There are four main types of pension plans:
A. Defined benefit (DB)
B. Defined contribution (DC).
C. Government pension or Social security system
D. Self style pension or personal pension savings
A. Defined benefit (DB)
With a defined-benefit pension, the employer takes the risk of investing the money and of having you live and collect for longer than it expects. You get guaranteed income and all that you need to do is to work, contribute and reach retirement age. Everything else is taken care of for you, including having the funds professionally managed for you.
A DB pension plan promises to pay you a certain amount of retirement income for life. The amount of your pension is based on a formula that usually takes into account your earnings
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Defined contribution (DC)
Defined benefit pension plans frequently get replaced by defined contribution plans. Defined contribution plans, like a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, operate by having you, your employer or both put money into the plan. The money hopefully grows over time and when you retire, you can draw on that money to fund your retirement. If the money does very well, you could end up with a lot of money and generous retirement income. However, if it doesn't perform well or you don't put enough away, you could end up short of what you need for retirement.
With a DC plan, contributions are guaranteed, but retirement income is not. Usually, both you and your employer contribute to the plan. Your employer may match some of the contributions you make. You are responsible for investing all contributions to grow your savings. In this way, the plan is similar to an RRSP. The amount available for your retirement depends on the total contributions made to your account and the investment returns this money earned. At retirement, you use the money in your account to generate retirement income. You can do this by: buying an annuity from an insurance company, or transferring your savings to a locked-in retirement income fund (LRIF) or similar income fund designed specifically for pension
Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage. It’s the newest part in Medicare. It adds prescription drug coverage to original Medicare, some Medicare cost plans, some Medicare PPS plans, and Medicare Medical Savings plans. Beneficiaries choose the drug plan and pay a monthly premium.
The Defined Contribution Plans offered at Amoco has an index-oriented, passive management nature. The plans,
Planning for my retirement will improve my quality of life. I will be able to travel and maintain my standard of living. I will be able to enjoy my retirement years without having to work or stress about finances since I did proper planning, saving, and investing.
The term 401 (k) is one that is heard quite often in today's. Most people know that it has something to do with retirement, but few young people know exactly how 401 (k) plans work or why they are becoming more and more popular. Additionally, many people who have 401 (k) plans may not know all the details of how they work, how to get the most out of their plan, and how to keep their money safe. In reality, everyone in the business world should be aware of the details and advantages of having and managing a 401 (k) type savings plan, as it is becoming one of the most popular ways to save for retirement in the United States and many other countries.
a. i. An employer with a defined-contribution plan pays into the plan either an annual lump-sum per employee or calculates payments based on the employees‟ current wages and or time of service with the firm. Under such a plan, the employer does not guarantee the future amounts employees will receive when they retire. The employees covered by a defined-contribution plan assume the risk for the pension plan‟s financial performance. Under a defined-benefit plan, the employer specifies the size and timing of the payments that the employees will receive when they retire. Typically, these retirement benefits are commensurate with the wages earned by the employee in his or her last few years of employment
REITs plays a very important role in pension funds because it offers both income and upside. Further, it also provides an opportunity for pension funds to increase both liquidity and returns, and decrease volatility that will attract them so as to boost their investments in REITs.
Medicare Part D was created under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. (Medicare Part D, 2011). It is also known as the prescription Drug Plan. This plan was created to help cover cost of prescription drugs, and people who have the original Medicare or Medicare Advantage are eligible to enroll (Medicare Part D, 2011). Prescription drug coverage is only offered through HMOs, PPOs, and PFFSs and by some private companies who contract with Medicare through individual plans (Medicare Part D, 2011). Private companies are allowed to create their own customized benefit plan as long as the plan is as good as the plan outlined in the 2003 Medicare Act (Medicare Part D, 2011).
Although, defined contribution is the best option for Medicare, it does include its downsides. One negative effect would be that with increased individual control, it may be harder for older seniors to manage. Another negative aspect, is it isn’t guaranteed that the government will increase its contribution to Medicare when there is an increase in the cost of coverage.iii It is possible that the government will have capped spending. In this case, beneficiaries would face health spending which surpasses the budgetary
Introduction: The full form of CDHP is consumer-directed health plan.. There are a few unique sorts of CDHPs—some that can be matched with an individual plan and some that must be combined with a group plan means employer of the company. These are medical saving plans which could give more care on our health. It let us make decisions about how we could get more dollars on our health based on some conditions and factors.
Imagine investing in a medical insurance plan that only partially pays employee’s claims, pays years after employees seek care or fails to pay claims altogether. Do you see yourself continuing with the plan? That’s no different than maintaining a 401k process that will not serve the plan’s ultimate purpose – to help prepare participants for a confident retirement.
In 2006, an addition was made to the federal Medicare program in the form of Medicare prescription drug plans, also known as Medicare Part D. If you were already receiving Medicare benefits when the drug plans were introduced and you didn’t opt in or you’re nearing the age at which you’ll be eligible for Medicare benefits, there are some things you need to know about Medicare Part D that will help you to understand the program and make an informed decision about it.
The real opportunity in 401K is the employee match program where your employer invests the same amount into your account, usually up to a certain percentage.
Employers assume responsibility for providing retirement funds in a defined benefits plan. In the plan, a specified amount is set aside for future payments to employees, for life, during retirement. The amount is determine in advance is based on factors such as age, salary, and length of employment. In 2009, the maximum amount to be allotted under the plan was $195,000.
1. In a defined-contribution (DC) pension plan, the employee or employer, or both, make regular contributions to the plan. In the US, employees typically set aside a predetermined percentage of their earnings which is deposited to the plan and the employer will match that contribution. Ultimately, the amount of money available to the individual upon retirement is determined by the performance of their investments. Each employee retains the option to choose how to diversify their investments, while the employer will typically provide a “default allocation” option. The options available are generally very varied, and includes a number of index funds and actively managed mutual funds.
Super funds are either accumulation funds or defined funds, accumulated contribution funds are the most common type of superannuation fund and they act as a bank account, however the benefits made by them are not capital guaranteed which means that the benefits may be depreciated due to negative investment returns. These are the sorts of investment risks that comes with superannuation. Administration charges, policy fees, insurance premiums and taxes are deducted from members account. Defined benefit funds are based off a formula using the member’s final salary and the years of their employment. This fund also holds investment risk as if the investment is too high the amount that the employer is required to contribute to the fund can reduce and contributions may not be needed.