Headlines about "Actuarial - funding of pensions"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
West Virginia DC to DB Migration Could Mean Big Savings for State
Excerpt: "West Virginia lawmakers were informed Monday that the movement of nearly 15,000 teachers and educational workers from a defined contribution plan to a traditional pension plan will shave about $22 million off the state's retirement benefit expenses. A Charleston Gazette news report said the estimate given to lawmakers by state actuary Harry Mandel was radically different from early statements that the DC to DB migration would actually cost the state as much as $78 million . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
A Tax Revolt Is Quietly Brewing in Some States
Excerpt: "These and other battles come at a time when many states are struggling to cope with tough economic times." (Wall Street Journal via Baltimore Sun)
Pension Timebomb Ticks in Europe as Population Ages
Excerpt: "The European Union's population is set to reach 506 million by 2060, when there will be only two people of working age for every person aged 65 or more, the EU statistical office said on Tuesday." (Reuters via Forbes.com)
Costs of Barstow, California, Police and Firefighters Go Far Beyond Wages
Excerpt: "The annual cost of retirement benefits -- including the employers' contribution and the portion of the employees' contribution that employers pick up as an added benefit -- amounts to about $23,738 per firefighter/paramedic. The city pays an annual average of $24,094 in retirement benefits per officer, according to numbers provided by the city and fire district." (Desert Dispatch)
Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Fund Closer to Resolution
Excerpt: "Chattanooga officials and fire and police pension fund personnel on Friday afternoon moved one step closer to approving a plan that would help correct the underfunded pension fund. But the pension fund board must work with the City Council to determine exactly how the improvements will be implemented. Should the council and board agree, the matter would begin the process to become an ordinance, not a referendum in November as some stakeholders feared." (Chattannooga Times Free Press)
[Opinion] A Pension Deficit Disorder - Pension Debts Loom As the Next Financial Crisis
Excerpt: "Pension deficits are not like market crashes (although their severity can obviously be exacerbated by them); rather, their malign evolution is something of a slow-burner. To put it another way, banking and property crises are short term. But an underfunded pensions system is the issue of a lifetime." (The price of everything)
[Opinion] New Jersey Early Retirement Programs for State Workers
Excerpt: "early retirement deals offer up- front savings at the expense of long-term pension costs. The current buyout, for example, was expected to incur $250 million in long-term pension costs if the target number of employees opted for it. That means it would take about three years of salary savings to offset the added pension costs. Adding more debt to the state pension system is like throwing gas onto a raging fire. The state is already about $26.8 billion in the hole for its pension obligations, according to one conservative estimate. And on Wednesday, we learned that the state's debt ballooned by almost $2.2 billion last year to $32.9 billion. Similar buyout deals in 1991, 1993, 1997, 1999 and 2002 failed to achieve the savings that had been anticipated." (nj.com)
[Opinion] The Failure of COPA - College of Pension Actuaries
Excerpt: "There is a pension tsunami about to destroy retirement as we know it in this country and it's coming from four main fronts: 1) The 401(k) is not a pension plan. . . . 2) People will live longer . . . . 3) Multiemployer (union sponsored) plans are about to all go bankrupt simultaneously. 4) Government plans are not subject to ERISA . . . ." (nj.com)
Managing Pension Funding Surpluses (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "Higher funding targets under the U.S. Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) and the reduction or elimination of future pension accruals are increasing the likelihood of signifi cant surplus in defi ned benefi t pension plans. Now is the time to develop a strategy for effectively managing emerging pension surpluses." (Towers Perrin)
3 Reasons Pensions Need Less Funding per Worker Than 401(k)s
Excerpt: "401(k) plans save employers money because workers fund a portion of them. But a new analysis says 401(k)'s are an inefficient way to finance a secure retirement. The nonprofit National Institute on Retirement Security calculated that a 62-year-old with a final salary of $50,000 would need to have $550,000 in a 401(k) to have an adequate retirement income, determined by the authors to be $26,684 a year. To achieve the same income, a traditional pension would need to have only $355,000 set aside for that worker, nearly $200,000 less." (U.S. News & World Report)
Atlanta, GA May Form Task Force to Tackle Pension Funding Crisis
