Changes in Pension Accounting Over Time Have Improved Investor Decision Making and Benefited Other Stakeholders

9. How did the pension plan changes affect Harnischfeger’s financial statements in 1984? Are these changes likely to affect future profits?

On August 11, 1998, United States Amoco Corporation (Amoco) and The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. (BPC) announced the BPC merger with Amoco. With a combined number of participants of 40,000 and $7 billion investment assets under management, the merged pension and savings plan of the new company is viewed by both management and employees as a bellwether of the success of the merger. Therefore, the new investment team must be able to “harmonize” the very different two original plans.

Bain’s clients’ portfolios included equities (both common and preferred) as well as fixed income securities and small amounts of cash (typically “parked” on a short term basis before being allocated to fixed income or equities). Typical portfolios were approximately 60% equities and 40% fixed income, 70% domestic and 30% international. Approximately one third of equity investments were through mutual funds. Approximately 25% of client assets were included in tax sheltered Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). As of 1991, Bain’s clients were primarily over age 70. As of 1995, his client base had evolved to become much younger, with a median age of around 50. his clients were dominated by professionals.

The Chicago Fire Department and The Chicago Police Department are in danger of losing their pensions. These brave men and women put their lives on the line every day and this is how the government repays them. This is not securing their future of retirement. Citizens believe that our first responder’s pensions should be a high priority to Chicago’s to-do list. This City of Chicago owes these brave men and women a pension like they promised and if that means cutting funds to other things, then it should be done. The pension secures the men and women’s future of retirement, and by taking it away from them it may create unstable lives.

The Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan (OTPP) is a defined contribution plan that was created in 1917 to provide and administer a pension plan for Ontario school teachers.  Sponsored by the Ontario Government and the Ontario Teacher’s Federation, the plan currently supports 343,000 teachers, former teachers and pensioners. The recent government decision to eliminate the 30% constraint on foreign investments and the increased volatility in the currency market has prompted the OTPP Investment Committee to address the following:

IntroductionLinda Best, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) from Sarnia, Canada is the founder and sole shareholder of Best Financial Services Inc. which was established on January 1, 2001. Sarnia, the largest city in South Ontario, bordered the United States and was heavily populated with aging baby boomers and blue-collar workers. Best Financial earned its revenues mainly from blue-collar workers nearing retirement. Best financial had formed strong relationships with many clients throughout Sarnia and managed over 1000 financial plans allowing a steady revenue and profit growth. The key services provided by Best Financial are risk management, tax preparation and professional money management. The company’s Assets under Management were

How did the pension plan changes affect Harnischfeger’s financial statements in 1984? Are these changes likely to affect future profits?

The change in the return on investment assumption is for all US plans. The economic consequence is that there will be less injection of cash by these pension owners during the lifetime of their pension. In 1984 the corporation established a new plan, which goal was an improvement in the minimum pension benefit. This constituted in a restructure of the Salaried Employees’ Retirement Plan.

For pensions and post-retirement accounting methods to recognize the benefit costs, estimates and assumptions on future events ascertaining the timing and amount of benefits payments must be sought first. This paper seeks to compare and contrast the early historical accounting for pensions and post-retirement healthcare and life insurance benefits with the rules and guidance applied today in addition to the changes to such guidance and rules that would improve the accounting and reporting of such benefits depending on the business and political changes and as such, predict the effect of such changes on financial reporting and accounting practices.

This paper will be based research, compare and contrast the early historical accounting for Postretirement Health Care and Life Insurance Benefits with the guidance / rules in place today with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 158 "Employers' Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans; changes to the guidance and rules that would improve the financial accounting and reporting of the benefits. Predict the significant manner in which the future of accounting for these benefits could

9. How did the pension plan changes affect Harnischfeger’s financial statements in 1984? Are these changes likely to affect future profits?

Baruch Lev and Feng Gu authors of “The End of Accounting and The Path Forward for Investors and Managers” indicate that over the past 110 years, the structure and content of financial reports has not changed, and that the role that these reports play in influencing the decisions of investors has greatly diminished. Lev and Gu make a case that non-transaction events that are not captured by the financial reports such as those disclosed through 8-k filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have a greater impact on stock prices, and thus more useful to investors. In addition, they suggest that one of reasons for the decline in usefulness of financial reports stems from the increase of estimates that has made its way into these reports (Lev and Gu 2016).

Our company has been providing their employees with a pension plan for many years. However, these benefits plans have to be reviewed and possibly revised after the recent acquisition of XYZ Company. 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 types of pension plans.

Potential area of resistance will be in regards to the unfunded pensions of employees. Possible strategies for this area of

Pension funds are any plans, funds or schemes which provide retirement income. These funds are important to shareholders of listed and private companies and they are particularly important to the stock market which is dominated by large institutional investors. This essay discusses the idea of pension funds and the pension crises. It defines the issues of pension funds, talks about the various pensions, categorizes them, and discusses the pension crisis and its implications to the US in particular and to the world in general.