Pensions in the American Economy
9780226451480
Pensions in the American Economy
For anyone with an interest in pensions—workers and employers, personnel directors, accountants, actuaries, lawyers, insurance agents, financial analysts, government officials, and social scientists—this book is required reading. Now, without the aid of a pension specialist, anyone can determine how their particular pension plan stacks up against the average. Using virtually all available government sources (including computerized data unavailable in print) and their own extensive surveys, the authors present a comprehensive description of the structural features and financial conditions of U.S. private, state, city, and municipal pension plans. The introductions to the hundreds of tables explain and highlight the information.
The picture that emerges of the "typical" plan and its significant variations is crucial to all those with a financial stake in pensions. The reader can compare pension vesting, retirement, and benefit provisions by plan type, plan size, industry, union status, and many more characteristics. With this information, workers can evaluate just how generous their employer is; job applicants can compare fringe benefits of prospective employers; personnel directors can judge their competitive edge.
The financial community will find especially interesting the analysis of the unfunded liabilities of private, state, and local pension funds. The investment decisions of private and public pension funds and their return performances are described as well.
Government officials and social scientists will find the analysis of pension coverage, the receipt of pension income by the elderly, cost-of-living adjustments, and disability insurance of special importance in evaluating the proper degree of public intervention in the area of old age income support.
Pensions in the American Economy is comprehensive and easy to use. Every reader, from small-business owners and civil servants to pension fund specialists, will find in it essential information about this increasingly important part of labor compensation and retirement finances.
The picture that emerges of the "typical" plan and its significant variations is crucial to all those with a financial stake in pensions. The reader can compare pension vesting, retirement, and benefit provisions by plan type, plan size, industry, union status, and many more characteristics. With this information, workers can evaluate just how generous their employer is; job applicants can compare fringe benefits of prospective employers; personnel directors can judge their competitive edge.
The financial community will find especially interesting the analysis of the unfunded liabilities of private, state, and local pension funds. The investment decisions of private and public pension funds and their return performances are described as well.
Government officials and social scientists will find the analysis of pension coverage, the receipt of pension income by the elderly, cost-of-living adjustments, and disability insurance of special importance in evaluating the proper degree of public intervention in the area of old age income support.
Pensions in the American Economy is comprehensive and easy to use. Every reader, from small-business owners and civil servants to pension fund specialists, will find in it essential information about this increasingly important part of labor compensation and retirement finances.
486 pages | © 1983
National Bureau of Economic Research Monograph
Economics and Business: Business--Industry and Labor
Table of Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
1.1. Pensions and the Economics of Aging
1.2. Objectives and Organization
1.3. The Emerging Role of Pensions in the American Economy: Postwar Patterns of Growth
1.4. A Profile of Pension Participants
1.5. A Profile of Pension Beneficiaries
1.6. The Structure of Private Pension Plans
1.7. The Structure of State and Local Pension Plans
1.8. The Financial Status of Private, State, and Local Pension Plans
1.9. Pensions in the American Economy: Problems and Prospects
2. Description of Data
3. Pension Coverage of Workers and Pension Income Receipt among the Elderly
3.1. Pension Coverage of Workers: Time Series Analysis
3.2. Pension Coverage of Private Wage and Salary Workers: Cross-sectional Analysis
3.3. Distribution of Private Covered Workers by Pension Plan Characteristics
3.4. A Private Pension Vested Coverage
3.5. Elderly Pension Recipients: Economic and Demographic Characteristics
3.6. Distribution of Private Pension Benefit Recipients by Pension Characteristics
3.7. Pension Income of the Elderly
3.8. Pension Benefit Replacement Rates
3.9. Disability Benefit Replacement Rates
3.10. Coverage under Alternative Pension Vehicles
4. The Structure of Private Pension Plans
4.1. The Distribution of Private Pension Plan Types
4.2. Participation Requirements of Private Pension Plans
4.3. Vesting Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.4. Portability Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.5. Benefit Formulae and Benefit Levels of Private Defined Benefit Plans
4.6. Normal Retirement Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.7. Early Retirement Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.8. Benefit Reductions of Private Pension Plans for Early Retirement
4.9. Benefit Accrual after Normal Retirement
4.10. Cost of Living Adjustments of Private Pension Plans
4.11. Disability Provisions of Private Pension Plans
5. Financial Aspects of Private Pension Plans
