...Running Head: Pension Plans Abstract The goal of pension plans is to provide a fixed income for individuals during retirement. In practice, this means either paying employees a fixed income when they reach a predetermined retirement age or can no longer work due to disability (Dessler, 2005, p. 492). However, since the 1980’s the number of employers offering pension plans has declined. Once considered a common benefit in the workplace and motivator for senior employees to remain with the organization, private pension plans has drastically dropped 74 percent (Carrell & Heavrin, 2007, p. 329). This research paper will first explain how pension plans are classified and then identify several reasons why pension plans has declined. Moreover, it will discuss which pension plans are in use today, and finally, what regulations govern pension plans. Private Pension Plans: America’s Vanishing Benefit When one company after another reneges on its pension obligation toward current and future employees, you know it’s going to get ugly. Just ask any veteran employee of a major airline who may only receive half the value of his/her pension upon retirement. Walsh (2004) reported that United Airlines’ pension payment debt nearly topped $23.4 billion along with another $1 billion for retiree health care benefits (para. 11). In other words, pension payments have the potential to basically bankrupt an industry. How should companies challenge the rising cost of retirement...
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...Pensions and Retirement Pla ACC/541 May 7, 2012 Pensions and Retirement Plans Memo To: Kimberly Taylor, CEO, Kim’s Tasty Kookies From: Donna Robinson, CFO, Kim’s Tasty Kookies Date: May 7, 2012 ------------------------------------------------- Subject: Pensions and Retirement Plans Kim’s Tasty Kookies had begun operation in 1895 with Kimberly great-grand mother making her famous chocolate chips for children. Although the recipes were handed down through three generation of Taylors, Kimberly Taylor felt it was her duty to share her great-grand mother Kookies recipes with the world in 1995. Just 10 year later, the company has made it on the cover of Fortune 500 this past December. After buying out the local cookie company, Kim’s Tasty Kookies (KTK) opened new branches in England, Mexico and Canada. The acquired company included two segments with two different pension plans. This memo will discuss Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit, and Other Postretirement Plans as well as an explanation of the possible effects of eliminating the two segments. Defined Contribution Plan With a defined-contribution plan, Kim’s Tasty Kookies would agree to contribute to the pension trust an certain amount each period, based on a formula. This formula would take into consideration such factors as age, length of employee service, KTK’s profits, and compensation level (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007). This plan makes no projection regarding the ultimate benefits...
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...Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Pension Plans What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Defined Benefit Pension Plan? Advantages of a Defined Benefit Pension Plan •Provides an explicit benefit which is easily communicated •Time to invest not as crucial a factor for older employees •Older employees may receive more benefit than under a DCPP •Payroll deduction possible for employee contributions •Past service benefits possible Disadvantages of a Defined Benefit Pension Plan •Employees rarely participate in investment decisions •Employees receive reasonable rates of return on termination Employer absorbs risk associated with changes in interest rates and investment returns •Employer is responsible for funding any plan deficit, but the fund surplus must be shared with employees if plan is wound up •Actuarial evaluations required by law •More difficult to provide early retirement calculations •Future employer costs are more difficult to project •Employer is responsible for funding any plan deficits •Higher administration costs What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Defined Contribution Pension Plan? Advantages of a Defined Contribution Pension Plan: •Payroll deduction possible for employee contributions •Plan context is easy to understand and communicate •Employees can participate in investment decisions •Actuarial calculations of funding not required •No surplus or deficit in pension fund to manage •Contributions are tax...
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...Acquisition of Other Company, Pensions and Other Postretirement Plans Abstract Recently, Midsize Manufacturing Company acquired 100% of another company. Along with the acquisition, Midsize Manufacturing Company inherited the former company’s employee pension plans and other postretirement plans. In the following I will discuss the required reporting for defined contributions, defined benefits, and other postretirement benefits. I will also address how the former company’s segments shall be dissolved. Defined Contribution Plan vs Defined Benefit Plan First, Midsize Manufacturing Company must determine the type of pension plan that will be offered to the inherited employees. The employees from the former company experienced two differing pension plans. It is in the best interest of Midsize Manufacturing Company to select one plan moving forward. According to Schroeder, Clark, and Cathey (2011), the two most frequently encountered types of pension plans are defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans (p. 456). On one hand a defined contribution plan applies a set amount to the employee’s retirement per period. Often the employee will contribute a designated amount to the investment and the employer then has a match plan coinciding with the employee’s investment. Examples of defined contribution plans are 401(k) or 403(b). Defined contribution plans tend to be useful for small to midsize companies “since the risk for future benefits is borne by the...
