CRR Finds the Number of Americans Claiming Social Security at Age 62 Continues to Decline

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CRR Finds the Number of Americans Claiming Social Security at Age 62 Continues to Decline

On May 25, 2021, the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College released its issue brief, Pre-COVID Trends in Social Security Claiming. The CRR study provides a pre-COVID baseline on Social Security benefits claiming to help assess the impact of COVID-19. Over the last 20 years, there has been a dramatic decrease for individuals age 62 claiming Social Security benefits as soon they become eligible.

Based on unpublished Social Security data, the trend shows a significant decline with only 1 in 4 claiming benefits at age 62 in 2019. Furthermore, those that delay their benefits are claiming in their mid-60s or later. By claiming later, workers’ monthly benefits will be higher and help to generally improve retirement income security.

The brief concludes, “Our reading of the early evidence is that COVID and the ensuing recession have not pushed large numbers into early retirement – perhaps because those most affected cannot afford to stop working. Regardless of the ultimate impact, COVID is not likely to permanently reverse the trend towards later claiming.”

The brief is available here.

SLGE Releases State and Local Government Workforce Survey Report for 2021

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SLGE Releases State and Local Government Workforce Survey Report for 2021

On May 19, 2021, the Center for State & Local Government Excellence (SLGE) released its report, Survey Findings: State and Local Government Workforce 2021. The research found that the public sector faces significant challenges in hiring and retaining employees in various critical areas. The new research indicates that 60-75% of survey respondents find health care positions to be difficult to fill as well as corrections and policing positions.

In addition, the research found that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a higher rate of retirement among the state and local government workforce. About 38% of respondents indicated that retirement-eligible employees are accelerating their retirement plans, which is the highest rate observed since this research began in 2009.

The report is available here.

 

GAO’s Retirement Security Report Finds Debt Increased for Older Adults Over Time

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GAO’s Retirement Security Report Finds Debt Increased for Older Adults Over Time

On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released its report, Retirement Security – Debt Increased for Older Americans Over Time, But the Implications Vary by Debt Type. According to the report, individuals age 50 or older had significantly more debt in 2016 than in 1989 based on GAO’s analysis of Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) data.

In 2016, the share of older households with debt was 71% compared to 58% in 1989. For older households with debt, the median debt amount of debt was about three times higher in 2016 than in 1989, up to $55,300 from $18,900.

Over the period from 2003 to 2019, the measures of older individuals’ adverse debt outcomes generally followed economic trends, including mortgage and credit card debt that was late by at least 90 days. Typically, the trends in debt, debt stress, and adverse debt outcomes varied by older individuals’ demographic and economic characteristics, including age, credit score and state of residence.

The report is available here.

Groom Law Group Summarizes Provisions of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act

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Groom Law Group Summarizes Provisions of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act

On May 13, 2021, Groom Law Group released its publication, Summary of Provisions in the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021. Recently, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the bipartisan Securing a Strong Retirement Act (referred to as SECURE 2.0). In this publication, Groom provides a section-by-section summary for the Act’s provisions under both the current and proposed laws. 

The summary is available here and the Act is available here.

TeacherPensions Analyzes Retirement Benefits for Public Sector Education Employees

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TeacherPensions Analyzes Retirement Benefits for Public Sector Education Employees

In May 2021, TeacherPensions released its study report, Choice and Quality Among Retirement Plans for Educators. The analysis focused on the retirement benefits that are offered to public sector employees working in K-12 schools or public colleges and universities. The report provided a comparison of the retirement benefits offered to public sector education employees for defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans by state.

Typically, retirement benefits have varied for K-12 and higher education employees due to their historical backgrounds. Based on the study findings, the authors recommended that states should “provide the same retirement plan options for all public sector employees. K-12 teachers should have the same choices in their retirement plans as their higher education counterparts. Beyond expanding the number of retirement options, states need to ensure that the options they offer are good ones, including short vesting periods, portability, and adequate employer contributions. Adopting these recommendations will give K-12 employees access to more and better retirement options.”

The report is available here.

IRS Announces 2022 Limits for HSAs, HDHPs and Excepted Benefit HRAs

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IRS Announces 2022 Limits for HSAs, HDHPs and Excepted Benefit HRAs

On May 10, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2021-25: 2022 Inflation-Adjusted Amounts for HSAs, High-Deductible Health Plans, and Excepted Benefit Health Reimbursement Arrangements. The IRS announced cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) and the maximum amount that may be made newly available for certain Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) for 2022.

