In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodic employee contributions come directly out of their paychecks, and may be matched by the employer. This legal option is what makes 401(k) plans attractive to employees, and many employers offer this option to their (full-time) workers. 401(k) payable is a general ledger account that contains the amount of 401(k) plan pension payments that an employer has an obligation to remit to a pension plan administrator. This account is classified as a payroll liability, since the amount owed should be paid within one year.
A pension is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be:
The Canada Pension Plan is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old Age Security (OAS). Other parts of Canada's retirement system are private pensions, either employer-sponsored or from tax-deferred individual savings. As of Jun 30, 2022, the CPP Investment Board manages over C$523 billion in investment assets for the Canada Pension Plan on behalf of 21 million Canadians. CPPIB is one of the world's biggest pension funds.
The Pensions Act 1995 is a piece of United Kingdom legislation to improve the running of pension schemes.
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.
LAPP, formerly known by its expanded acronym, the Local Authorities Pension Plan, is the largest pension plan in Alberta and the seventh largest in Canada.
The Universities Superannuation Scheme is a pension scheme in the United Kingdom with £89.6 billion under management as of August 2021. It has over 400,000 members, made up of active and retired academic and academic-related staff mostly from those universities established prior to 1992. In 2006, it was the second largest private pension scheme in the UK by fund size. The headquarters of Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS) are in Liverpool.
Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions - state, occupational and personal pensions.
Superannuation in Australia or "super" is a savings system for workplace pensions in retirement. It involves money earned by an employee being placed into an investment fund to be made legally available to fund members upon retirement. Employers make compulsory payments to these funds at a proportion of their employee's wages. From July 2023, the mandatory minimum "guarantee" contribution is 11%, rising to 12% from 2025. The superannuation guarantee was introduced by the Hawke government to promote self-funded retirement savings, reducing reliance on a publicly funded pension system. Legislation to support the introduction of the superannuation guarantee was passed by the Keating Government in 1992.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is a non-departmental public body which regulates work-based pension schemes in the United Kingdom. Created under the Pensions Act 2004, the regulator replaced the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) from 6 April 2005 and has wider powers and a new proactive and risk-based approach to regulation.
A defined contribution (DC) plan is a type of retirement plan in which the employer, employee or both make contributions on a regular basis. Individual accounts are set up for participants and benefits are based on the amounts credited to these accounts plus any investment earnings on the money in the account. In defined contribution plans, future benefits fluctuate on the basis of investment earnings. The most common type of defined contribution plan is a savings and thrift plan. Under this type of plan, the employee contributes a predetermined portion of his or her earnings to an individual account, all or part of which is matched by the employer.
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 Mandatory Provident Fund, often abbreviated as MPF (強積金), is a compulsory saving scheme for the retirement of residents in Hong Kong. Most employees and their employers are required to contribute monthly to mandatory provident fund schemes provided by approved private organisations, according to their salaries and the period of employment.
The Pensions Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to improve the running of pension schemes.
Self-funded health care, also known as Administrative Services Only (ASO), is a self insurance arrangement in the United States whereby an employer provides health or disability benefits to employees using the company's own funds. This is different from fully insured plans where the employer contracts an insurance company to cover the employees and dependents.
The National Pension System (NPS) is a defined-contribution pension system in India regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India. National Pension System Trust was established by PFRDA as per the provisions of the Indian Trusts Act of 1882 to take care of the assets and funds under this scheme for the best interest of the subscriber.
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 Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) is part of the UK welfare system that offers help to members of eligible schemes who have lost out on their pension either because their employer became insolvent between 1 January 1997 and 5 April 2005, or is solvent but under a "compromise agreement" no longer has to meet its commitment to pay its debt to the pension scheme.
Pensions in Canada can be public, private, and collective, or come from individual savings.
