined to 75.4 per cent in 2023, compared to 77.8 per cent in the previous year, according to a new survey by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. The report, which was based on responses from nearly 160 public pension funds with roughly US$2.3 trillion in combined assets under management, found the average return for plans was negative 1.9 per cent. The diminished investment returns were attributed to sharp declines...