5.1. Contributions to Private Pension Funds: Time Series Analysis
5.2. Contributions to Private Pension Funds: Cross-sectional Analysis
5.3. Private Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Time Series Analysis
5.4. Private Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Cross-sectional Analysis
5.5. Private Pension Fund Assets: Time Series Analysis
5.6. Private Pension Fund Assets: Cross-sectional Analysis
5.7. Funding Status of Large Corporate Pension Funds
5.8. Return Performance of Private Pension Funds
6. The Structure of State and Local Pension Plans
6.1. Number of State and Local Pension Plans and Participants
6.2. Participation Requirements of State and Local Pension Plans
6.3. Vesting Provisions of State and Local Pension Plans
6.4. Benefit Formulae and Benefit Levels of State and Local Defined Benefit Pension Plans
6.5. Normal Retirement Provisions of State and Local Pension Plans
6.6. Early Retirement Provisions of State and Local Pension Plans
7. Financial Aspects of State and Local Pension Plans
7.1. Contributions to State and Local Pension Funds: Time Series Analysis
7.2. Contributions to State and Local Pension Funds: Cross-Sectional Analysis
7.3. State and Local Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Time Series Analysis
7.4. State and Local Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Cross-sectional Analysis
7.5. State and Local Pension Fund Assets: Time Series Analysis
7.6. State and Local Pension Fund Assets: Cross-sectional Analysis
7.7. Financial Status of State-administered Pension Funds
7.8. Financial Status of Large-City Pension Funds
7.9. Financial Status of Selected Large Local Pension Funds
7.10. Financial Status of Small Local Pension Funds
7.11. Return Performance of Public Pension Funds
Notes
References
Index
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
1.1. Pensions and the Economics of Aging
1.2. Objectives and Organization
1.3. The Emerging Role of Pensions in the American Economy: Postwar Patterns of Growth
1.4. A Profile of Pension Participants
1.5. A Profile of Pension Beneficiaries
1.6. The Structure of Private Pension Plans
1.7. The Structure of State and Local Pension Plans
1.8. The Financial Status of Private, State, and Local Pension Plans
1.9. Pensions in the American Economy: Problems and Prospects
2. Description of Data
3. Pension Coverage of Workers and Pension Income Receipt among the Elderly
3.1. Pension Coverage of Workers: Time Series Analysis
3.2. Pension Coverage of Private Wage and Salary Workers: Cross-sectional Analysis
3.3. Distribution of Private Covered Workers by Pension Plan Characteristics
3.4. A Private Pension Vested Coverage
3.5. Elderly Pension Recipients: Economic and Demographic Characteristics
3.6. Distribution of Private Pension Benefit Recipients by Pension Characteristics
3.7. Pension Income of the Elderly
3.8. Pension Benefit Replacement Rates
3.9. Disability Benefit Replacement Rates
3.10. Coverage under Alternative Pension Vehicles
4. The Structure of Private Pension Plans
4.1. The Distribution of Private Pension Plan Types
4.2. Participation Requirements of Private Pension Plans
4.3. Vesting Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.4. Portability Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.5. Benefit Formulae and Benefit Levels of Private Defined Benefit Plans
4.6. Normal Retirement Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.7. Early Retirement Provisions of Private Pension Plans
4.8. Benefit Reductions of Private Pension Plans for Early Retirement
4.9. Benefit Accrual after Normal Retirement
4.10. Cost of Living Adjustments of Private Pension Plans
4.11. Disability Provisions of Private Pension Plans
5. Financial Aspects of Private Pension Plans
5.1. Contributions to Private Pension Funds: Time Series Analysis
5.2. Contributions to Private Pension Funds: Cross-sectional Analysis
5.3. Private Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Time Series Analysis
5.4. Private Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Cross-sectional Analysis
5.5. Private Pension Fund Assets: Time Series Analysis
5.6. Private Pension Fund Assets: Cross-sectional Analysis
5.7. Funding Status of Large Corporate Pension Funds
5.8. Return Performance of Private Pension Funds
6. The Structure of State and Local Pension Plans
6.1. Number of State and Local Pension Plans and Participants
6.2. Participation Requirements of State and Local Pension Plans
6.3. Vesting Provisions of State and Local Pension Plans
6.4. Benefit Formulae and Benefit Levels of State and Local Defined Benefit Pension Plans
6.5. Normal Retirement Provisions of State and Local Pension Plans
6.6. Early Retirement Provisions of State and Local Pension Plans
7. Financial Aspects of State and Local Pension Plans
7.1. Contributions to State and Local Pension Funds: Time Series Analysis
7.2. Contributions to State and Local Pension Funds: Cross-Sectional Analysis
7.3. State and Local Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Time Series Analysis
7.4. State and Local Pension Fund Benefit Payments: Cross-sectional Analysis
7.5. State and Local Pension Fund Assets: Time Series Analysis
7.6. State and Local Pension Fund Assets: Cross-sectional Analysis
7.7. Financial Status of State-administered Pension Funds
7.8. Financial Status of Large-City Pension Funds
7.9. Financial Status of Selected Large Local Pension Funds
7.10. Financial Status of Small Local Pension Funds
7.11. Return Performance of Public Pension Funds
Notes
References
Index