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...employees with a pension plan for many years. Through the use of a funding agency, payments are invested so that periodic payments can be made to the employee during retirement. Defined contribution and defined benefit are the two most common type of pension plans. However, employers offer additional retirement benefits such as tuition assistance, healthcare, life insurance, and housing subsidies (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, 2011, p. 470) as guided by SFAS No. 106, “Employers’ Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions.” Each plan caries different risk and benefits for employer and employee. A brief summary is hereby provided to aid in deciding the appropriate plan for the company. Defined Contribution Defined contributions plans are rapidly becoming the preferred plan for most firms. The plan offers less risk to employers because employees make contribution towards retirement funds. Employees contribute a set percentage, taken from the salary, to the plan. Funds are invested into a plan such as a 401K or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for Federal employees. The amount the retiree receives is based on the return on investment at the receipt. That is, the benefits the recipients earn are based on the stability of the investment and the return earned on funds during the time of investment. The risk of the investment is borne by the employee as the market changes in value. The employer’s responsibility is the “annual contribution to the pension plan fund” (Schroeder...
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...As people go through their entire lives they expect themselves to be able to retire after working for at least thirty years. As a matter of fact, state pensions are enough for a number of people to satisfy their basic needs for lives. Obviously, most people would want to supplement of pension plan because they have to depend on the pensions after they retire. It goes without saying that how important for them to have a stable pension plan when they are still working. A lot of employers also believe that they should set up pension plans when they still work. Pension plans not only bring benefits to the employees but also contribute the complete the corporate system. A couple years ago, some plaintiffs began filing lawsuits against pension plans sponsored by religiously- affiliated non-profit hospitals, challenging their designation as ‘‘church plans’’ under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 19741 (ERISA). In order to protect employee’s rights and make sure employer offer pension plans to their employees, the employee retirement income protection act of 1974 (ERISA) was published years ago, and employees can usually avoid unexpected losses in their retirement plans. The federal government set laws to protect employee’s rights with pension...
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...Pension plans offered at different organizations are different but typically follow one of two main types. The defined benefit plan and the defined contribution plan are the two main types of pension schemes. The focus is always on helping the people when they retire. The state of Florida could benefit from re-opening the defined benefit plan for the state employees. The organizations should focus on a plan and be forced to keep it open for employees as long as they are with that organization. These pension plans often become the subject of budget cuts to save the organizations money and the employees suffered because of it. The defined benefit plan had the potential to pay a specific amount of retirement income for life. It may be based on the formula that takes into account your salary and years of service with your organization. In most plans, both employee and employer contribute. The company is...
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...Article Review: Pension Plans Benefits HRM 599 Devry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management October 7, 2013 Professor Brian Nisbet Yolanda M. Green Pension Plans The article entitled “Pension Plans” was written by Al Thomas, with means of informing workers of the different types of retirement plans that should be accessible by their employer. The article was also written to explain which of those plans are better for employees to choose from in order to maximize the amount of money that they will receive after retirement. During the time of this articles publishing, it appeared that some companies were using unreal rate of returns for projections of better profits (Pension Plans). The rest of this article review will give insight on the two different options that employees can choose from when deciding on retirement plans and how to be sure that each move after will help them achieve their main goals, which should be retirement savings. The article mentions the first type of pension plan that is available to employees, which is called the “Defined Contribution Plan”. Under this plan you will be able to put in any amount of money into your retirement plan and in return the company will match a certain percentage of that. During this week in our class discussions we talked a lot about employer match contribution amounts and if we thought that it was enough for someone to survive at retirement. A lot of classmates...
