Examines the Social Security benefit inequities between male and female workers and between one- and two-earner families and traces the cause of such disparities. Discusses the evolution of today's Social Security System and presents two proposals for a possible reform of the system. (CT)

With health insurance costs soaring for both current employees and retirees, governing boards of institutions of higher education must contain costs. Possible strategies include shifting some expenses from employer to employee, establishing flexible-benefit or cafeteria plans, using managed care to reduce unnecessary medical procedures,…

Nine recommendations are offered for making the Teachers' Insurance Annuity Association (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) more attractive and competitive retirement investment vehicles for college faculty. They include broadening of account choice, fund transfer and management options, and counseling services. (MSE)

Retirement programs for college faculty are evaluated in terms of both their wealth-creation attributes and the incentives they provide for retirement. Wealth accumulation and relative cash flow from working compared to retirement are evaluated at various ages under alternative assumptions about rates of return and contribution rates. The nature…

Summarizes the status of teacher pension plans in Canada's 10 provinces and considers their current role in renewing and downsizing educational systems in some provinces. Discusses pensions' use as economic instruments for provincial and national development and questions assumptions underlying the rhetoric celebrating their contribution to the…

Purpose: Retirees in traditional pension plans must generally choose between single life annuities, which provide regular payments until death, and joint and survivor annuities, which pay less each month but continue to make payments to the spouse after the death of the retired worker. This article examines the payout decision and measures the…

Because resources are limited, the benefits and costs of social-work interventions--like all interventions--must be compared with the benefits and costs of alternatives. Evidence-based practice should ask, What works? How well does it work? And what does it cost? This article analyzes the provision of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) with a…

In this article, the relationship between community economic development and transfer payments is considered. It is argued that fundamental restructuring of society is changing the context for community economic development. Possible local strategies to capture cash transfers are discussed, including successful examples of development based on…

Faculty perceptions of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and the College Retirement Equities Fund are noted and the funds' performance in the recent market are criticized for inflexibility and lack of leadership. (MSE)

A variety of ways in which retired college faculty benefit from social services and commercial and professional perquisites, in addition to retirement income, are discussed. It is proposed that these faculty are benefiting at the expense of their younger colleagues and should in turn participate in volunteer public service. (MSE)

The advantages and disadvantages of the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) as investment vehicles for college faculty are examined, and guidelines for faculty to use in evaluating their investment options are offered. Some data on TIAA-CREF performance are included. (MSE)

The debate about the "cashability" of faculty pension benefits raises questions about intent, fairness, and who controls what. Boards must weigh whether to allow faculty and staff to withdraw or transfer pension funds such as TIAA-CREF (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund). (Author/MSE)

Many states are struggling to finance under-funded teacher pension systems as well as recruit and retain a high-quality teaching workforce. This paper compares Maryland's former (prior to Spring, 2006) teacher pension system to those in Pennsylvania and several other states. On the basis of simple replacement rates, the former Maryland state plan…

Following the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the increased regulatory burden placed on defined benefit pension plans, the less complex fully funded defined contribution plan emerged as a more attractive and increasingly popular alternative. Traditionally the standard approach to pensions in the educational…

The Minister of Education of Alberta, Canada established a task force in 1983 to analyze the characteristics of teachers' pension plans and to develop a model retirement plan for teachers in Alberta. The task force reviewed the legislative, structural, administrative, and financial characteristics of Alberta's existing Teachers' Retirement Fund as…