Nevertheless Gordon Brown, the new chancellor of the exchequer, ought to be concerned that no central figures seem to be kept on the overall cost of public-sector pensions, on how quickly it is rising and how cost-effective it is to pension off so many public servants.
Until recently, the political insulation that certain unions enjoyed kept pension reform off of the table.
FORBES: Arizona's Pension Change Shows That No Union Is Untouchable
If you're wondering why Walsh doesn't just pay the whole pension problem off with the contents of his war chest, British Airways says it needs to be kept "to deal with a difficult situation, " such as the financial bruising the airline received after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
If you're wondering why Walsh doesn't just pay the whole pension problem off with the contents of his war chest, British Airways (nyse: BAB - news - people ) says it needs to be kept "to deal with a difficult situation, " such as the financial bruising the airline received after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The previous Liberal government tried to limit pension investment in income trusts in 2004 but backed off when the pension industry objected.
ECONOMIST: The government cracks down on a stockmarket moneyspinner
Meanwhile, Oakland Tribune columnist Daniel Borenstein notes that his city has levied what he calls a "hidden pension tax" on property owners for decades to pay off a municipal pension fund that went bust in 1976.
WSJ: Steven Malanga: How Retirement Benefits May Sink the States
People with a 'defined contribution' pension can simply hold off on buying an annuity.
Together, they had no more than 500 euros a month, from her pension, to live off of.
In the 1990s, GM borrowed heavily to pay off its pension plan, saddling itself with hefty interest payments.
FORBES: GM Loosening The Noose From Its Massive Pension Plan
At the same time they will be making steeper pension contributions and paying off student debts that their parents were spared.
In other words, the employees, both union and management, general and public safety, are right now paying off the pension obligation bonds.
FORBES: Wisconsin Shows Mix Of Unions, Pols A Recipe for Ruin
How can this fury of trading make pension funds collectively better off?
And this week DuPont announced it will cut by two-thirds its contributions to its traditional pension plan, close off the plan to new employees and boost contributions to employees' 401(k) accounts.
And this week DuPont (nyse: DD - news - people ) announced it will cut by two-thirds its contributions to its traditional pension plan, close off the plan to new employees and boost contributions to employees' 401(k) accounts.
He then lived off a generous pension granted out of pity by Queen Anne.
The man turned out to be 48-year-old Gocha Makhtadze, who still lived at home with his mother and survived off of her pension.
Even while Governor Brown brags of a balanced budget, he ignores the off-budget pension fund deficit which threatens loss of government services and closure of parks and libraries, prompts municipal bankruptcies, and keeps the state deeply in debt.
The second is Daiwa Bank, which is being asked by the regulators to spin off its profitable pension-fund management business, perhaps so that the weak commercial-banking rump can be used as a bridge bank, to tide over customers of defunct regional banks.
The chancellor's pension reforms will ensure that 40% of the population cannot save enough to make themselves better off than his means-tested pension guarantee.
Standard Life said that was partly due to companies putting off changes to their pension plans.
It also lets the government put off its slowdown in pension increases, originally due to start in 2002, when a general election is due.
If you have a reasonable expectation of living for a long period then you are probably better off with a higher pension, even though it is taxable.
Even more irritating, to some, are the recent increase in the top rate of personal-income tax, adjustments to tax relief on pension contributions and a one-off 50% tax on bonuses.
Since the higher wage automatically forces up pension payments to many better-off Brazilians, the vote was bad for shaky public finances as well as reflecting ill on Mr da Silva's ability to govern.
Congress will allow the post to fiddle with its pension and healthcare expenses and to lay off more employees.
ECONOMIST: America��s postal service will begin to undo itself
Over at Ameriprise, the financial services group recently spun off from American Express, pension changes are improving closing rates for new accounts by as much as 50%, according to Rusty Field, the company's vice-president of financial education and planning services.
That was the same argument the financial industry used to kill off the defined-benefit pension plans our grandparents relied on in order to sell a new generation of savers on the idea that 401-Ks had the potential for higher returns.
FORBES: Retirement Disaster Looms For Universal Life Policyholders
While credit ratings have become an integral part of the financial system, making their way to valuation formulas and even legislation regulating pension fund investments, agencies have been off the hook for massive blunders, including their substantial responsibility in the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.
FORBES: Dodd-Frank Failing On Volcker Rule, Derivatives, Credit Rating Agencies
Many congressional Democrats decried the idea as a cut in benefits for the middle class, implying that benefit cuts were off the table as part of pension reform.
But if the power of the grey vote secures a big one-off real increase in the basic pension before an election, pensioners are unlikely to stop there, and allow the subsequent erosion of its value through the resumption of the link with prices.
应用推荐