Service Employees Pension Fund Case Study
I chose to write this paper on the organization that I am employed with, the Service Employees Pension Fund of Upstate New York (SEPF/fund). I focused my paper on the main office which is located in Syracuse, NY. I am employed at the Albany location. This gave me the opportunity to look at the office as an outsider seeing as I only make a trip to Syracuse a couple times a year. Interviewing with the fund manager also helped me to get an idea of how she feels about the fund and how she believes others view it.
The SEPF was founded in 1965; it was created to provide a 6 year retirement benefit. It now provides a monthly lifetime benefit for members that meet the eligibility requirements. The plan also offers disability benefits for members that are eligible. The plan is sponsored by the Service Employees International Union. The board of trustees is made up of three union and three employer representatives. The members of this plan do not contribute any of their own money. The employers are responsible for contributing a negotiated dollar amount based on the hours worked by their employees enrolled in this plan. That money is held in a trust fund and invested; this money is what the fund uses to pay out monthly benefits. The plan serves just over 7,000 members within New York State. There are two offices, one located in Syracuse, NY which is the main office and a smaller office located in Albany, NY. The staff in the Syracuse office is the fund manager, bookkeeper, computer tech., benefit fund specialist and receptionist. The Albany office where I am located is staffed by two benefit coordinators. The staff is comprised of both men and woman varying in age and race. A diverse staff I feel is important to our organization as we service members of many different age, race and gender; this I feel helps to give the members a level of comfort.
The objective of the SEPF is to provide union members with a lifetime monthly pension benefit upon retirement. With the events that took place on September 11, 2001, the fund has suffered a loss from their investments, like so many other plans have. This loss resulted in the fund having to make changes including the inability to give retirees annual increases in their monthly pension benefit and a 20% reduction in the way the plan calculates future benefits.
Third Star Financial Services is an “un-banked” business that was built from a foundation of several money transfer operations that can be transact through an agent or an online facility since 1996. Third Star’s goal and objective is to develop and implement an enterprise architecture platform for the organization that is more streamlined and leaned with consistent policies and procedures throughout the company. A consolidated, centralized and standardized single version of the business structure and a modernize technology that can provide ease and flexibilities to their new and existing customers, in addition to their support staff and management teams.
In America’s early days before the kickoff of industry, there was little need for retirement savings for a few key reasons. First of all, people were dying at a much earlier age; most people didn’t live past 38, whereas in 1900, 60 years of age was common for about 40 percent of the population and 15 percent experienced 80 years of life. Another reason for the irrelevance of social security in the 19th century and earlier was that people were usually living rurally on farms with extended families to take care of them. Furthermore, the Civil War also didn’t allow the government much economic room to consider providing a service such as social security. However, after the Civil War, pensions were a form of social security for civil war veterans that carried into their retirement. Unfortunately these pensions provided support for only a very small portion of the population; not even one percent of Americans received these pensions. Despite a much lower need for social security in the 18th ...
The stipend is $5,000 for each participant each year, so the stipend increases by the County’s standard escalation rate of 3.5%, then it is prorated by 50% to $ 2,500 for the first year (Transition Year) when the benefits are paid only for the first six months. The cost of the first year is $ 12,500 and the on-going costs for the Operational Years will increase by the value of 3.5%. The stipend as a recurring cost will yield a benefit return for the department. Another significant aspect is the one-time payments of $10,000 for each of the 5 participants for retirement. Then the actual cost will be $50,000, which is a cost-benefit. The cost- benefit indicates that the department will be able to cover all its expenses and it will begin to make a profit
In my position as a pension benefit specialist with Towers Watson, I have gained invaluable experience working with plan administrators to process participant request, address inquiries, and resolve disputes. Through this experience I have learned a great deal about pension law, pension plan design, processes, and policies. This experience has allowed me to exercise my skills in time management in adhering to client service level agreements to ensure participant’s request are handled in a timely fashion. In addition have had the chance to hone my research and analytical skills in reviewing and relaying retirement plan information to participants.
