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Cash Balance Pension Plans and Claims of Age Discrimination

Description: This report describes cash balance plans, discusses the arguments that cash balance plans do and do not violate the age discrimination prohibitions, provides an overview of the court cases, and addresses the activity by the Treasury Department and Congress.
Date: October 6, 2005
Creator: Staman, Jennifer & Lunder, Erika
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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S. 1783: The Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005

Description: On September 28, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions announced that they had reached a compromise on a pension reform bill for consideration by the full Senate. The compromise bill has been introduced as S. 1783, “The Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005.” S. 1783 combines provisions of S. 219, “The National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act,” reported by the Finance Committee, and “The Defined Benefit Security A… more
Date: October 3, 2005
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pension Sponsorship and Participation: Summary of Recent Trends

Description: According to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS), the number of private-sector workers between the ages of 25 and 64 whose employer sponsored a retirement plan fell from 53.3 million in 2003 to 53.1 million in 2004. The number of workers who participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan fell from 43.5 million in 2003 to 43.3 million in 2004. The percentage of 25 to 64- year-old workers in the private sector who participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan declin… more
Date: September 8, 2005
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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S. 219: The National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act

Description: On July 26, 2005, the Senate Finance Committee approved S. 219, the “National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee (NESTEG) Act of 2005,” a bill to reform federal pension laws. This report summarizes the major provisions of the bill, as approved by the Committee.
Date: August 12, 2005
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cash Balance Pension Plans: Selected Legal Issues

Description: Over the past few years, cash balance pension plans have received significant attention. In particular, three issues have been controversial: the negative effect of a plan conversion on older employees due to wear-away, the whipsaw effect that may occur when computing a lump-sum payment of benefits prior to normal retirement age, and the claim that these plans violate federal laws prohibiting age discrimination. This report discusses the wear-away and whipsaw issues, a proposal by the Treasury … more
Date: July 29, 2005
Creator: Lunder, Erika & Staman, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Individual Accounts: What Rate of Return Would They Earn?

Description: It has been proposed to add individual accounts to Social Security in which investors could hold private securities. Calculations that project the earnings of individual accounts typically presume that they will earn a rate of return equal or close to the historical rate of return. But is there evidence that future rates of return will differ from history in predictable ways?
Date: July 25, 2005
Creator: Cashell, Brian W. & Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pension Issues Cloud Postal Reform Debate

Description: Reform of the business model of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) was given new momentum by the July 2003 report of a blue-ribbon presidential commission. The commission concluded that USPS faces a long-term decline in mail volume and revenues, and unless its finances are shored up, a taxpayer bailout or loss of universal service is threatened. The 108th Congress held a dozen hearings on the commission’s report
Date: July 22, 2005
Creator: Stevens, Nye
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defined Benefit Pension Reform for Single-Employer Plans

Description: This report includes quantitative analysis based on regulatory filings by pension plans for 2001 and 2002 to provide an assessment of the number of plans that might be affected by certain elements of the Administration proposal. It also summarizes the reaction to the Administration proposal by business and labor. The report also includes an illustration of the effect on a hypothetical plan sponsor’s plan contribution and funded ratio of the credit balance approach used in current law versus the… more
Date: July 14, 2005
Creator: Ranade, Neela K. & Graney, Paul J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Age Dependency Ratios and Social Security Solvency

Description: As highlighted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the aging of the (United States) population, hastened by the impending retirement of the huge baby-boom generation, has caused policy-makers to question whether the U.S. Social Security system can meet the demands for retirement benefits in the future. Because the current system largely pays benefits through taxes paid by current workers, the financial health of the system is sensitive to the ratio of dependents to workers—sometimes ca… more
Date: July 7, 2005
Creator: Shrestha, Laura B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals

Description: Department of Defense (DoD) benefits for survivors of deceased members of the armed forces vary significantly in purpose and structure. Benefits such as the death gratuity provide immediate cash payments to assist these survivors in meeting their financial needs during the period immediately following a member’s death. Similarly, the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) provides the life insurance policy value in a lump sum payment following the service member’s death. Other benefits suc… more
Date: June 23, 2005
Creator: Burrelli, David F. & Corwell, Jennifer R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues

Description: The military retirement system includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
Date: May 9, 2005
Creator: Goldich, Robert L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues

Description: The military retirement system includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
Date: April 14, 2005
Creator: Goldich, Robert L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969

Description: Pay increases for current federal employees and cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retired federal employees often differ because they are based on changes in different economic variables. Increases in pay for civilian federal workers are indexed to wage and salary increases in the private-sector, as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI), while federal retirement and disability benefits are indexed to price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This report discusses… more
Date: January 21, 2005
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Can the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Be Restored to Financial Health?

Description: In 2003, the Bush administration made a proposal for reform to strengthen pension plan funding and the financial condition of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Various bills with the goal of reforming the PBGC were proposed in the 108th Congress but none were enacted into law. The doubling of the PBGC deficit from fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2004, has heightened awareness about the PBGC deficit situation. Congressional leaders from both parties have announced their intention to move ag… more
Date: December 16, 2004
Creator: Ranade, Neela K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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