Excerpt: "Atlanta's general employees' fund, the city's largest, is only 52 percent funded. The two other funds are better off, but well below 80 percent funded. At least one-fifth of the city's $570 million general fund this year is going to employee pensions, and it still hasn't been enough to make a substantial dent in the unfunded liability." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Pressuring Delphi Over Pension Obligations
Excerpt: "The government is trying to force Delphi to transfer more than $1.5 billion of unfunded pension obligations to General Motors by Sept. 30. It is warning Delphi, the big auto parts maker, that if it misses the deadline, it will have to contribute more than $2 billion to the fund, a burden that could dash any hopes of Delphi emerging from bankruptcy with its pension plan intact." (The New York Times; free registration required)
A Better Bang for the Buck: The Economic Efficiencies of Defined Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "[S]ome have proposed replacing traditional defined benefit (DB) pensions with 401(k)-type defined contribution (DC) retirement savings plans in an effort to save money. But decision-makers would be wise to look before they leap. To deliver the same level of retirement benefits, a DB plan can do the job at almost half the cost of a DC plan. [At the target page, you can download the full report in PDF, the Report Fact Sheet, Frequently Asked Questions, and a PowerPoint presentation.]" (National Institute on Retirement Security)
Practitioners Criticize Proposed Rules on Multiemployer Plans in Critical Status
Excerpt: "Witnesses at a July 31, 2008 hearing expressed dissatisfaction with recent IRS proposed regulations implementing provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA; P.L. 109-280) affecting multiemployer plans . . . . The proposed regulations, issued in March 2008, implement Code Sec. 432 for multiemployer plans that are endangered or in critical status." (Wolters Kluwer)
Boeing Says It Doesn't Raid Workers' Pension Funds
Excerpt: "Boeing doesn't raid workers' pension funds to pay extraordinary executive pension benefits, the company said [Monday August 11]. That statement came in reply to a request from a union representing its engineering and technical workers about whether Boeing was moving some of its executive pension liabilities to the workers' pension fund in a way some companies did in a recent Wall Street Journal article. 'We don't make the kinds of transfers described in the Wall Street Journal article,' said Boeing spokesman Tim Healy." (Tacoma News)
Insurance Buyout Offers Realistic Solution for Settling Pension Liabilities (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Employers with large accrued pension obligations, including global companies, are finding it increasingly cost-effective to arrange a buyout to fully settle the liabilities by passing them on to an insurance company. One option from a suite of possible retirement risk solutions, buyout arrangements have traditionally been viewed as expensive and slow to implement. However, recent developments in the U.K. and U.S. are challenging this perception." (Towers Perrin)
[Opinion] Outline of Issues on Proposed Regulations Relating to Determination of Minimum Required Pension Contributions (PDF)
3 pages. On August 4, 2008, ASPPA testified before an IRS public hearing on proposed minimum required contribution regulations. (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
Government Workers Have Greater Access to Benefits, DOL Data Show
Excerpt: "According to the [Bureau of Labor Statistics] release, access to and participation in retirement and medical care benefits were greater in government employment than in private industry." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Report Says Jacksonville FL Police and Fire Pensions Are Too Expensive
Excerpt: "Jacksonville's pension plans need drastic improvements and could better serve city taxpayers by being replaced by other types of retirement benefits, including 'defined contribution' programs similar to 401(k) plans, a nonprofit organization's analysis concludes." (Florida Times-Union)
Public Entities Generally Keep Traditional Pension Plans
Excerpt: "While public entities may continue to fine-tune elements of their defined benefit pension plans to make them less costly, it is unlikely that they will soon adopt the defined contribution approach as the private sector did when its defined benefit plans became too expensive, experts say. In fact, no state has created a broad-based defined contribution plan since Alaska did so in 2005 . . . . Michigan is the only other state to offer a defined contribution plan as its primary retirement vehicle, which has been in place since 1999." (Business Insurance)
[Guidance Overview] Ruling Prohibiting the Transfer of a Retirement Plan Outside of the Controlled Group as a Financial Transaction (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In conjunction with the ruling, the Administration put forth a 'framework of principles.' This framework, it is thought, will serve as a guide in the development of legislation permitting transactions such as the one described in the ruling in which frozen pension plans are transferred to unrelated entities. The Administration set out certain conditions aimed at protecting participants, including providing for advance notice to participants and regulators, requiring a demonstration that the transfer would be in the best interest of participants and limiting transfers in the face of undue risk." (Sutherland)