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...MEMO Our company has recently acquired another company which has two segments and two different pension plans. These segments could create reporting issues which we would want to eliminate. To fulfill this objective, we should first understand what the different postretirement plans are and what their reporting requirements are after which we would identify steps to eliminate the two segments. * Defined Benefit Pension Plan In a defined benefit pension plan, employee gets a specified monthly benefit at retirement. The amount of benefit may be decided by the company based on the salary and service level of the employee. The reporting requirement for this pension plan is to include information in two categories. Category 1: The plan should include information in two financial statements: (a) A statement of plan net assets that provides information about the fair value and composition of plan assets, plan liabilities, and plan net assets (b) A statement of changes in plan net assets that provides information about the year-to-year changes in plan net assets The notes requirement should address the following: * Brief plan description * Summary of significant accounting policies * Information about contributions, legally required reserves, and investment concentrations Category 2: Information should be presented in two schedules: (a) A schedule of funding progress that reports the actuarial value of assets, the actuarial accrued liability, and the relationship...
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...THE IMPACT OF PENSION SECTOR REFORMS ON THE FINANCIAL VIABILITY OF PENSION PLANS IN KENYA By Akwimbi Ambaka William March 12, 2011 Department of Business Administration, School of Business, University of Nairobi, Kenya Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1784297 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration List of Tables List of Figures Appendices Abbreviation CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0. 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6. Background of the Study The Conceptual Basis of Social Security Schemes The Kenyan Contextual Basis of Social Security Problem Statement Research Questions and Objectives Research Hypotheses Importance of the study 1 3 10 19 22 22 23 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0. Introduction 2.1. Review of Theoretical Literature on Financial Viability of Pension Schemes 2.2. Review of Empirical Literature of Studies on the Solvency of Pension Schemes 2.3. Models for Evaluating the Financial Viability of Pension Schemes 2.4. A Summary of the Knowledge and Research Gaps 25 25 46 60 68 REFERENCES APPENDICES i Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1784297 GLOSSARY CAC CALPERS CAPSA CBS C-D CEO CGE CSR DB DC E.T.I EME ERISA FMA GASB GDP GSP INPFRS INSS IPD IRA IRBS KNAO KNBS LUPFUND NSE NSSF NYSCRF OECD OSFI PBGC PLC PPF PPR PROST PRPOPS PSPS PSSS RBA SAM SIPO SOX SSNIT SSS Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act CEO California Public Employees Retirement System The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities Central Bureau...
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...Accounting SUBJECT: Reporting of Pension Plan in acquisition of Company ABC DATE: June 11, 2013 In the acquisition of Company ABC, many factors must be considered, including the acquisition of the company’s pension plans and the addition of two segments. After careful analysis, the two operating segments have caused a loss to the company and must be eliminated. This memo will outline the reporting procedures for the pension plans and the necessary steps that must be taken to eliminate the segments. Defined Contribution Plan One of the most frequently encountered and widely used pension plans is the defined benefit plan. Under this plan, the employer is required to contribute a pre-determined amount of the employee’s salary to this pension plan. The amount of benefits paid out at the onset of retirement are not guaranteed and “are determined by the return earned on the invested pension funds during the investment period” (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, 2011). Employees also have the option of designating where their funds are invested, whether it be in stocks or in fixed-income securities. The defined contribution plan has become popular among employers due to no risk on behalf of the employer and the ease of reporting. Variations of the plan include: thrift plans, savings plans, 401(k) plans, profit-sharing plans, and incentive savings plans. Because of its simplicity in reporting, the defined contribution plan periodic pension expense is equal to the amount...
