Lack of Access to Pension Plans Takes Center Stage at FSR Event

December 31, 2014 at 04:02 AM
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When it comes to retirement preparedness, one of the most important tools that individuals have at their disposal is pension plans. But too many Americans don't have access to such plans, and even those that do are falling victim to prolonged low interest rates.

So how can this country improve the retirement system, and are there lessons that America can learn from pension plan systems in other countries?

Those were among the questions posed at the recent "Retiring around the Globe" event sponsored by the Financial Services Roundtable. The roundtable, held in December, featured expert commentary from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), incoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Pablo Antolin, lead author of OECD's Pensions Outlook 2014; Jim McCaughan, CEO at Principal Global Investors; Ed Farrington, executive vice-president at Natixis Global Asset Management; Edmund F. Murphy III, president of Empower Retirement; and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable.

The purpose of the roundtable event was to discuss retirement plan options around the world, examine some that work and others that don't, and evaluate how the U.S. system compares overall. The general consensus was that the U.S. system does have several valuable lessons to offer, the possibility of a 'retirement crisis' is a definite reality unless some changes are made to the present system.

Dire Warnings

Hatch opened the roundtable remarks, and spent the first half of his comments addressing the Senate Finance Committee's agenda for 2015 and issues related to the nation's tax code and foreign trade. There wasn't a lot of good news in those remarks. But when he turned his attention to pension plans and the retirement system specifically, the warnings got especially dire.

"I'd like to take a moment and comment on the multiemployer pension legislation that is included in the so-called CRomnibus that the Senate passed over the weekend," Hatch said. "If there are still those who doubt the existence of a serious pension problem in America, this event is a wake-up call to say the least.

"At the request of multiemployer pension plan managers, employers who contribute to multiemployer pension plans, as well as many unions representing employees, the CRomnibus included a provision that gives pension plan trustees the power, in extreme cases, to cut earned pensions in order to avoid plan insolvency and larger cuts later," Hatch explained.

(Pundits call the spending bill a CRomnibus because it is a combination of an omnibus bill, as typical government spending bills are, and a continuing resolution [CR], which funds the government when the lawmakers can't come to a deal. In this case, the Homeland Security Department is subject to the CR; its funding will expire in February.)

"This is a sobering moment for the pension community," Hatch noted. "And beyond the hardship some retirees inevitably will experience, it highlights both the challenge of delivering on the promise of lifetime retirement income and the stakes for retirees if the system fails."

The SAFE Retirement Act

To help prevent such likelihood, Hatch said the SAFE Retirement Act (Secure Annuities for Employee Retirement Act) encourages the use of annuities in 401(k) plans.

"First, we remove obstacles to adding annuity-purchase options to 401(k) plans, and second, we provide employers a liability safe harbor. That way, employers are encouraged to add annuity options to their plans and employees are encouraged to use them," Hatch said.

The SAFE Retirement Act would address the problems of poorly funded state and local defined benefit pension plans, Hatch said.

"In a SAFE Retirement Plan, employers purchase annuity contracts for their employees each year," Hatch said. "Pension costs are stable and affordable, and employees receive annuity contracts for lifetime pensions that are fully portable, 100 percent vested, and can never be underfunded."

How Real is a 'Retirement Crisis'?

An important theme of the roundtable was just how likely a true retirement crisis is for this country, and if so, what steps can be taken to avoid it.

Jim McCaughan, CEO of Principal Global Investors said, "in general, I do not see our system as being in crisis, but if there is a crisis lurking the reason is low interest rates."

McCaughan warned that we should expect interest rates to remain low for the next several years, and in an extended low-rate period, "many direct benefit plans will simply become unsustainable. At the individual level, this is a uniquely difficult time to turn retirement savings into retirement income. Investors need new solutions, along with education and advice to make good choices."

Commenting on the other presentations at the roundtable, McCaughan said "I think the starting point for the discussion was that although there are good features of systems around the world, we in this country – and we are no exception – see quite a proportion of the population saving inadequately. One can debate the numbers, but I think it is agreed that there needs to be more encouragement to both employers and employees to develop plans that enable people to take control of their retirement planning and increase their financial security."

Effective Retirement System Elements

There are three essential elements to an effective retirement system, and McCaughan said the United States could draw on lessons from the Netherlands, Japan, China and Australia for each.

First is the right funding, McCaughan said. That includes discipline about appropriate sources and limits on government promises. He offered the example of the Netherlands, which has a strong regulatory regime plan, the result of a prolonged low-interest rate environment.

Second is appropriate participant direction, including public education on how to make sound investment choices. He gave the example of Australia's 'Super' plan, which allows plan participants to invest in anything they like.

Third are tax incentives to encourage participation, without which employees don't participate in sufficient numbers, or at sufficient levels, to sustain retirement income. He said Japan and China are two nations that will face problems in this area. Japan does have a strong private pension system, but its public pension system will likely not be sustainable.

The Big Worry About Low Interest Rates

Echoing the warning about a prolonged low-interest rate period was Pablo Antolin, who said there are plenty of challenges to fixing the U.S. pension system. Specifically, Antolin cited "low returns, low interest rates, and low growth," combined with the ageing of the population.

Add to those factors a reduction in government revenue to finance retirement promises, and a loss of public confidence in private pensions, and the outlook is not good, Antolin suggested.

Antolin took the opportunity to review findings of the OECD Pensions Outlook 2014 study, which offers a detailed look at how pension plan systems are likely to fare in a number of countries. The study recommends that individuals contribute more to their plans and for longer periods, and that they postpone retirement as long as possible.

The OECD also recommends an acceleration of pension reforms among member countries, which may mean a reduction in pension benefits for some.

Most importantly, the OECD study found that the same pressures and challenges were being faced by retirement plans virtually everywhere, including:

• An increase in older workers' employment

• A shifting of the poverty risk from the elderly to the young

• The possibility of long-term effects on retirement from current labor market conditions

• Differences in life expectancy

• The rapid ageing of populations

Finally, Antolin said the OECD study looks at recommendations on how to increase the complementary role of private pension plans. These include increasing coverage through both compulsion and automatic enrollment; encouraging individuals to contribute longer and delay retirement; targeting specific segments of the population that need access to private pension plans; and improving the alignment between private and public plans.

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