Description
Book SynopsisCharles Blahous explains the origins and dangers of current under funding in the US’s single-employer defined-benefit pension system and outlines the options for solving the problem and preventing the next taxpayer-financed bailout. He provides a tutorial on the basic workings of pension law, reviews the recent history that led to the worsening condition of the pension insurance system, and suggests a range of reforms.
Table of Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abstract
- Introduction
- The Nature of Single-Employer Defined-Benefit Pensions
- The Nation’s Pension Insurance System: The Condition of the PBGC
- The Magnitude of Pension Underfunding Nationwide
- Technical Reasons for Pension Underfunding
- Pension Plan Assets
- Pension Plan Liabilities
- Addressing Underfunding: Statutory Contribution Requirements
- Other Funding Safeguards Established by the PPA
- Premiums
- Recent Developments: Legislation and the Financial Markets’ Plunge
- Additional Reasons for Underfunding: Structural Issues Facing the PBGC
- Political Economy Factors
- Pension Funding Policy Principles: Separating Measurement Accuracy from Value Judgments
- Can the Hole be Filled? Separating Fairness from Risk Issues
- Going Forward: General Principles for Pension Insurance System Reform
- Conclusions and Recommendations
- Notes
- Bibliography
- About the Author
- Index