For calendar year 2022, the annual limitation on deductions under IRC § 223(b)(2)(A) for an individual with self-only coverage under a HDHP is $3,650. For calendar year 2022, the annual limitation on deductions under IRC § 223(b)(2)(B) for an individual with family coverage under a HDHP is $7,300. IRC § 223(b)(3) also allows an additional $1,000 annual HSA catch-up contribution for individuals age 55 or older before the end of the tax year.

For calendar year 2022, the IRS defines a HDHP under IRC § 223(c)(2)(A) as a health plan with an annual deductible that is not less than $1,400 for self-only coverage or $2,800 for family coverage, and the annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) do not exceed $7,050 for self-only coverage or $14,100 for family coverage.

For plan years beginning in 2022, the maximum amount that may be made newly available for the plan year for an excepted benefit HRA (under Regs. Sec. 54.9831-1(c)(3)(viii)) remains unchanged at $1,800. Employers use excepted benefit HRAs to help cover the cost of employees’ vision, dental, or short-term, limited-duration insurance plan premiums.

Rev. Proc. 2021-25 is available here.

Goldman Sachs Finds Public Pension Plans’ Funded Status Recovered Rapidly During the First Quarter of 2021

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Goldman Sachs Finds Public Pension Plans’ Funded Status Recovered Rapidly During the First Quarter of 2021

In May 2021, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) released its report, Public Pension Quarterly Q1 2021: Turning the Corner. According to GSAM, the public pension funds that were in the best financial health at the beginning of the pandemic were the hardest hit in their funded statuses over 2020. However, the report noted that those funds have also experienced a speedy recovery.

Furthermore, plans that experienced larger declines in funded status may have “erased” losses and experienced “incrementally higher asset returns and funded status gains” due to risk assets improving through the end of the year.

In the first quarter of 2021, GSAM estimated that, in aggregate, public pension assets returned about 3%, resulting in the estimated aggregate funded status of the sample plans increasing approximately 1% year-to-date through March 31, 2021. The improvement was attributable to the subsiding effects of the pandemic such as rising vaccination numbers, declining initial jobless claims, and increasing consumer confidence.

According to the report, “Year over year, strong asset performance experienced by plans since the end of March last year has resulted in the improvement of many plans’ funded status. While the top quartile of plan funded status was estimated to be between 81-90% at the end of March 2020, this figure likely increased to a range of 91-100% by March 2021.”

The report is available here.

CRS Compares Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Health Care Expenses

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CRS Compares Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Health Care Expenses

On May 3, 2021, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released its report, A Comparison of Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Health Care Expenses. The report provides a summary of the general rules for health care-related tax-advantaged accounts including: 1) Health Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs); 2) Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs); and 3) Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

The report covers the main factors for tax-advantaged accounts for health care expenses related to eligibility, contributions, withdrawals and the treatment of unused balances for a specific account as well as data regarding availability and utilization. It also provides a side-by-side table which compares various topics for the individual accounts.

The report is available here.

SOA Republishes Award-Winning Papers on Risk-Sharing Plan Designs with New Commentary

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SOA Republishes Award-Winning Papers on Risk-Sharing Plan Designs with New Commentary

In the April 2021 issue of The Retirement Forum, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) republished four prize-winning papers from the “Retirement 20/20 Call for Models for Public Pension Plans Contest” conducted in 2018. The new issue includes commentary from reviewers of the papers and responses from the authors.

In 2005, the SOA began the Retirement 20/20 initiative to study retirement designs beyond traditional defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Among other designs, the papers examine risk-sharing plan designs administered by the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and the South Dakota Retirement System.

According to the report, “With the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world are spending more time contemplating and evaluating risk. We hope that reading these papers will provide insights into the risks that public sector retirement plans face and offer ideas for managing those risks.”

Brian Murphy, Senior Consultant at GRS, was included as one of the reviewers that commented on the principles-based approach used for the South Dakota Retirement System.

The report is available here.

GRS Consultants to Speak at the PAPERS Spring Forum

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May 19, 2021

GRS Consultants to Speak at the PAPERS Spring Forum

David Kausch and Jim Anderson will present the topic “Building Public Pension Plan Strategies in Light of the Lingering Pandemic” at the Pennsylvania Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (PAPERS) Spring Forum (virtual conference),  The session is scheduled for Wednesday,  May 19, 2021, immediately following the keynote speaker at 8:00 am EST. 

Session Summary: 

After a year of living with the virus, COVID continues to have a devastating impact on our communities and our economy.  Fiduciaries and stakeholders of public employee pension plans must understand and monitor all the ways the pandemic is impacting the short-term actuarial results and the long-term sustainability of their plans.