Download or read book Funding of State and Local Government Pension Plans a National Problem written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sustainability of State and Local Government Pension Plans written by Natt B. Price and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 27 million employees and beneficiaries are covered by state and local government pension plans. However, the recent economic downturn and associated budget challenges confronting state and local governments pose some questions as to the sustainability of these plans, and what changes, if any, state and local governments are making to strengthen the financial condition of their pension plans. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine recent trends in the financial condition of state and local government pension plans; and strategies state and local governments are using to manage pension costs and the impacts of these strategies on plans, sponsors, employees, and retirees. This book analyses sector-wide financial conditions based on national-level data on pension funding from the U.S. Census Bureau and others, and reviews information on recent state legislative changes affecting government pensions from annual reports prepared by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
Download or read book State and Local Government Retiree Benefits written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-09-09 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pension and other retiree benefits for state and local government employees represent liabilities for state and local governments and ultimately a burden for state and local taxpayers. Since 1986, accounting standards have required state and local governments to report their unfunded pension liabilities. Recently, however, standards changed and now call for governments also to report retiree health liabilities. The extent of these liabilities nationwide is not yet known, but some predict they will be very large, possibly exceeding a trillion dollars in present value terms. The federal government has an interest in assuring that all Americans have a secure retirement, as reflected in the federal tax deferral for contributions to both public and private pension plans. Consequently, the GAO was asked to examine: 1) the key measures of the funded status of retiree benefits and 2) the current funded status of retiree benefits. GAO analyzed data on public pensions, reviewed current literature, and interviewed a range of experts on public retiree benefits, actuarial science, and accounting. Three key measures help to understand different aspects of the funded status of state and local government pension and other retiree benefits. First, governments' annual contributions indicate the extent to which governments are keeping up with the benefits as they are accumulating. Second, the funded ratio indicates the percentage of actuarially accrued benefit liabilities covered by the actuarial value of assets. Third, unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities indicate the excess, if any, of liabilities over assets in dollars. Governments have been reporting these three measures for pensions for years, but new accounting standards will also require governments to report the same for retiree health benefits. Because a variety of methods and actuarial assumptions are used to calculate the funded status, different plans cannot be easily compared. Currently, most state and local government pension plans have enough invested resources set aside to keep up with the benefits they are scheduled to pay over the next several decades, but governments offering retiree health benefits generally have large unfunded liabilities. Many experts consider a funded ratio of about 80 percent or better to be sound for government pensions. We found that 58 percent of 65 large pension plans were funded to that level in 2006, a decrease since 2000. Low funded ratios would eventually require the government employer to improve funding, for example, by reducing benefits or by increasing contributions. However, pension benefits are generally not at risk in the near term because current assets and new contributions may be sufficient to pay benefits for several years. Still, many governments have often contributed less than the amount needed to improve or maintain funded ratios. Low contributions raise concerns about the future funded status. For retiree health benefits, studies estimate that the total unfunded actuarial accrued liability for state and local governments lies between $600 billion and $1.6 trillion in present value terms. The unfunded liabilities are large because governments typically have not set aside any funds for the future payment of retiree health benefits as they have for pensions. Percentage of State and Local Pension Plans with Funded Ratios above or below 80 Percent Source: GAO analysis of PFS, PENDAT data.Percentage of plansFiscal yearFunded ratio 80 percent or moreFunded ratio less than 80 percent020406080100200620052004200320022001200019961994
Download or read book State and Local Government Pension Plans written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-01-15 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: State and Local Government Pension Plans: Current Structure and Funded Status
Download or read book State and Local Government Pension Plans written by U.s. Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " Over 27 million employees and beneficiaries are covered by state and local government pension plans. However, the recent economic downturn and associated budget challenges confronting state and local governments pose some questions as to the sustainability of these plans, and what changes, if any, state and local governments are making to strengthen the financial condition of their pension plans. GAO was asked to examine (1) recent trends in the financial condition of state and local government pension plans and (2) strategies state and local governments are using to manage pension costs and the impacts of these strategies on plans, sponsors, employees, and retirees. To address these topics, GAO analyzed various measures of sector-wide financial condition based on national-level data on pension funding from the U.S. Census Bureau and others, and reviewed information on recent state legislative changes affecting government pensions from annual reports prepared by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). GAO did not assess the soundness of individual plans, but did obtain documents and conduct interviews with pension and budget officials in eight states and eight localities, selected to illustrate the range of strategies being implemented to meet current and future pension funding requirement. The Internal Revenue Service and"
Download or read book Funding of State and Local Government Pension Plans and Need for Congress to Closely Monitor Such Plans written by United States Accounting Office (GAO) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Funding of State and Local Government Pension Plans and Need for Congress To Closely Monitor Such Plans
Download or read book State and Local Pension Plans written by Olivia S. Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the role and function of pension plans covering state and local government employees in the United States. Covering about 16 million employees (including teachers, fire fighters, police, members of the judiciary, and many other state and local employees), these plans manage a substantial stock of financial assets -- close to $1 trillion -- and receive annual contributions from employees and government revenues totaling about $56 billion. Using data gathered from a variety of different sources, some of which have only recently become available, we describe the benefits, financing, and management of these plans, and identify some of the prominent challenges facing these pension plans in the next decade.