Handing Over Your Underfunded Pension Plan to a Financial Institution May Cripple the Plan's Tax Benefit
Excerpt: "It has been reported that financial institutions have been eyeing underfunded or 'frozen' corporate pension plans as a new line of business. The transaction being contemplated is a sort of rescue operation that involves a transfer of the stock of a 'shell' subsidiary to the financial institution, after the plan sponsor does two things: transfers sponsorship of the plan to the shell subsidiary, and injects sufficient assets into the plan to cure the underfunding." (CFO.com)
Boeing Presses Unions to Drop Traditional Pensions
Excerpt: "Boeing, like many other companies, wants to phase out traditional pensions and instead put new workers into a 401(k)-like plan. As Boeing's contract talks with its two main unions gather steam in August, the issue is taking on heat. The move, company spokesman Timothy Healy says, would free up money for research and development or other purposes that Boeing (BA) now must set aside for pension plans whenever an investment, in the stock market or elsewhere, comes up short." (BusinessWeek)
[Official Guidance] August 2008 Pension Funding Segment Rates
Generally for plan years beginning after 2007, the rates in the tables . . . apply for minimum funding requirements under section 430 of the Code. (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Mortality Tables for Defined Benefit Plans, Substitute Single-Employer Tables
Excerpt: "The mortality tables for both single-employer and multiemployer defined benefit plans contained in the final rules are generally applicable for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2008. The final rules concerning the approval and use of substitute mortality tables for single-employer plans are generally applicable for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Mortality Tables for Pension Funding Calculations That Reflect Provisions of PPA
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations that provide new mortality tables to be used in determining present value or making any computation for purposes of applying certain pension funding requirements. The final regulations, which reflect provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), appeared in the July 31 Federal Register." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Guidance Overview] IRS's Final Regulations on Mortality Tables Under PPA (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS has issued final regulations defining the mortality tables to be used for defined benefit plan funding under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (including for determining current liability for multiemployer plans). These tables are to be used beginning with 2008 plan years. The final regulations also provide rules for the use of plan-specific tables." (Buck Consultants)
[Guidance Overview] IRS's Final Regulations on Mortality Assumptions for Funding Rules
Excerpt: "The final regulations are effective on July 31, 2008. However, the parts of the final regulations relating to generally applicable mortality tables applies to plan years beginning on and after January 1, 2008. The rules regarding substitute mortality tables apply to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
[Official Guidance] Full Text: IRS Press Release Providing 'Framework' for Legislation to Address Transfer of Frozen DB Plans
Excerpt: "Accompanying today's [Revenue Ruling 2008-45, to which this press release contains a link], the Administration put forth a framework of principles, as described below [in this press release], that should guide the development of legislation that could permit such transactions, in circumstances where the transaction is in the best interest of plan participants, their beneficiaries, employers, and the pension insurance system. The legislative framework was developed by the Treasury Department, the Labor Department, the Commerce Department, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation." (Internal Revenue Service)
Investment Management Firms Seek to Acquire Frozen DB Plans (Note: Written Before Issuance of Rev. Rul. 2008-45 This Morning)
Excerpt: "The $2.3 trillion pension honey pot has $500 billion in 'frozen plans' that are closed to new employees and whose benefits are capped, including those at IBM IBM, Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Verizon (VZ), and Alcoa (AA). And that figure could triple by 2012, according to consulting firm McKinsey. By managing those troubled plans, Wall Street also gains entrιe to an appealing set of customers to whom it can sell a broad array of fee-generating products." (BusinessWeek)
Europe Tries to Handle Political Fallout of Pension Cuts
Excerpt: "Social Security is known as the 'third rail' of American politics, and fiddling with retirement benefits can prove politically fatal in Europe too. Yet, in recent months and years some Europeans have tried to defuse the time bomb posed by millions of retirees receiving government benefits." (New York Times)
