In the News • October 31, 2008
Global Pensions, October 31, 2008 Jenny Blinch reports employers looking to save money by freezing defined benefit (DB) plans are actually laying themselves open to increased costs in the long term. NIRS new pension freeze report found expenses would increase through higher costs of operating two plans, erosion of economic efficiencies, and front-loaded contribution requirements. Read […]
In the News • October 31, 2008
BNA Daily Report for Executives, October 31, 2008 “Given the current economic conditions, employers certainly will be looking for ways to reduce costs,” Ilana Boivie, policy analyst with the Institute, told BNA. The research brief’s findings are “contrary to expectations, and probably not the desired result especially during tough times,” she said. The brief cited […]
In the News • October 31, 2008
Pensions & Investments, October 31 2008 John Dantona reports on NIRS new report, “Look Before You Leap: The Unintended Consequences of Pension Freezes. “States have found that abandoning a DB pension for a DC plan can actually increase costs, contrary to expectations,” Beth Almeida, NIRS executive director and co-author of the report. “Mostly, this is because […]
In the News • October 1, 2008
Governing, October 2008 Penny Lemov reports that a new NIRS study dispels a myth about the cost of pension plans. “A Better Bang for the Buck,” calculates that a defined benefit pension plan is nearly half the cost of an individual 401(k) type plan. “The analysis,” says Beth Almeida, executive director of NIRS, “is a myth […]
In the News • September 11, 2008
The Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sept. 11 runs a NIRS letter regarding the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Nevada. The paper “missed the facts” and even the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce concedes the system is “well-managed and prudently administered.” The letter continues with information on the finances of Nevada PERS, the economics of pensions, as well as the recent experiences of states that have experimented with changing their pension […]
In the News • September 9, 2008
Atlanta Journal-Constitution September 9, 2008 The paper reports that the tough economy and tight credit have pushed more people to rob their future to pay today’s debts. 401(k) plans are being raided with greater frequency to pay medical bills and credit-card debt, avert home foreclosures and other big-ticket problems, and even pay for day-to-day expenses, such as groceries. […]
In the News • September 8, 2008
Workforce Management, September 8, 2008 Jessica Marquez reports that espite the widespread notion that defined-benefit plans are more expensive for employers to manage than defined-contribution plans, a new report finds that might not be the case. The article indicates that in fact, defined-benefit plans can deliver the same benefit at half the cost of defined-contribution plans, according to […]
In the News • August 19, 2008
Chicago Sun-Times, August 19, 2008 A new study found pensions can provide retirement income at 46 percent lower cost than individual accounts, like a 401k. The study released by the National Institute on Retirement Security found that such plans avoid the problem of over-saving and because they are ageless, they can perpetually maintain an optimum balanced investment […]
In the News • August 18, 2008
U.S. News & World Report, August 18, 2008 Emily Brandon writes that 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 […]