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Economic Implications of ERISA

In: Financial Aspects of the United States Pension System

Author

Listed:
  • Jeremy I. Bulow
  • Myron S. Scholes
  • Peter Menell
Abstract
If the intent of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, was to assure that beneficiaries of insolvent pension plans receive adequate pension benefits, sharp increases in nominal rates of interest have blunted that purpose. Without an increase in these rates, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, PBGC, the insurance agency established to guarantee benefits, faced large liabilities on the terminations of pension plans. We examine the economics of pension funds and the funding of pension funds before and after the enactment of ERISA. The Act changed the economics of pension funds. The PBGC, the employer, and the employees have interests in the assets of the pension plan. The PBGC can tax corporations to pay off liabilities and to fund guaranteed benefits; employers can terminate pension plans or overfund them; employees can ask for more benefits or claim the assets in the fund. Although the PBGC insures benefits, the insurance agent forbears, not acting quickly to protect its own interests. To prevent potential huge increases in its liabilities, the PBGC could require that employers hedge the guaranteed benefits, and fund their increases in promised benefits. Given its policies, these requirements could protect the PBGC.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Jeremy I. Bulow & Myron S. Scholes & Peter Menell, 1983. "Economic Implications of ERISA," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Aspects of the United States Pension System, pages 37-56, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:6027
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeremy I. Bulow, 1979. "Analysis of Pension Funding Under Erisa," NBER Working Papers 0402, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Irwin Tepper, 1981. "Taxation and Corporate Pension Policy," NBER Working Papers 0661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Martin Feldstein & Lawrence Summers, 1983. "Inflation and the Taxation of Capital Income in the Corporate Sector," NBER Chapters, in: Inflation, Tax Rules, and Capital Formation, pages 116-152, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Feldstein, Martin & Seligman, Stephanie, 1981. "Pension Funding, Share Prices, and National Savings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(4), pages 801-824, September.
    5. Burt S. Barnow & Ronald G. Ehrenberg, 1979. "The Costs of Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Firm Adjustments," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 93(4), pages 523-540.
    6. Arnott, Richard J. & Gersovitz, Mark, 1980. "Corporate financial structure and the funding of private pension plans," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 231-247, April.
    7. Treynor, Jack L, 1977. "The Principles of Corporate Pension Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 627-638, May.
    8. Tepper, Irwin & Affleck, A R P, 1974. "Pension Plan Liabilities and Corporate Financial Strategies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(5), pages 1549-1564, December.
    9. Jeremy I. Bulow, 1982. "What are Corporate Pension Liabilities?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(3), pages 435-452.
    10. Sharpe, William F., 1976. "Corporate pension funding policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-193, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alan Marcus, 1987. "Corporate Pension Policy and the Value of PBGC Insurance," NBER Chapters, in: Issues in Pension Economics, pages 49-80, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Jeremy I. Bulow & Myron S. Scholes, 1983. "Who Owns the Assets in a Defined-Benefit Pension Plan?," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Aspects of the United States Pension System, pages 17-36, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Clark, Robert L. & Gohmann, Stephan F. & McDermed, Ann A., 1988. "Declining Use Of Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Is Federal Regulation The Reason?," Department of Economics and Business - Archive 259433, North Carolina State University, Department of Economics.

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