[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Rev. Rul. 2008-45: Transferring Sponsorship of Frozen DB Plans to an Unrelated Company (PDF)
4 pages. Kaboom! Wall Street meets the 'exclusive benefit of employees and their beneficiaries' rule in section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. (Internal Revenue Service)
Columbus, Ohio, Taxpayers Footing Most or All of Public Employees' Share of Pensions
Excerpt: "If you work for the state of Ohio, Columbus schools or Ohio State University, 10 percent of your income goes toward your future public-employee pension. If you work for the city of Columbus, though, it's likely you're getting a free ride into your golden years. And if you're a city resident or taxpayer, you're picking up the tab." (The Columbus Dispatch)
[Opinion] Rebuttal to Misleading Article in August 4, 2008, Wall Street Journal
Excerpt: "[I] feel bound to correct some of the distortions in the article on the front page of [the August 4, 2008 of] The Wall Street Journal ('Companies Tap Pension Plans To Fund Executive Benefits'). This plan design is far from 'a dubious use of the tax laws.' It is perfectly legal and not even close to the line. I first blogged on this plan design alternative a couple years ago -- when we referred to it as the 'QSERP' (to be clear, I cannot take credit for creating it)." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
[Opinion] Don't Blame Pension Terminations on Our Bankruptcy System
Excerpt: "Many in the media tend to blame large pension terminations on our bankruptcy system. It's not uncommon to see articles claiming that companies use the bankruptcy court to eliminate their obligation to pay benefits for the lifetime of their former employees. What you never read about is anyone recognizing that a promise of 'lifetime benefits' is good for the lifetime of the employee or the company whichever ends first." (American Bankruptcy Institute)
Video: Death of the Pension Plan
Alexis Glick interviews Bradley Belt and John Bury. (Fox News Network)
[Guidance Overview] Managing PPA DB Contributions and the September 15, 2008, Due Date
Excerpt: "It's the summer of 2008 and defined benefit plan sponsors have unique opportunities with regard to funding their plans. Have you thought about this? Do you know what you can accomplish by funding before September 15 has come and gone? This article should have relevance to anyone involved in financial decisions around pensions, no matter what their specific role. In the article, we'll review those opportunities in a way that should be relevant to you whether your plan is well-funded or not as well-funded, whether you have lots of cash available or not as much cash available. And, we'll discuss why, as a result of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), this may be the best opportunity you'll ever have." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
Companies Tap Pension Plans To Fund Executive Benefits
Excerpt: "At a time when scores of companies are freezing pensions for their workers, some are quietly converting their pension plans into resources to finance their executives' retirement benefits and pay. In recent years, companies from Intel Corp. to CenturyTel Inc. collectively have moved hundreds of millions of dollars of obligations for executive benefits into rank-and-file pension plans.' (The Wall Street Journal)
Fox/Business to Focus on Pensions Monday Morning
Excerpt: "Pensions will be the topic on Fox\Business tomorrow (Monday) morning at 8 a.m. when Bradley Belt, former executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, will presumably discuss the dire situation with our country's pension system." (John Bury via NJ.com)
[Opinion] American Academy of Actuaries' Comments on Regulations on Determination of Minimum Required Pension Contributions (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "On behalf of the American Academy of Actuaries Pension Committee, we respectfully request your consideration of our comments regarding the proposed regulations on the Determination of Minimum Required Pension Contributions (REG-108508-08). The proposed regulations provide much needed guidance regarding the new contribution rules in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). The primary focus of our comments pertain to the means by which the carryover and prefunding balances may be used to satisfy quarterly contribution requirements." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Managing Pension Surplus: A New Playbook for a New Era (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "Higher funding targets under the U.S. Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) and the reduction or elimination of future pension accruals are increasing the likelihood of significant surplus in defined benefit pension plans. Now is the time to develop a strategy for effectively managing emerging pension surpluses." (Towers Perrin)
[Official Guidance] Final IRS Regs: Mortality Tables for Determining Present Value and Certain Pension Funding Computations (PDF)
