Managing Pension and Retirement Plans: A Guide for Employers, Administrators, and Other Fiduciaries

by August J. Baker, Dennis E. Logue, Jack S. Rader

Overview

As the U.S. Population ages, retirement is becoming an increasingly important life stage. Pension and retirement plans are crucial to the financial well-being of older citizens and key determinants of their standard of living. Many varieties of pension plans are currently offered, and employers have an interest in these plans because a good pension plan can help an employer attract, retain, and motivate a competent workforce. In some cases, the employer's financial health can depend significantly on the financial health of its pension plan. When employers make decisions regarding pension and retirement plans, they are making decisions that have high stakes for both their employees and the employer itself. Poor decisions can lead to intense scrutiny, sometimes by the media or in the courtroom. Good pension decision making can provide a secure future for the employer and its employees.
Managing Pension and Retirement Plans: A Guide for Employers, Administrators and Other Fiduciaries covers the essential financial issues surrounding pension plans. It discusses investment policy and strategy, performance measurement, fiduciary responsibilities, and labor market issues, among other topics. Anyone responsible for any aspect of pension plan management will profit from reading this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195165906
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/28/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

The Brattle Group, Cambridge, Mass.

Oklahoma University

Financial Management Association

Table of Contents

Part I Fundamentals1. An Introduction to Pension Plans2. What Pension Plans Do3. Designing the Best Pension Plan4. The Prudent Pension Fiduciary: A Pragmatic View5. An Overview of Compliance for Pension Plans6. Establishing Pension Investment Policy7. The Asset Allocation DecisionPart II Defined Benefit Plans8. The Integrated Approach to Managing Defined Benefit Plans9. Asset Allocation for Defined Benefit Plans10. Accounting for Defined Benefit PlansPart III Defined Contribution and Hybrid Plans11. Investment Policy and Asset Allocation for Defined Contribution Plans12. Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Company Stock13. Hybrid PlansPart IV Measuring, Evaluating, and Improving Investment Performance14. Evaluating Investment Performance15. Improving Pension Fund Investment Performance16. Managing Pension Fund Risk17. Risk Management Strategies Using Derivative SecuritiesPart V Management Issues: Decisions, Strategies, and People18. Selecting and Managing Asset Managers19. Managing Costs20. People and the Psychology of Pension Fund Decisions21. The Pension Plan as Shareholder22. The Path to Better Pension Plan ManagementAppendicesNotesWorks CitedIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Provides those who establish and manage pension plans with an economic and financial perspective of the topic and practical advice...Discusses the path to better pension plan management."—Journal of Economic Literature

From the Publisher