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 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 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 Underfunding of State and Local Pension Plans written by Frank Russek and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-08 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The recent financial crisis and economic recession have left many states and localities with extraordinary budgetary difficulties for the next few years, but structural shortfalls in their pension plans pose a problem that is likely to endure for much longer. This report discusses alternative approaches to assessing the size of those shortfalls and their implications for funding decisions. Figure and table. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find report.

Download or read book Pensions in the Public Sector written by Olivia S. Mitchell and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Pension Research Council of the Wharton School, this book explores the diversity of governmental pension plans and investigates how these financial institutions must change in years to come.

Download or read book State and Local Pension Systems written by Richard J. Reeder and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Transparency and Funding of State and Local Pension Plans written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means. Subcommittee on Oversight and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

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.

Download or read book Funding and Administrative Efficiency of State and Local Government Pension Plans written by Ping Lung Hsin and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Governmental Plans Answer Book Third Edition written by Carol V. Calhoun and published by Aspen Publishers. This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 1066 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Governmental Plans Answer Book, Third Edition, provides in-depth coverage of these complex plans, which must satisfy federal laws as well as pension, investment, and other laws of the applicable state or local governments. It is the one resource that takes you step by step through all the aspects of plan administration and compliance in this demanding practice area. Governmental Plans Answer Book gives you the most relevant, current, and practice-oriented answers to the issues you face daily as you navigate the requirements and procedures involved in administering plans. The Third Edition of Governmental Plans Answer Book examines the following significant changes and case law in this area: Key differences among defined benefit, defined contribution, and cash balance plans offered by state and local governments Recent legislative action and comparison charts, including changes in cost of living adjustments (COLAs), employee contribution rates, and age and service requirements Opening of second cycle for governmental plan IRS determination letters New Department of Labor regulations regarding service provider fees Issuance of new IRS guidance on employee/independent contractor issues New case law on the constitutionality of statutory investment restrictions on public plans Major changes in fiduciary and investment issues Statutory changes permitting pension plans to make in-service distributions to employees who have attained age 62 New IRS guidance on common issues discovered in examining determination letter requests by governmental plans New IRS opinion letter program for prototype 403(b) plans Explanation of hybrid plans that combine elements of defined benefit and defined contribution plans and cash balance plans Purchase of service credit that permits portability of pension benefits in defined benefit plans Updates to state and local government plan assets and membership figures

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 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Investment Practices of State and Local Pension Funds written by Alicia Haydock Munnell and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

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 The Underfunding of State and Local Pension Plans written by Frank S. Russek and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Using Public Pensions to Balance State and Local Budgets written by United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Aging and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Administration of Public Pension Plans at the State and Local Level written by Karen Fair Harrell and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 12 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).