"The Changing Role of Employer Pensions: Tax Expenditures, Costs, and Implications for Middle-Class Elderly"

By any measure, pension coverage should be at an all-time high: the nation is richer and workers are older. However, the pension world is a paradox, as pension security falls for middle-class workers and pension spending increases. The United States government directly and indirectly spends more than half a trillion dollars on the elderly each year. Direct spending is mainly through Social Security and indirect spending through the tax code's special treatment of employer and personal retirement plans. The tax favoritism is an astonishing one fourth of the direct spending. But the nature of the tax subsidy is changing. The tax subsidy for 401(k) plans, which are beneficial to employers and higher-income workers, is overtaking that for traditional pensions, which cover lower-income workers and help expand pension coverage. Since tax policy is designed to meet a public purpose, perhaps the more than $100 billion dollars per year spent indirectly on pensions could be better spent? Using tax expenditure data from the federal budget and data from both employers' surveys (the Chamber of Commerce and the National Compensation Survey) and workers' surveys (the Bureau of Census's Current Population Survey), this study reflects on alternative pension polices that transform the tax subsidy and expand Social Security and traditional pensions. Such a sharp change in federal policy may stem the loss of pension security of middle-class workers and expand it for lower-income workers.

2010 Fine Art Graduation Exhibition Catalogue

Party\u27s Over Graduation Exhibition 2010 Fanshawe College Fine Art Program The ARTS ProjectApril 13-24, 2010 Guest Speaker: Scott Everingham The Bijan\u27s Art Studio Award will be presented at the Opening Receptionhttps://first.fanshawec.ca/famd_design_fineart_gradcatalogues/1020/thumbnail.jp

UA68/8/1 Newsletter No. 8

Newsletter created by the WKU History Department regarding activities in the department, students and alumni

Retirement Security in an Aging Population

Elderly individuals exhibit wide disparities in their sources of income. For those in the bottom half of the income distribution, Social Security is the most important source of support; program changes would directly affect their well-being. Income from private pensions, assets, and earnings are relatively more important for higher-income elderly individuals, who have more diverse income sources. The trend from private sector defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans has shifted responsibility for retirement security to individuals. A significant subset of the population is unlikely to be able to sustain their standard of living in retirement without higher pre-retirement saving.National Institute on AgingNational Science Foundation (U.S.

Pedagogy, Sexual Violence, and Contemporary Extremist Films: Baise-moi (2000), Irréversible (2002), and Promising Young Woman (2020)

Baise-moi (dir. Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000), Irréversible (dir. Gaspar Noé, 2002), and Promising Young Woman (dir. Emerald Fennell, 2020) embody characteristics of the extreme. Working from James Quandt’s formative writing in 2004, I define extremism as the purposeful inclusion of transgressive themes and situations. However, each of the selected films portrays the extreme under different production styles, aesthetics, and modes of storytelling. My connections to early exploitation film (a precursor to extremist cinema) demonstrate the genre’s important history of teaching and educating. Similar to the original intent of classical exploitation films, which taught spectators about taboo topics or addressed social ills, the films selected for analysis teach viewers about a central concept: sexual violence. Specifically, I argue that the films engage in a form of feminist pedagogy. Each film text produces key feminist lessons about 1) the complexity of traumatic experiences and complex responses to that trauma and 2) our cultural understandings of revenge, retribution, and justice. Baise-moi, Irréversible, and Promising Young Woman’s formal elements never allow spectators to dissolve into moments of pure spectacle. Instead, the formal elements that flesh-out female protagonists (who experience vastly different conflicts, social circumstances, and economic positions) linger over the spectator. Because of what spectators view before and after extremist moments, those extremist images become feminist pedagogical tools. As a result, when spectators finally witness extreme violence it becomes less empty/gratuitous; its purpose changes. Looking at the films in order of release, I investigate how each project responds to its particular moment in history by portraying the spirit of feminist movements during each time of production and distribution. Just as scholarship on extremist cinema has accomplished, my project strives to illuminate the social and political value of extremist cinema. As extremist cinema evolves and the feminist political stance changes, so will cinema\u27s methods for representing and teaching about sexual violence, trauma, and justice

Montana Kaimin, May 3, 2001

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/studentnewspaper/10553/thumbnail.jp

Are Defined Contribution Pension Plans Fit For Purpose In Retirement?

This Article considers the historical basis for the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, the structural and practical shortcomings of defined contribution plans, alternate pension models, and adjustments to existing retirement plan models that may offer a degree of protection to plan contributors. Like the United States, Australia is now realizing the limitations of a defined contribution retirement system insofar as it relates the provision of reliable retirement income for a population with increasing life expectancy. Unlike defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans provide a benefit based typically on time served and a predetermined proportion of either career average or final salary. A successful and sustainable defined contribution system must address the short-comings of defined contribution plans. A properly integrated retirement plan should seek to protect contributors from three key financial risks: inflation, deviation from expected outcome, and longevity

Are Defined Contribution Pension Plans Fit For Purpose In Retirement?

This Article considers the historical basis for the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, the structural and practical shortcomings of defined contribution plans, alternate pension models, and adjustments to existing retirement plan models that may offer a degree of protection to plan contributors. Like the United States, Australia is now realizing the limitations of a defined contribution retirement system insofar as it relates the provision of reliable retirement income for a population with increasing life expectancy. Unlike defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans provide a benefit based typically on time served and a predetermined proportion of either career average or final salary. A successful and sustainable defined contribution system must address the short-comings of defined contribution plans. A properly integrated retirement plan should seek to protect contributors from three key financial risks: inflation, deviation from expected outcome, and longevity