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...Company and PepsiCo Pension Plans Intermediate Accounting III – ACC 305 Strayer University November 20, 2011 Abstract The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo are both very large manufacturing corporations that operate worldwide. Over the years, each corporation has had a very longevity of business success. The expansion of business and brands through subsidiaries, partnerships and franchises in beverage and food products has been a consistent growth in retail sales for both corporations. With such growth, they employ thousands of employees worldwide and offer competitive benefits to include medical, life, and retirement. In 2006, both corporations adopted SFAS 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans — an amendment of FASB Statements No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R) (SFAS 158). For this particular paper, the goal will be to complete a comparative analysis of the pension plans that each corporation make available to their employees and retirees. Analysis A pension plan is an employer contributory or noncontributory saving plan which can also be qualified and nonqualified that businesses offer to their employees to assist with their retirement. With contributory plans, the employer and the employee make contributions into the savings. Whereas, with noncontributory plans, only the employer is required to make the contributions while the employee’s participation is optional. Under a qualified plan, tax deduction benefits...
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...Subject: Pension Plan Disclosure and Reporting Requirement CC: This brief memo will address the topic of Pension Plans. Specifically, it shall discuss the two basic types of pension plans and the other postretirement plan. Then it shall examine the purpose of pension plan reporting requirements, their effect on the financial statements, and the significance of each type of pension plan. It will also examine the positive and negative implications of each of the pension plans. Defined Benefit Pension Plan - A defined benefit plan is a retirement plan set up to pay a fixed annual amount to eligible employees during their retirement. It is called defined benefit because the quarterly or annual contribution is based upon an actuarial determination of what the participants' retirement benefits should be, not on profits. The formulas look at how much money must be contributed in order for there to be enough money to pay a FIXED amount of benefit(s) to recipients in the future. These projections use a reasonable expected rate of return (401kpsp.com, 2012). Defined Contribution Plan- A defined contribution plan is a retirement plan that requires that an individual "account" be set up for each participant in the plan. It is called "defined contribution" because a participant can only contribute a fixed maximum amount to the plan each year. The contributions are not based on the expected retirement benefit, but rather on a percentage that is specified in the plan (401kpsp.com...
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...Selecting of a good location for the factory enables employers to spend less money but still increase profitability for the company. The cost of manufacturing a product can be reduced through a proper factory location selection by considering such factors as minimum wage, employment insurance, government pension plan and other taxes which will be discussed later in this report. Location that offers lower cost always attracts more companies and investors. And in this report, Bloomington will be more attractive to company since it offers lower minimum wage and employment insurance, pension contribution and other taxes. After calculating the total cost to open new plant in Bloomington and Toronto, the supply chain analyst’s final decision will be made based on those costs. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 BACKGROUND 2 DISCUSSION 2 Minimum Wage 2 Government Pension Plan 3 Other factors 3 CONCLUSION 4 Works Cited 5 INTRODUCTION As a supply chain analyst, it is very important to consider some factors which might impact positively or negatively in location of a new factory. By analyzing such factors as minimum wage paid, employment insurance, government pension plan and other taxes, the report will be helpful for the employer during the decision making process. In this report, Bloomington, Indiana, USA and Toronto, Ontario, Canada will be selected as proposed location for consideration. Which location that gives the less cost in term of operational and administrative...
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...CHAPTER 20 ACCOUNTING FOR PENSIONS AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS IFRS questions are available at the end of this chapter. TRUE-FALSE—Conceptual Answer F T F T T F F T F T F F T F T F T F F T No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Description Funded pension plan. Qualified pension plans. Defined-contribution plan liability. Defined-benefit plans. Vested benefit obligation. Accumulated benefit obligation. Definition of service cost. Definition of interest cost. Recognizing accumulated benefit obligation. Pension Asset /Liability balance. Plan amendment and projected benefit obligation increase. Years-of-service amortization method. Expected return and actual return. Unexpected gains and losses. Accumulated OCI (G/L) account and the corridor. Amortization of net gains and losses. Recording prior service cost. Reporting accumulated OCI (PSC) on the balance sheet. Other comprehensive income (PSC) and net income. Reconciliation of PBO and fair value of plan assets. MULTIPLE CHOICE—Conceptual Answer d c d c b b a c a a d d d a c b No. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. Description Factors considered by actuaries. Process of funding a pension plan. Accounting problems in pension plans. Nature of a defined-contribution plan. Nature of a defined-benefit plan. Defined-contribution plan characteristics. Accounting for a defined-benefit plan. Pension obligation measurement using future salaries. Definition...
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