Fundamentals of Private Pensions

by Dan M. McGill, Kyle N. Brown, John J. Haley, Sylvester J. Schieber

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Product Description
For almost five decades, Fundamentals of Private Pensions has been the most authoritative text and reference book on private pensions in the world. The revised and updated Eighth Edition adds to past knowledge while providing exciting new perspectives on the provision of retirement income. This new edition is organized into six main sections dealing with a variety of separable pension issues. Section I provides an introductory discussion on the historical evolution of the pension movement and how pensions fit into the patchwork of the whole retirement income security system in the United States. It includes a discussion about the economics of the tax incentives that have played a role in stimulating pension offerings and in the structure of the benefits provided. Section 2 lays out the regulatory environment in which private pension plans operate. Section 3 investigates the various forms of retirement plans that are available to workers to determine how they are structured in practical terms. Section 4 focuses on the economics of pensions. Several of the chapters in this section update and refine material from the prior. New chapters in this volume describe the conversion of some traditional pensions to new hybrid forms, including cash balance and pension equity plans, and the growing phenomenon of phased retirement and the issues raised for employer-sponsored pensions. Section 5 explores the funding and accounting environments in which private employer-sponsored retirement plans operate. The concluding section investigates the handling of assets in employer-sponsored plans and their valuation as well as the insurance provision behind the benefit promises implied by the plans. This latest edition of Fundamentals of Private Pensions will prove invaluable reading for both academics and professionals working in the area of pensions and pension management.

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Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3 out of 5 stars

A good reference, 2002-09-14
A good reference book for anyone connected with a pension or profit sharing arrangement. It is not a guide to IRAs, Keogh plans, SEPs, rather it focuses on traditional defined contribution and defined benefit plans. While this book seems written for more for budding actuaries, those wishing to study design alternatives or asset management will find this book provides a good background. I find two flaws with the book.

First is the lack of examples. While the book discusses full funding limitations, it does not show you an example calculation. While it tells you how to calculate the minimum liability, it does not show you an example of how to present it in the financial statements. This book is not a text book, but it would be very helpful to see some real examples in practice rather than only discussions about the rationale behind the method.

Second, the single chapter on pension accounting is weak. Issues not mentioned include accounting for minimum liability, disclosures under FAS 132, understanding the relationship between funding and expense, curtailments and other plan amendments, the interrelationships between the conflicting limitations of ERISA/IRC/GAAP, the effect of pension assumptions on the financial statements and the impact of FAS 87 for an over funded plan on the financial statements of the sponsor. The perspective focuses more on the reasons the accounting standards exist, not the strategy or day-to-day issues of how the pension affects the financial statements of the sponsor. If accounting is what you need, buy a current intermediate accounting book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars Very complete yet sometimes boring: serious stuff !, 2000-11-07
Very coplete study, covering almost all imaginable subjects, from actuarial maths to investment management to organisation and HR aspects of pension provision. This is not a manual, though. Get a simpler and less in detail book to get a general view of the topic, and then use "Fundamentals..." as reference.

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