2012 Annual Report
This is the fifth annual report of the Pension Policy Center. The year 2012 was a productive year.
Pension Policy Center Publications and Presentations
John A. Turner wrote the article “Lost Pensions: The UK and Australia Have Innovative Approaches” for the Pension Rights Center. That article drew heavily on a coauthored article a decade earlier with David Blake of the Pensions Institute in the United Kingdom. In addition, Turner wrote the article “Recent Developments in the UK Pension System: Automatic Enrollment and the Division of Regulatory Authority” for the Pension Rights Center.
Turner wrote a comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission about information provided to 401(k) participants concerning rates of return in response to a request for comments concerning financial literacy.
Turner wrote an article titled “Encouraging Annuitization of 401(k) Plans: Commentary on The Treasury Department’s 2012 Proposals” for the American Bar Association Employee Benefit Committee’s Quarterly Newsletter.
Turner wrote the feature article for the PREA Quarterly on “The Changing Nexus of Investment Decisions: The Switch from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution Plans.”
Turner wrote a book review on the book The Transformation of the American Pension System: Was It Beneficial for Workers? by Edward N. Wolff for the Journal of Economic Literature.
Turner wrote “Rates of Return Used in Retirement Planning Software,” for Benefits Quarterly.
David D. McCarthy of the Pension Policy Center and Turner wrote a paper on “Longevity Insurance in 401(k) Plans and IRAs,” which will be published in Benefits Quarterly in 2013.
Dana M. Muir of the University of Michigan and Turner wrote a paper on “The Market for Financial Advisers,” which they presented at the 2012 annual conference of the Pension Research Council at the University of Pennsylvania, and which will be included in the conference volume to be published in 2013.
Muir and Turner wrote a paper on “Financial Literacy and Defined Contribution Pensions: A Global Snapshot on an Unrecognized Problem,” which was published in Compensation and Benefits Review.
Muir and Turner wrote a paper on “Financial Literacy and Financial Advice: Weak Links in Social Security Privatization,” which Turner presented at a conference sponsored by the European Network for Research on Supplementary Pensions, which will be published in English in Poland as a conference volume. He also presented this paper at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China and at a conference in Arusha, Tanzania sponsored by the East African Community.
Muir and Turner wrote a paper on “Financial Literacy, Financial Education and Financial Advice,” which will be published by Upjohn Institute in an edited volume in 2013.
With George (Sandy) Mackenzie of the AARP Public Policy Institute, Turner wrote “Key Issues on which Financial Advisers Disagree Concerning Retirement Planning” for the AARP Public Policy Institute.
Norman Stein of Drexel University and Turner wrote an article on “Equity in the Distribution of Tax Preferences for Pensions: Capping the Allowable Amount in Tax-Preferenced Retirement Plans,” which was published in Tax Notes.
Tianhong Chen of Wuhan University (China) and Turner wrote an article on “Extending Pension Coverage to Rural Workers in China.”
Rose Musonye Kwena of Retirement Benefits Authority (Kenya) and Turner wrote an article on “Extending Pension Coverage to the Informal Sector: Kenya’s Mbao Pension Plan.”
In addition to the presentations of papers listed above, Turner chaired a session and served as discussant at a conference on “Employee Benefits in an Era of Retrenchment” at Washington University Law School. The session was on lessons for pension policy from other countries.
Turner traveled to Tanzania twice on a pro bono basis for the Financial Services Volunteer Corps to meet with officials of the East African Community concerning establishment of a regional pension policy.
Dana Muir and Turner wrote a paper on “Financial Advice to Investors in the United States,” which Turner presented in Singapore to the conference on The Market for Financial Advice.
Turner presented a paper to the annual meetings of the Society of Actuaries on “Social Security and Pension Trends Around the World.” He also presented that paper at an international conference in Wuhan, China.
Pension Policy Center Press
Turner was quoted in an article in the Chicago Tribune on March 2 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sc-cons-0301-journey-20120302,0,4355272.story concerning the unisex pricing of annuities obtained from 401(k) plans.
The Pension Policy Center seeks consulting and research projects concerning pensions, Social Security, financial planning for retirement, and other retirement issues.