17 pages. Excerpt: "Section 1.430(h)(3)1, which provides generally applicable mortality tables, applies to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2008. Section 1.430(h)(3)2, which provides rules regarding the approval and use of substitute mortality tables, applies to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009. Taxpayers may rely on the provisions of § 1.430(h)(3)2 for plan years beginning during 2008. For example, taxpayers can use the exceptions contained in § 1.430(h)(3)2(d)(1) from the general rule that all controlled group members must use substitute mortality tables in order for any controlled group member to use substitute mortality tables . . . if those mortality tables were approved by the IRS under the procedures set forth in Rev. Proc. 200737." (Internal Revenue Service)
'Benefits Quarterly,' 3rd Quarter 2008, Executive Summaries of Articles
Articles are titled: The Supreme Court Gives a 'Green Light' to Individual 401(k) Lawsuits; FMLA Expanded for Leaves Related to Family Members Serving in the Military; Nationwide Savings Plan Automatic Enrollment Getting Associates PREPared for Retirement; Work Options for Older Americans: Employee Benefits for the Era of Living Longer; Alternatives to Cash in Ensuring the Solvency of Defined Benefit Pension Funds; Lessons From Pension Reform in the Americas; and, The Future of Retirement: An Exploration and Comparison of Different Scenarios. (International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists)
Pension Funding Requirements Could Be Retroactively Increased
Excerpt: "A bill that requires administrative expenses to be included when pension plan contributions are calculated could force some plan sponsors to pay higher contributions retroactively. The measure would make 'technical corrections' to the Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006. While it passed the House of Representatives on July 9, 2008, it is still not certain if it will become law." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Sweetened Pensions Beset Atlanta's Budget Crisis
Excerpt: "As Atlanta politicians address one of the biggest budget deficits in recent history, they frequently say high city employee pension costs are a major part of an economic storm buffeting the city. But unlike the struggling economy or spiking health care costs, those pension increases weren't caused by forces beyond the city's control. The Atlanta City Council, with tacit approval from Mayor Shirley Franklin's administration, made key decisions to sweeten pensions for city workers that have put Atlanta in a budgetary bind that will take years to escape." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
District Court Muddles Directive Provided in MetLife v. Glenn
Excerpt: "In this case, Mr. Carnes alleges a conflict of interest based on (1) the dual roles of Devon as both sponsor and administrator of the plan and (2) belief that as a company plan, Devon is solely responsible if the plan becomes underfunded making it in the best interest of the company to pay as few benefits as possible." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Jacksonville, FL Police and Fire Pension Fund Underfunded for 30 Years
Excerpt: "'It's cause for concern but not for alarm.' That's how John Keane, executive director and administrator of the Police and Fire Pension Fund (PFPF), describes the current underfunding of the pension plan for Jacksonville's public safety employees who are currently enrolled in the fund. As of Sept. 30, 2007 the PFPF was underfunded (liabilities exceeded assets) by $534 million. According to figures provided by the Council Auditor's Office, that means the PFPF is underfunded by 36.5 percent." (Financial News & Daily Record)
[Guidance Overview] House Passes PPA Technical Corrections Bill with Asset Smoothing Provision
Excerpt: "The requirement under the PPA that plan assets and liabilities be smoothed over two years had raised the specter of volatility in plan contributions that smoothing was designed to neutralize. The House bill would provide that, in determining the value of a plan's asset under the averaging method, such averaging be adjusted for expected earnings as specified by the Secretary of the Treasury. Such an adjustment is in addition to the present law adjustments for contributions and distributions." (Wolters Kluwer)
Clarification Urged for Proposed Relaxed Retirement Plan Amendment Notice Rules
Excerpt: "According to Judith Mazo, on behalf of the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP), and Kent Mason, representing the American Benefits Council, the regulations could be clearer on two counts: (1) the operation of the duplicative notice prevention rules for underfunded individual plan amendments; and (2) the duration of the 30-day notification rule for underfunded multiemployer plan amendments that reduce benefits." (Wolters Kluwer)
GASB Offers Pension Calculation Method
Excerpt: "GASB [yesterday] proposed a method to calculate any amortization adjustment to the annual required contribution to pension and other post-employment benefit plans to avoid overstatement of annual pension cost and to maintain consistency between the actuarial and accounting measurements used for financial reporting." (Pensions & Investments)
