We compare firm-optimizing and institutional models of labor contracts to investigate how certain types of pension plans affect training. Unlike previous studies, we consider an expanded voice model of training and pension coverage in which worker and union preferences feed back upon firm decisions and we test for this bi-directional causality between pensions and training. The data consist of ...

Executive Summary. This article examines the portfolio allocation decision within an asset/liability framework. Here portfolio weights are chosen not just by an asset’s return and variance but also by its correlation with pension liabilities. This results in assets that are highly correlated with pension liabilities being weighted higher in the portfolio. Typical mean-variance models estimate a...

The financial market’s performance plays an important role in the retirement date of a DC pension plan holder. Consequentially, it could potentially also influence the labour force structure of countries that adopt DC features in their public and private pension systems. Numerous studies are motivated, however, by the theory that financial markets are affected by a country’s demographics, makin...

Employer pensions that integrate benefits with Social Security have been the focus of relatively little research. Since changes in Social Security benefit levels and other program characteristics can affect the benefit levels and other features of integrated pension plans, it is important to know who is covered by these plans. This article examines the characteristics of workers covered by inte...

This paper examines the empirical question of whether systematic equity risk of US firms as measured by beta from the capital asset pricing model reflects the risk of their pension plans. There are a number of reasons to suspect that it might not. Chief among them is the opaque set of accounting rules used to report pension assets, liabilities, and expenses. Pension plan assets and liabilities ...

This article explores recent trends in the size and performance of the equity investments of state and local pension plans. It also provides a context for the discussion about investing Social Security trust fund reserves in private equities. Equity holdings and returns for five of the largest private pension plans were compared with those of state and local pension plans. Key findings discusse...