Pension Issues Research Articles

La lente construction des systèmes de retraite en France de 1750 à 1945

The slow building up process of retirement pension systems in France from 1750 to 1945 Little research work has been done on retirement pension issues before 1945, date on which the French Social Security system was implemented. This article aims at tracing back from 1750 to 1945 the way which has led to the establishment of the National Social Security System. Over those hundred and fifty years, French retirement pension systems have been characterised by a strong diversity and been exclusively oriented towards a contributory pension system approach.

Congressional Committees Will Take a Hard Look at Pension Issues

Congressional Committees Will Take a Hard Look at Pension Issues

Issues in Pension Economics.

In the past several decades, pension plans have become one of the most significant institutional influences on labor and financial markets in the U.S. In an effort to understand the economic effects of this growth, the National Bureau of Economic Research embarked on a major research project in 1980. Issues in Pension Economics , the third in a series of four projected volumes to result from thsi study, covers a broad range of pension issues and utilizes new and richer data sources than have been previously available. The papers in this volume cover such issues as the interaction of pension-funding decisions and corporate finances; the role of pensions in providing adequate and secure retirement income, including the integration of pension plans with social security and significant drops in the U.S. saving rate; and the incentive effects of pension plans on labor market behavior and the implications of plans on labor market behavior and the implications of plans for different demographic groups. Issues in Pension Economics offers important empirical studies and makes valuable theoretical contributions to current thinking in an area that will most likely continue to be a source of controversy and debate for some time to come. The volume should prove useful to academics and policymakers, as well as to members of the business and labor communities.

Japanese Corporate Pensions: The Current Issue

In recent years, Japan's pension system and the problems it faces have come to be widely regarded as one of the most important policy issues in Japan. The introduction of the Basic Pension (kiso nenkin) will be the first step towards the reorganization of the various public pension schemes into one unified system. However, pension reform as a whole still has a long way to go. An important premise that must be considered when discussing Japan's pension issue is the likelihood that the current relatively low rate of economic growth will continue for some time into the future. This is of particular concern when considered in the light of the budget constraints already existing and Japan's inbuilt structural domestic budget deficit problem. It would seem that the pension system and other social security programs are destined to become of serious concern to the financial standing of the country.

Pensions Issues: A Discussion

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Pension Funds in the United States Issues of Investment and Control

The issue of the investment and control of almost $800 billion in US pension fund assets has emerged as a major concern of American trade unionists, public officials and activists. These funds are the major source of new capital in the economy and are expected to become progressively more important over the next generation. Although the financial industry presently has almost complete control over these assets, there is a growing movement to challenge that control and develop viable and concrete alternatives to their investment priorities and practices. Efforts to create 'alternative' investment mechanisms and strategies are only in their initial stages of development, and these efforts require much more critical and supportive analysis. This paper decribes the development of the 'pension issue' in the US and presents examples of alternative investment proposals and actions.

Old Age Pensions and Policy-Making in Canada

Old age pensions have been a recurring issue in Canadian politics since the beginning of the twentieth century and now have more government resources devoted to them than to any other single public program. For these reasons the author has selected old age pensions as a case study on the politics of income redistribution. Professor Bryden analyses the development of public pension policy against the background of two opposing forces: the social and economic needs of an emerging urban-industrial society and the influence of a deep-rooted set of cultural values referred to as the market ethos which reinforces dominant economic interests. In particular he shows how the impact of the two forces - the one demanding the other resisting, income redistribution - affected the choice and later revisions of means test pensions in 1927, universal pensions in 1951, and contributory pensions in 1965. The features of these three pension plans are examined in detail, as are the conditions which brought the pension Issue to the top of the government agenda in each case; the alternative plans which were discussed; and the influence of individual members of parliament, political parties, the trade union movement, other interest groups, and provincial governments on the shape or revision of each new program. The expansion of pension programs brought about large increases in public expenditure. Regressive taxes and contributions were built into the policy designs and were justified in terms of the market ethos-prospective beneficiaries, it was argued, should be required to contribute to their own pensions. Professor Bryden examines the reality of the taxes and concludes that those in the lower middle income range and below have been required to assume a disproportionate share of the burden of providing income maintenance for the aged. In short, accommodations to the market ethos were an integral part of public pension policy.

Private Pension Plans: A 1968 Prospectus

There is now much concern about adequate provision for retirement needs and all sorts of new ideas and legislative proposals are circulating as to the best way to meet these vital needs. Private pension plans have proven their worth and should play an expanded role in the future in providing for retirement income. These plans now cover about 30 million people and their accumulated reserves are now estimated at more than $100 billion. They have more flexibility than public approaches and help to accumulate the capital ne,eded for a dynamic economy. Because it is so important for employees to understand their pension plans and to prevent even rare instances of malfeasance, reasonable legislation providing for improved disclosure of information by pension plans and for clear-cut responsibility of plan managers appears to be in order. Similarly, adequate vesting and funding are t-he mainstays of the pension system. But we should exercise much caution in regard to proposals to guarantee pension rights. It is particularly important to recognize that such guarantees cannot be used as a substitute for the adequate funding of pension plans. This is a time wlhen there is much concern about adequate provision for the retirement needs of our population. All sorts of new ideas are circulating as to the best way to meet these vital needs. The Administration has recommended and the Congress has been considering legislative proposals to revise the rules regarding pension plans. The Griffiths Subcommittee of the Joint Economic Committee has focused attention on a wide variety of pension issues. And the President's Commission on Income Maintenance Programs is now examining not only private and public pension plans, but also such esoteric ideas as the negative income tax. Judging from the wide diversity of views expressed in this dialogue, all the Arthur S. Fefferman, Ph.D., has been Director of Economic Analysis for the American Life Convention since 1963. Earlier Dr. Fefferman was Chief of the Individual Income Tax Staff of the Treasury's Tax Analysis Staff, in which capacity he served on the President's Committee on Corporate Pension Funds. This paper was presented at the A.R.I.A. 1968 Anniual Meetinc. answers in the retirement area have not yet been found. Much thought and study will be needed to arrive at satisfactory solutions. But it is already clear that private pension plans have proven their worth and should play an expanded role in the future in providing for retirement income. The President's Committee on Corporate Pension Plans, in its 1965 report, recognized this when it endorsed private pension plans and stated that it should be Government policy to foster their development. These private pension plans, with all their virtues, are not perfect. There are a number of things which can be done to foster their development. Nonetheless, if one looks at pension plans in broad perspective, the point that stands out most sharply is their capability and potential for providing for retirement needs. These plans now cover about 30 million people and their accumulated reserves are now estimated at more than $1000 billion. By 1980, it is expected that pension plans will

Note: Errata: Private Pension Issues under Collective Bargaining

Note: Errata: Private Pension Issues under Collective Bargaining

Private Pension Issues under Collective Bargaining

Although the private pension mechanism has been the subject of a formidable volume of books and articles produced by academicians, practitioners and others, much less attention has been given to the influence of collective bargaining on retirement plan design. A number of problems associated with an analysis of bargaining influence are disclosed on the following pages. One method of analysis, utilized recently by the author in a treatise dealing with collectively bargained pension plans, is suggested. A general discussion of bargaining issues is presented.