The COVID-related financial market decline and economic recession have raised new concerns regarding the financial sustainability of retirement plans for state and local government employees, the largest group of whom is public school teachers. Using data from the Public Plans Database and the National Income and Product Accounts, I analyze…

In this research, we explore responsible investing in Canadian Universities. Interviews were conducted with 31 universities that were identified as having endowments or pension portfolios greater than $50M. We also reviewed publicly available data for these institutions. Universities reported facing numerous barriers but perhaps most noteworthy…

The relationship between employer and employee has changed significantly over the past 40 years. One of the greatest changes in this relationship is in the nature of employee retirement. While pension reform at public and private colleges has helped ensure institutional financial viability, retirement security for employees has declined. With the…

Currently, higher education is being roiled by class-action lawsuits filed against high-profile institutions, including MIT, Yale and New York University, over management of their retirement plans. As the lawyers are deployed and the billable hours accrue, it is timely to examine how those who have responsibility for retirement plan…

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a professional designation affects consumer choice behavior within the area of investment decision making. Forty-six participants were endowed with real money and received hypothetical investment advice from a certified financial planner (CFP) Professional and a stockbroker. Among low-income…

For teachers, in particular, the importance of early retirement investing has never been more critical. The reality is that, decades from now, when teachers arrive at retirement age, their current state teacher retirement plan may have changed substantially. As a result, they do not want to reach retirement and regret that they never considered…

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial organization. This article describes the SOA with particular attention paid to its education and qualification processes and resources available for university and college programs.

The purpose of the study was to explore retirement planning, challenges, and counseling among teachers of public schools in the Sekondi Circuit in the Western Region, Ghana. A sample of 50 teachers was selected through convenience sampling. Only teachers who expressed interest in participating in the study were sampled. The main instrument for…

In this paper, four qualitative case studies capture the complex interplay between the social and structural relations that shape community - academic partnerships. Collaborations begin as relationships among people. They are sustained by institutional structures that recognize and support these relationships. Productive collaborations centralize…

It is increasingly important to understand the fundamentals of investing and, for many, the ability to integrate faith and ethics with investing decisions. This is especially relevant for employees and students in Christian higher education. Most employees in Christian higher education are enrolled in retirement plans that obligate them to make…

The first objective of this article is to increase awareness and understanding of individual decision-making biases. The second is to provide FCS professionals with strategies to improve consumer financial decisions. Individual decision biases are presented within the context of a seven-stage decision process. Proactive consumer educators using a…

While many teachers have district-funded pensions that are the envy of their counterparts in other professions, the reality is that most must still augment their retirement savings. Yet K-12 educators and administrators are often uninformed about how to invest wisely. In this article, the author relates how former educator Dan Otter discovered…

Discusses the need for retirement planning and offers suggestions for building a nest egg. Suggests that pensions are not sufficient and that other investments are crucial to ensure a comfortable retirement. Includes resources and a plan for saving. (JOW)

Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), the largest pension system in the country, has lost its tax exemption, a change that has both created problems and opened doors to new ventures. TIAA-CREF is now seeking opportunities to manage state tuition-savings plans, and has also established six…

The American Council on Education's 2-year process of investigation, study, and selection that resulted in the council's movement from TIAA/CREF as its only available retirement plan, to a total of 15 retirement options offered by two insured annuity companies and two mutual fund companies is described. (MLW)