Pension Shortfall

  

You run a pension plan for The National Chainsaw Juggler's Union. Your accountants believe that, based on the number of current members you have and their projected retirement needs (and massive long-term chainsaw-related medical bills they'll likely have, even in retirement), you need to have $2 billion in your fund. You currently have $200 million.

Uh-oh. Major pension shortfall.

The term refers to a circumstance when a pension plan doesn't have enough money to meet its eventual obligations. Basically, the employer or union (or whoever has sponsored the plan) has promised certain benefits in retirement, but doesn't have enough cash to deliver.

Shortfalls like this are a particular danger of defined pension plans. Usually, the culprit for the shortfall comes from weak investment performance. Due to the long-term nature of pension planning, funds rely on growth over time to build up enough money to cover benefits. Employees and the employer contribute to the fund, but much of the cash needed to pay for retirement expenses comes from investment gains. If those underperform, it can contribute to a pension shortfall.

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Finance: What is a Pension?31 Views

00:00

finance a la shmoop. what is a pension? well it rhymes with tension, and likely

00:08

for good reason. if you're a teachers pension or a fireman's pension or [person wearing dark glasses writes something down]

00:12

another state employees pension that's backed up by a state that's going

00:16

bankrupt. Hi, California, Hi Illinois. well we're looking at you. all right people

00:21

well a pension is another term for a retirement fund. but what's special about

00:26

a pension is that the employer essentially forces you to put away money

00:31

for your retirement and then they invested for you.

00:35

how nice. or at least be sure you invest it well on a salary of 75 grand a state [gambling table shown]

00:39

employed ditch-digger might get a contribution of say 10 grand a year into

00:42

her pension, and that's each year 10 grand of forced savings for as long as

00:47

she you know digs ditches for the state. and in some states where the unions are

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strong in the governing financial knowledge is weak the government

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guarantees a minimum financial return on the pension investment made on behalf of

01:00

the employees. that is in California for example the state guarantees a 10% per

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year return on their invested pension savings. if the invested return like [equation]

01:11

investing it in Wall Street and stocks and bonds and private equity funds and

01:15

all that stuff well if that invested return is less than that number less

01:19

than that 10%, then the state rights to the pinch and a check to cover the

01:23

incremental difference. yeah it's a huge Delta and it's well pretty much why you

01:28

a Californian Illinois you're going bankrupt remember. Jesus Saves

01:31

but Moses invests. [ Moses, holding stone tablets glares and demands interest]

01:35

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