401(k) Take Two

Americans have accumulated more than $3 trillion in 401(k) assets, as of the end of 2011. This savings vehicle has enabled millions of individuals to set aside at least a modicum of retirement assets.

Are Pensions Worth Fighting For?

Just ask the staff at The New York Times. 

Disclosing Pensions: Public Rights, Privacy, and Financial Fraud

There is no question that it makes for good headlines to declare who is making what dollar amount in pension payments. Certainly, watchdog groups have taken advantage of doing so, or conjectured pay-out amounts to stir controversy, like Taxpayers United likes to do at press conferences.

Their position is that any funding taxpayers support should be transparent. As Dr. Tony Fargo, Indiana University Associate Professor of Journalism, told a news investigation team:  “From a public access standpoint, anything that involves the use of public money and the word secret is problematic.”

Australian Experience Shows Pitfalls of Ending Traditional Pensions

PensionDialog welcomes the following post from the Alliance for Retirement Income Adequacy, a network of Canadian organizations which are promoting an informed discussion about the importance of income adequacy in retirement.

These days, in Canada and around the world, headlines talk about switching public sector pension plans from traditional “defined benefit” plans to newer “defined contribution” models—such as 401(k)-type plans that are in the U.S.

Those who favour the DC plans argue that they cost less – typically the contributions made by plan members and employers are lower – and that the employer (or the taxpayer) does not have to worry about shortfalls when the plan is underfunded.

The private sector seems to have embraced DC, or so the argument goes, so why not the public sector?

Can the Three-Legged Stool be Saved?

Institutional Investor writer Frances Denmark’s “New Rules for Retirement” (November 2011) is a thoughtful, thorough piece focusing on the challenges of retirement security and looks particularly at the role of asset managers.