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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: December 5, 2005
Creator: Staman, Jennifer & Lunder, Erika
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals

Description: This report describes the various death benefits from the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Social Security available to certain survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die on active duty.
Date: January 24, 2006
Creator: Burrelli, David F. & Corwell, Jennifer R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defined Benefit Pension Reform for Single-Employer Plans

Description: This report provides an outline of the complex current law governing the funding of single-employer defined benefit pension plans. It describes reporting and disclosure requirements that apply to plans. This 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 Administration proposal.
Date: January 26, 2006
Creator: Ranade, Neela K. & Graney, Paul J.
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 discuss… more
Date: February 9, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Market for Retirement Annuities

Description: A retirement annuity allows an individual to purchase a regular payment stream from an insurance company to last his lifetime. Despite the ability of the product to eliminate the risk that a retiree will outlive his assets, few retirement annuities have been sold in the individual market. In addition, the number of individuals who annuitize their defined contribution retirement plan balances remains small. New products are emerging that would offer alternate annuity designs and make annuity pri… more
Date: May 18, 2006
Creator: Ranade, Neela K.
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. The change to the system that has generated the most recent legislative activity involves whether some or all military retirees should be allowed to receive both military retired pay and any VA disability compensation to which they are otherwise entitled; this is referred to as "concurrent receipt." … more
Date: June 1, 2006
Creator: Henning, Charles A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet

Description: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 authorized a non-refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for eligible individuals who contribute to an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The maximum credit is 50% of retirement contributions up to $2,000. This credit can reduce the amount of taxes owed, but the tax credit itself is non-refundable. The maximum credit is the lesser of either $1,000 or the tax that the individual would have owed without the credit. Eligibility… more
Date: August 7, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
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 53.1 million in 2004 to 52.5 million in 2005. This report analyzes the Current Population Survey and describes several elements, including: 1) the percentage of workers whose employer sponsored a retirement plan; 2) the percentage of workers who participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan; 3) the likel… more
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
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 53.1 million in 2004 to 52.5 million in 2005. The number of workers who participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan fell from 43.3 million in 2004 to 43.1 million in 2005. The percentage of 25 to 64- year-old workers in the private sector who participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan declin… more
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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H.R. 4: The Pension Protection Act

Description: This report discusses the Pension Protection Act (PPA) reforms and the funding rules for defined benefit pensions; requires employers to disclose more information about pension funding; restricts benefit payments and accruals in underfunded plans; and clarifies, prospectively, that cash balance pension plans do not violate legal prohibitions on age discrimination in employee benefits.
Date: September 27, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Summary of the Pension Protection Act of 2006

Description: This report summarizes the main provisions of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) as they affect single-employer defined benefit plans, multiemployer defined benefit plans, and defined contribution plans.
Date: October 23, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
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: October 27, 2006
Creator: Shrestha, Laura B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

Description: This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive because of Social Security’s benefit formula that favors workers with smaller amounts of Social Security-covered career earnings. Opponents contend that the provision is basically inaccurate and often unfair.
Date: March 8, 2007
Creator: Haltzel, Laura
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Employee Retirement Programs: Budget and Trust Fund Issues

Description: Retirement annuities for civilian federal employees are provided mainly through two programs: the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). These annuities are financed through a combination of employee contributions and payments made by the federal government to the civil service retirement trust fund. This report discusses the two programs, how they work, and how they are financed.
Date: March 14, 2007
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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