Download or read book State and Local Pension Systems written by United States. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Funding of State and Local Government Pension Plans written by United States Accounting Office (GAO) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Funding of State and Local Government Pension Plans
Download or read book Reporting Requirements for State and Local Government Pension Plans and Tax Treatment of Deferred Amounts Under Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Finance. Subcommittee on Private Pension Plans and Employee Fringe Benefits and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reporting Requirements for State and Local Government Pension Plans and Tax Treatment of Differed Amounts Under Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Finance. Subcommittee on Private Pension Plans and Employee Fringe Benefits and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book State and Local Pension Fund Management written by Jun Peng and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2008-08-21 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intense media coverage of the public pension funding crisis continues to fuel heightened awareness in and debate over public pension benefits. With over $3 trillion in assets currently under management, the ramifications of poor oversight are severe. It is important that practitioners, researchers, and taxpayers be well-advised regarding any concer
Download or read book State and Local Pensions written by Alicia H. Munnell and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-08-27 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the financial crisis and Great Recession, the health of state and local pension plans has emerged as a front burner policy issue. Elected officials, academic experts, and the media alike have pointed to funding shortfalls with alarm, expressing concern that pension promises are unsustainable or will squeeze out other pressing government priorities. A few local governments have even filed for bankruptcy, with pensions cited as a major cause. Alicia H. Munnell draws on both her practical experience and her research to provide a broad perspective on the challenge of state and local pensions. She shows that the story is big and complicated and cannot be viewed through a narrow prism such as accounting methods or the role of unions. By examining the diversity of the public plan universe, Munnell debunks the notion that all plans are in trouble. In fact, she finds that while a few plans are basket cases, many are functioning reasonably well. Munnell's analysis concludes that the plans in serious trouble need a major overhaul. But even the relatively healthy plans face three challenges ahead: an excessive concentration of plan assets in equities; the risk that steep benefit cuts for new hires will harm workforce quality; and the constraints plans face in adjusting future benefits for current employees. Here, Munnell proposes solutions that preserve the main strengths of state and local pensions while promoting needed reforms.
Download or read book State and Local Government Pension Plans written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-01-11 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: State and Local Government Pension Plans: Governance Practices and Long-term Investment Strategies Have Evolved Gradually as Plans Take On Increased Investment Risk
Download or read book A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States written by Robert Louis Clark and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2003-05-12 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Wharton School, offering a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public-sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century.
Download or read book State and Local Government Pension Plans written by U.s. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Recent market declines have significantly diminished the asset value of state and local pension plans. Reported unfunded liabilities for these plans are estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. As a result, in the long term, these governments may need to make significant fiscal adjustments such as modifying employee benefits, or increasing contributions to plans. They may also alter investment strategies to attempt to maximize returns by assuming increased risk. Consequently, GAO was asked to examine: (1) who makes investment decisions for state and local defined benefit pension plans and what guides their decision making; (2) how plans allocate their assets and manage their investments; and (3) practices that plans are using to meet a range of challenges in governance, investment, or funding.To address these objectives, GAO reviewed relevant literature, interviewed experts in pension and retirement systems, conducted a survey of state and local plans, and performed more detailed reviews of plans in seven states. "
Download or read book State and Local Retirement Plans in the United States written by Robert L. Clark and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: State and Local Retirement Plans in the United States explains how economic and political events have shaped the development of pension plans in the last century, and it argues that changes in the structure and generosity of these plans will continue to shape policy and funding in the future. It also brings to bear a new rationale to the policies behind public sector pension plans. The authors use the history of how early public pension plans were established, how they matured and how they have grown in generosity to analyze what changes may be expected in years to come. Unique in its scope, this comprehensive history of the development of public sector pension plans in the United States during the twentieth century expands upon current ideas relating to the changing economic environment, the passage and evolution of social security, and the expansion of the public sector. With the exception of military pension plans, which date from the eighteenth century, the first public sector plans, dating from the late nineteenth century, were established to cover teachers, police officers and fire fighters in large cities. Over time, these retirement plans were extended to other public sector workers and the local plans were often merged with plans for state workers; all of these date from the twentieth century. Here, the authors show just how pension coverage for public sector workers expanded steadily, through the first half of the twentieth century, so that by the 1960s the vast majority of public sector workers were covered by a plan. This analysis demonstrates how economic events and shifts in public policy at the federal, state, and local levels helped to shape public sector retirement plans. The authors also compare public plans with private sector plans, and the final chapter focuses on recent changes in public pensions in response to the 'Great Recession', concurrent sharp declines in equity markets and the aging of the public workforce.
