A pension fund,also known as a superannuation fund in some countries,is any program,fund,or scheme which provides retirement income.
Elaine Lan Chao is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as United States secretary of labor in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009 and as United States Secretary of Transportation in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party,Chao was the first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. She resigned as transportation secretary after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Addison Mitchell McConnell III is an American politician and retired attorney who has been serving as senate minority leader since 2021 and the senior United States senator from Kentucky since 1985,the longest serving senator in his state's history. He previously served as minority leader from 2007 to 2015,majority leader from 2015 to 2021 and was majority whip from 2003 to 2007. McConnell has been the leader of the Senate Republican Conference since 2007,making him the longest serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a U.S. federal tax and labor law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. It contains rules on the federal income tax effects of transactions associated with employee benefit plans. ERISA was enacted to protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries by:
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined benefit pension plans,provide timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits,and keep pension insurance premiums at the lowest level necessary to carry out its operations. Subject to other statutory limitations,PBGC's single-employer insurance program pays pension benefits up to the maximum guaranteed benefit set by law to participants who retire at 65. The benefits payable to insured retirees who start their benefits at ages other than 65 or elect survivor coverage are adjusted to be equivalent in value. The maximum monthly guarantee for the multiemployer program is far lower and more complicated.
The pensions crisis or pensions timebomb is the predicted difficulty in paying for corporate or government employment retirement pensions in various countries,due to a difference between pension obligations and the resources set aside to fund them. The basic difficulty of the pension problem is that institutions must be sustained over far longer than the political planning horizon. Shifting demographics are causing a lower ratio of workers per retiree;contributing factors include retirees living longer,and lower birth rates. An international comparison of pension institution by countries is important to solve the pension crisis problem. There is significant debate regarding the magnitude and importance of the problem,as well as the solutions. One aspect and challenge of the "Pension timebomb" is that several countries' governments have a constitutional obligation to provide public services to its citizens,but the funding of these programs,such as healthcare are at a lack of funding,especially after the 2008 recession and the strain caused on the dependency ratio by an ageing population and a shrinking workforce,which increases costs of elderly care.
Bradley Belt is an American businessman. He is the CEO of Palisades Capital and the managing director of the Milken Institute. He is vice chairman of Orchard Global Asset Management.
Pensions in the United States consist of the Social Security system,public employees retirement systems,as well as various private pension plans offered by employers,insurance companies,and unions.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) was founded in 1977 and represents over 28,000 flight attendants at American Airlines. In 2003,APFA played a major role in keeping American Airlines solvent and out of bankruptcy by giving back an employee bailout of $340 million in annual salary and benefits,for a total of over $3 billion. APFA had been in negotiations with American for almost four years when the carrier filed for chapter 11-bankruptcy protection on November 29,2011.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006,120 Stat. 780,was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on August 17,2006.
Steven A. Kandarian was the president,chairman,and chief executive officer of MetLife. He became president and CEO on May 1,2011,and chairman in January 2012 succeeding Robert Henrikson,who retired from those roles. Kandarian retired from MetLife on April 30,2019 and was succeeded as president and CEO by Michel Khalaf and as chairman by Glenn Hubbard.
Charles E. F. Millard is an American political figure and business executive specializing in pensions and investments. He is the former Director of the United States Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Appointed by President George W. Bush,Millard was the first Director of the PBGC to be Presidentially appointed and confirmed by the United States Senate. As Director,Millard was the chief executive officer of the PBGC and carried the rank of Under Secretary.
James B. Lockhart III is an American U.S. Navy officer,business executive,and,since September 2009,Vice Chairman of WL Ross &Co,which manages $9 billion of private equity investments,a hedge fund and a Mortgage Recovery Fund. It is a subsidiary of Invesco,a Fortune 500 investment management firm. He coordinates WL Ross's investments in financial services firms and mortgages. Lockhart serves co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center's Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings.
Defined benefit (DB) pension plan is a type of pension plan in which an employer/sponsor promises a specified pension payment,lump-sum,or combination thereof on retirement that depends on an employee's earnings history,tenure of service and age,rather than depending directly on individual investment returns. Traditionally,many governmental and public entities,as well as a large number of corporations,provide defined benefit plans,sometimes as a means of compensating workers in lieu of increased pay.
The Kline–Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 is a federal law that was enacted in the United States on December 16,2014,with the goal of allowing certain American pension plans that have insufficient funds,and thus are at risk of insolvency,to reduce the benefits they owe to participants. The bill was co-sponsored by U.S. Representatives John Kline (R-Minnesota) and George Miller (D-California).
Kathleen Utgoff is an American economist. She was Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2002–2006.
The Butch Lewis Act is an act of the United States Congress that would allow the United States Treasury to provide financial assistance to failing multiemployer pension plans. This assistance would come in the form of grants that would not need to be repaid to the Department of Treasury and would allow retirees to receive the entirety of their pension benefits.
The Miners Protection Act is a bill to establish pension and health care benefits to mine workers and has been introduced to Congress 4 times since 2015 but has still not been voted on by the full Senate. The Miners Protection Act would be an amendment to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The act would redirect extraneous funds from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act to be funneled into miners pensions and health care.
Robert A. (Bob) Westbrooks is an American attorney and former government executive,certified public accountant,auditor,federal agent,government watchdog,speaker and author. Westbrooks is best known for his work as an inspector general and for the transparency he provided to the American public as executive director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC),an independent committee within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).