UK Pension Officials Delay Longevity Rules
Excerpt: "The U.K. Pensions Regulator is delaying the introduction of changes to the way longevity is treated in the retirement plan funding regime. A news release put out by the U.K. regulator said changes will not apply until the beginning of the next defined benefit plan valuation cycle starting in September 2008. This will impact valuations and follow-up recovery plans that must be submitted to the regulator by underfunded plans due from September 2008 to December 2009." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Opinion] American Benefits Council Amicus Brief in McCullough v. Aegon (PDF)
30 pages. Excerpt: "Any rejection or narrowing of the eminently sensible Eighth Circuit rule would have severely adverse effects on the defined benefit plan system. Plan sponsors, as fiduciaries, would be exposed to enormous additional liabilities and litigation, further accelerating the decline of the defined benefit system. And the same plan sponsors would face a major disincentive to contribute more to their defined benefit plans than the minimum amount required." (American Benefits Council)
[Guidance Overview] Meeting PPA Minimum Funding Requirements on a Budget: Case Study of One Organization's Path
Excerpt: "The plan sponsors expressed two goals: They wanted to hit PPA's early targets in order to qualify for the law's transition rules and preferred a level payment schedule through the 2014 plan year that did not require any large funding jumps from year to year." (Milliman)
PBGC's 2007 Annual Report (PDF)
76 pages. Excerpt: "The size of PBGC's deficit is an important consideration, but that number is just a snapshot that can change at any moment with movements in interest rates or asset values. The more important consideration is whether the Corporation has a realistic plan to meet its long-term obligations." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Guidance Overview] Updating Your ERISA Retirement Plan for Section 415 Changes
Excerpt: "With certain exceptions, the final regulations are applicable to limitation years beginning on or after July 1, 2007. For most plans, this means that the final regulations took effect as of January 1, 2008. Generally, plans are required to be amended to comply with the Section 415 final regulations. The plan amendments must be made by the employer's deadline for filing its income tax return (including extensions) for tax year 2008 (sometime in 2009)." (Aiken and Aiken)
PPA Technical Corrections Bill Passes House with Smoothing Provisions
Excerpt: "The Pension Protection Technical Correction Act of 2008 (H.R. 3361) introduced June 26, 2008 by Charles Rangel (D-NY) and George Miller (D-CA) passed the House of Representatives on July 9. The Act contains the 24-month asset smoothing provisions approved by the Senate last December 2007 (in S. 1974), and constitutes a significant move forward in finalizing the long-awaited PPA technical corrections." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
[Opinion] Buck Consultants' Comments on Proposed Regs Regarding Determination of Minimum Required Contributions for Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Our comments focus on various technical issues of application that should be clarified in the final regulation, and the interaction of this proposed regulation with the proposed regulation on measurement of assets and liabilities for pension funding purposes and the proposed regulation on the effect of prefunding balances and carryover balances under subsection 430(f)." (Buck Consultants)
[Opinion] Service Employees International Union National Industry Pension Plan Only 75% Funded in 2006
Excerpt: "Some of this might be the result of poor investment performance, but the main problem is that the SEIU hasn't negotiated adequate employer contributions to the plans. This is a common practice: Unions and management take credit for bargaining deals that promise generous retirement benefits, even as they ignore how they'll be funded." (The Wall Street Journal)
Defined Benefit Plans of the Future - Greater Funding, Less Risk
Excerpt: "Among other conclusions made in a recent report, Russell Investments says the defined benefit plan of 2017 will likely be better funded and accept less risk than pension plans today. Projections of the status of a wide range of DB plans based on the projection engine of Russell's Strategic Review process indicate barely one plan in every four will be below 90% funded in 2017. Russell says this is understandable given new funding rules dictated by the Pension Protection Act." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Issues Minimum Required Contribution Rules for Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "WHO'S AFFECTED These developments affect sponsors of qualified single-employer, multiple employer and multiemployer defined benefit plans. They do not affect governmental plans or church plans that do not elect to be covered by ERISA ('non-electing church plans')." (Prudential Retirement)
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