Social Security is in jeopardy, private pension systems have fallen apart, and workers are trying to save on their own for retirement with the stock market in the worst shape since the Great Depression. In The Predictable Surprise, Sylvester J. Schieber shows that forewarnings of the coming retirement crisis have been apparent for decades, but we have never mustered the political will to address the problem. This book explains how we have gotten into the retirement predicament and where we can go from here. Schieber, a renowned authority on this topic, provides a compact, insightful history of Social Security, pension plans, and other retirement options, highlighting both their original justifications and the point when things began to go wrong. He brings his discussion right up to the present morass and concludes with suggestions as to how we can reform our retirement system. Our situation is not hopeless, Schieber concludes, if we take on some of these issues and resolve them. If we do not, we will severely jeopardize the prosperity of younger generations.

The Predictable Surprise: The Unraveling of the U.S. Retirement System

Business & Money

Schieber, Sylvester J.

Personal Finance

Oxford University Press

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.

Fundamentals of Private Pensions

Brown, Kyle N.

Haley, John J.

McGill, Dan M.

Economics

Social Security is in jeopardy, private pension systems have fallen apart, and workers are trying to save on their own for retirement with the stock market in the worst shape since the Great Depression. In The Predictable Surprise, Sylvester J. Schieber shows that forewarnings of the coming retirement crisis have been apparent for decades, but we have never mustered the political will to address the problem. This book explains how we have gotten into the retirement predicament and where we can go from here. Schieber, a renowned authority on this topic, provides a compact, insightful history of Social Security, pension plans, and other retirement options, highlighting both their original justifications and the point when things began to go wrong. He brings his discussion right up to the present morass and concludes with suggestions as to how we can reform our retirement system. Our situation is not hopeless, Schieber concludes, if we take on some of these issues and resolve them. If we do not, we will severely jeopardize the prosperity of younger generations.

The Real Deal: The History and Future of Social Security

Will the Social Security system founder as millions of baby boomers enter their retirement years? Is the frightening vision of an impoverished old age a glimpse into the real future for Americans of the next generation? The authors of this book put debates about Social Security reform into historical perspective, consider various reform ideas, and elaborate a proposal to ensure that the system can continue to meet the claims of the retired and the disabled. Sylvester J. Schieber and John B. Shoven, leading experts on retirement issues, set forth a carefully considered plan to change the way we finance Social Security and thereby secure its future viability. Exploring the history of the Social Security system from its origins during the Depression to its current troubled prospects, Schieber and Shoven analyze the program’s economic structure and introduce the remarkable personalities who influenced its evolution. The authors show how Social Security today differs from the program Franklin D. Roosevelt envisioned and how the shift to pay-as-you-go funding has led to the system’s current problems. Seen in historical context, some reform approaches are revealed as a renewal of attempts to fund Social Security through means that have repeatedly failed. The authors argue for mandatory private retirement savings accounts for workers―a proposal that would lighten retirement security burdens for future generations, avoid tax increases, and preserve the system’s progressivity. This book is essential reading not only for policymakers but for anyone else who wishes to understand what Social Security reform will mean for us as a nation and as individuals.

Shoven, John B.

Yale University Press

The Economic Implications of Aging Societies: The Costs of Living Happily Ever After

The world is getting older and no one knows exactly what life will be like in tomorrow's older societies. But we do know that age dependency ratios--the ratio of retirees to workers--will be much higher than we see today. The combined effects of fewer workers, more retirees and longer retirement periods threaten not only the sustainability of pension systems but also the broader economic prospects of many developed countries. This analysis describes current trends in birth rates, longevity and labor force participation and productivity, the cross-border flow of capital, the globalization of labor markets, the financial viability of social insurance programs, and the ways economic output is shared between working-age and retiree populations.

Nyce, Steven A.

Cambridge University Press

For four decades, Fundamentals of Private Pensions has been regarded as the single most authoritative reference source on private pensions. This seventh edition of the classic text represents a major restructuring of the contents with a wealth of new material and an expanded discussion that provides new economic and policy perspectives on the provision of retirement income. It addresses the economics of tax incentives provided to retirement programs and evaluates the various human resource incentives in defined benefit and defined contribution programs. The discussion and development of retirement income adequacy measures, a feature dating back to the first edition, has been significantly expanded. 
The seventh edition is organized into five main sections. Section 1 lays out the regulatory environment in which private pension plans operate. Section 2 investigates the various forms of retirement plans available. Section 3 focuses on the economics of pensions, including a discussion of the recent economic literature on the operations of employer sponsored retirement plans. Section 4 explores the funding and accounting environment in which private employer-sponsored retirement plans operate. Section 5 examines the handling of assets in employer-sponsored plans and their valuation, as well as insurance provisions behind the benefit promises implied by these plans
As the single most authoritative source on corporate pensions, Fundamentals of Private Pensions is invaluable to managers seeking to develop efficient pension plans, scholars and policymakers concerned with pension design and regulation, and actuaries and tax specialists. Employee benefits and human resource professionals around the world will find this edition an essential reference, and investment experts as well as accountants will gain a clearer understanding of how pensions influence corporate and employee well-being.

Fundamentals of Private Pensions, Seventh Edition (Pension Research Council Publications)

Management & Leadership

University of Pennsylvania Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Schieber, Sylvester J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Schieber, Sylvester J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Schieber, Sylvester J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Predictable Surprise: The Unraveling of the U.S. Retirement System

Fundamentals of Private Pensions

The Predictable Surprise: The Unraveling of the U.S. Retirement System

The Real Deal: The History and Future of Social Security

The Economic Implications of Aging Societies: The Costs of Living Happily Ever After

The Economic Implications of Aging Societies: The Costs of Living Happily Ever After

Fundamentals of Private Pensions, Seventh Edition (Pension Research Council Publications)