Mail workers from external organizations do not receive the benefit of a defined pension plan. The new standard for pensions has moved to contribution based pension plans. If Canada Post intends to follow this trend, they will need to prove that this decision was reached fairly by proving the costs of the defined pension plan is unaffordable given the economic climate of low interest rates. However, Canada Post’s workers do not experience procedural justice as the CUPW argues that the defined pension plan will develop a surplus once interest rates rise and would continue to remain solvent afterwards. The CUPW’s argues that the defined plan will rebound in the near future “CPC spokespeople are always talking about the deficit in the Canada Post Pension Plan. But they never mention that the plan also has a huge surplus. And while the surplus is growing, the deficit is decreasing… there is no reason to believe the plan will be terminated. Solvency deficits are caused by low long term interest rates. Should (or when) interest rates go up by only 1%, the solvency issue will disappear entirely” The methods Canada Post used to propose a change the pension plan was considered unfair by the CUPW and the temporary solvency problems of the plan is only
Executive Office, Talent Management Team, comp. "Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y(and Generation Z) Working Together." UN Joint Pension Fund (n.d.): n. pag. Web
The organization currently serves over 1.7 million members who are provided with a variety of benefits. These benefits include: healthcare, disability, retirement, death, and deferred compensation. In 1968, the California state legislature added one of the most expensive of all retirement perks, annual cost-of-living adjustments, to CalPERS pensions. The decision to provide generous benefits, such as public pensions,
Social Security has played a major role in supporting the elderly as well as sick and disabled financially for many years. However, we do not know how long this will last their are many problems facing social security and the funding of it with the population continuing to grow more and more people are taking advantage of social security. The main problem is people who do not really need the help and free income of social security abusing it making the government actually spend more than they actually putting into the social security fund. In this paper I will not only discuss the problems surrounding social security but also solutions in which could not only help better social security but also make it available for generations to come.
In phone calls and angry letters to the Tallahassee Democrat and their legislators, many retirees mistakenly assumed that the jump in premiums was another mistake in the privatization of state personnel systems. And unlike almost all active employees, who fear losing their jobs if they speak out, retirees are not afraid to put their complaints on the record.
The push for Congress to pass legislation protecting the rights of employees and their retirement was inevitable. Retirement plans are extremely important for all working individuals. Having funds to keep or exceed ones current standard of living and to enjoy one’s life beyond expectations after retire...
GWFS Equities, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. Recordkeeping and administrative services are provided
Robert J. Samuelson, Justice Among Social Security [article online], Newsweek Inc. Accessed 1 July 1998; Page A23. Social Security Administration.
The benefits which are given from the private associations are altogether greater than the benefits available from Social Security even resulting to minimizing the little piece of record confirms that would be used to pay administrative costs. Workers with limited records would be liable to pay under $10. Besides, private speculations convey a much greater return than the social security the net effect is that workers would have in a general sense more pay when they resign. Around two dozen countries around the world have already privatized their retirement schemes, either totally or for the most part, and the results have been successful. The Social Security trust fund does not hold genuine resources. Surplus Social Security incomes are either spent on other government projects or used to pay down the national obligation. All that the trust fund receives consequently are IOUs from the U.S. Treasury. These bonds basically give Social Security a case on future wage charge
Michael Jones worked his whole life. At the age of 15 he started as a dishwasher at a restaurant a mile away from his house. He never graduated high school because he had to quit school to help his single mom support a family of six. There were many times in his life where he worked two jobs, but at minimum-wage, if that, 80 hours a week still did not go far. By the age of 20 he was married, and soon began to have a family of his own. Michael is a simple man but a hard workingman. Michael rarely took vacations, worked 60+ hours a week, and raised four daughters of his own. After about 25 years of marriage Michael and his wife divorced. Recently Michael turned 65, and against his desire to keep working, his doctor suggested that he retire, due to suffering from two heart attacks, one when he was 50, the other when he was 62. For 50 years Michael has worked many jobs, unfortunately, due to his limited education, he often worked minimum paying jobs. During the first half of this working life he was supporting his family, and Michael was only able to save for retirement after his children had graduated college. Only his latest employer offered pension plan. Now after working his whole life, Michael is left with $305 a month from his pension, and $742 from Social Security. Social Security has become his major source of sustainment. The Social Security Administration (SSA), has become a lifesaver for Michael and most retirees. This paper will attempt to answer how the Social Security Administration came to be, and what it does for the country and its hard working citizens. It will give a brief overview on the history of the administration; what statutes give the agency its authorities; ...
For many of us, trying to decide between company benefits and an increase in salary can be very difficult to do. For many, the best part of a benefits package centers around health insurance. A good benefits package is very important to an employee. To me, a good benefits package can be worth more than an increase in salary. According to a survey conducted by Paychex.com, participants were asked to rank the benefits by value and importance when considering a prospective job. The results showed a good health care plan was number one with 32%, vacation time was 25%, pay raise was 15%, employee benefit was 10%, performance bonus was 9% and retirement plans were 8%.