The Financial Crisis and Pensions

A  good op ed from the New York Times. I wonder why we are not discussing this issue here – the stock market meltdown combined with the growing difficulties of the real economy are going to have huge impacts on pension fund balances.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/opinion/27ghilarducci.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Op-Ed Contributor

Save Pensions

THE meltdown in the financial industry isn’t merely a housing story populated by panicked home owners. Near retirees’ and retirees’ lives have been turned upside down, too, as their risky 401(k) savings accounts erode.

It’s too bad that, in their plan to bail out investment firms, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, do not address the problems of older workers and retirees. The Treasury-Federal Reserve proposal should give not only investment banks but also retirees and those close to retirement the option to clear the junk — bad mortgage-based securities and their derivatives — out of their 401(k) accounts and invest in government-guaranteed bonds.

Then, once the current losses are stemmed, the federal government should protect Americans from further risks to the savings they set aside for their old age by creating a more secure system of investments for retirement accounts.

For the past 20 years, traditional pension plans, which paid benefits based on an employee’s years of service and pay, have been gradually replaced by individual accounts loaded with stocks and more exotic holdings, which provide benefits based on fluctuations in the financial markets.

……As the financial market implodes, the risks of this approach are becoming all too clear.

Policymakers in Washington should help Americans replace their risky accounts with new pensions more like the old kind with defined, predictable benefits. How would they do this? By setting up government-managed retirement accounts for every worker who does not already have an old-fashioned pension.

Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor of economics at the New School for Social Research, is the author of “When I’m 64: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them.”

2 comments

  • Jack Layton did a great job on CBC radio news, the interview from this afternoon was played in response to the stock drop today.

    Layton said he has called party leaders to a joint meeting so that they could together express their commitment to protect the savings of residents, their homes and jobs.

    As many commentators on this blog have noted, there are many options are available to achieve these goals.

    In the face of some market newscasts that seem to be trying to promote panic, Jack showed himself to be a sensible and strong leader in the public interest.

  • She writes this book entitled, “When I’m 64: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them.” then mentions 401ks as something worth keeping around.

    Am I missing something?

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