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 Visitors @ BDL 20090707 (1)
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Some happy thoughts courtesy of Paul Farrell at MarketWatch: Retire? You can fuggetaboutit if the new Global Debt Time Bomb is detonated by any one of 20 made-in-America trigger mechanisms. Yes, 20. And yes, any one can destroy your retirement because all 20 are inexorably linked, a house-of-cards, a circular firing squad destined to self-destruct, triggering the [...] 
I’ve complained on this site previously about the accounting games which take place in federal accounting to reduce the appearance of a problem when it comes to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, and the national debt. You can find analogous games being played at the state and local level when it comes to pension [...]
I think a few pension actuaries might be changing the titles on their business card to “Bearer of Bad News”. Appearing in an article in Monday’s Wall Street Journal: Many state and city governments reeling from financial woes are about to get whacked again, this time by an unforeseen increase in their pension bill thanks to [...]
Seen in the New York Times: When the FedEx Corporation slimmed down its pension plan last year, it softened the blow by offering workers enriched 401(k) contributions to make up for the pension benefits some would lose. But last week, with Americans sending fewer parcels and FedEx’s revenue growth at a standstill, the company said it [...]
For those of you who are so inclined, the current issue of the American Academy of Actuaries’ magazine, Contingencies, has an article in which four pension actuaries share their thoughts on how they would redesign Social Security.
For those of you who have an interest in demography, immigration, Social Security, sustainability and/or just the general shape of the future, you might be interested in a lengthy article in this Sunday’s NYT Magazine discussing the causes and potential impact of Europe’s record-low birthrate. Some of the points raised in the article In parts of Europe, [...]
About $6 billion, apparently. From the Boston Globe: Massachusetts lawmakers are proposing bigger pensions for state and municipal employees that could cost $6 billion or more, according to some estimates, triggering a chorus of complaints from fiscal watchdogs and local leaders who say the money is not there to pay for it. The union-friendly, election-year maneuvers by [...]
It’s good to be loved. Seen in the New York Times: By firing its actuarial consultant last week, the New York State Legislature shone a light on one of the public sector’s deepest secrets: All across the country, states and local governments are promising benefits to public workers on the basis of numbers that make [...] 
Seen in the New York Times: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York unveiled the second biggest domestic policy idea of her Democratic presidential campaign today, proposing to spend $20 billion to $25 billion a year to create 401(k)-style retirement accounts for all Americans and provide federal matching money of up to $1,000 to middle-income people. Under [...]
Over the weekend, the Financial Times ran an article reviewing the threat of changes in mortality rates (or the estimation thereof) on life insurance, dating back from the old tontine schemes of the 17th centrury, up through the uncertainties raised about pandemic risk and pension funding shortfalls. Over on the P&C side of the insurance house, [...] |
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