From the Wharton School, offering a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public-sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century.

With birth rates falling at the same time that average ages are rising in the developed world, the pensions time bomb is ticking louder than ever. This timely new book is an extremely useful contribution to this important issue.

Gone are the days when you could rely on the state pension to provide a comfortable retirement. But with all the options out there how much do you save, and how? This book takes a realistic look at how you can safeguard your future.

This paper outlines the Government's detailed proposition for state pension reform. It follows a consultation on the proposals set out in "A state pension of the 21st century" (2011, Cm. 8053, ISBN 9780101805322). There was consensus that the state pension system needed to be simplified and the aim is to merge the state second pension with the basic state pension, to create one flat-rate payment. The new flat-rate state pension will start in April 2017 at the earliest. The weekly payment will be £144, plus inflation rises between now and 2017. Chapters in this paper cover: the context for reform; the single-tier pension; managing the end of contracting-out; the transition to the single-tier pension; sustainability and assumptions; longer-term sustainability - state pension age. Annexes provide: a brief history of the state pension; faster flat rating - assessment against principles for reform; features of the single-tier pension and specific transitional arrangements; an example pension statement; proposed timetable for implementing the increase in state pension age to 67.

In the wake of the financial crisis and Great Recession, the health of state and local pension plans has emerged as a front burner policy issue. Elected officials, academic experts, and the media alike have pointed to funding shortfalls with alarm, expressing concern that pension promises are unsustainable or will squeeze out other pressing government priorities. A few local governments have even filed for bankruptcy, with pensions cited as a major cause. Alicia H. Munnell draws on both her practical experience and her research to provide a broad perspective on the challenge of state and local pensions. She shows that the story is big and complicated and cannot be viewed through a narrow prism such as accounting methods or the role of unions. By examining the diversity of the public plan universe, Munnell debunks the notion that all plans are in trouble. In fact, she finds that while a few plans are basket cases, many are functioning reasonably well. Munnell's analysis concludes that the plans in serious trouble need a major overhaul. But even the relatively healthy plans face three challenges ahead: an excessive concentration of plan assets in equities; the risk that steep benefit cuts for new hires will harm workforce quality; and the constraints plans face in adjusting future benefits for current employees. Here, Munnell proposes solutions that preserve the main strengths of state and local pensions while promoting needed reforms.

Pension funds are big business. They are important to employers, employees, governments, and society at large. With the increasing concern over dwindling retirement pension fund crises, managing pension plans has never been more critical--and the pressure on those who are responsible for them has only intensified. Destined to become the classic resource on pension plan management, Managing Pension Plans explains everything you need to know for successful management of any pension plan--from how pension plans help sponsors manage their workforces to the latest in investment and risk management. With concise and practical Managing Pensions Plans is an indispensable resource for pension fund trustees, boards of directors, managers, and administrators of both public and private pension plans as well as for the money management firms, consultants, actuaries, and accountants who serve the pension fund industry. Logue and Rader, two of the world's leading experts on the subject, explain all the financial, legal, economic, accounting, and managerial issues that those who make pension fund decisions must juggle--in language that non-financial managers can understand, yet with sufficient depth to be useful to financial managers as well. The authors synthesize the latest in capital market and financial economics research to help those involved in pension management improve their decision-making in all the critical areas. In addition, the book describes in detail the responsibilities of fiduciaries, revealing how to be both a prudent fiduciary and a capable decision maker. Managing Pension Plans offers candid advice on how pension managers can improve fund performance by being more effective shareholders. As pension fund management and performance increasingly affect the success of organizations as a whole, this book will be indispensable to anyone--from fund analysts to board members-who influences pension fund decisions.