Regulatory Framework For The Pension Funds

Regulatory Framework For The Pension Funds

Regulatory Framework For The Pension Funds

Over the last several decades, pensions - once the only non-Social-Security source of retirement income for most retirees - have been supplemented more and more by individual retirement accounts, or IRAs. If current trends continue, and pensions shrink or disappear while Social Security's payouts dwindle, IRAs will eventually become the vast majority of retirees' income. Understanding how much income each will contribute is critical in creating a retirement plan.

Income Sources During Retirement

Several factors determine how much income will be replaced by Social Security and/or pensions once a worker retires. Primarily though, age income, and savings will determine the amount of income enjoyed during a worker's post-work years.

The younger the worker, the less (relatively) Social Security will provide. Moreover, the younger the worker, the less likely it is that employee will have access to a pension fund. Instead, the younger that employee is, the more apt he or she is to rely on a company-sponsored retirement account.... which does not guarantee a specific amount of retirement income. Rather, an IRA simply accumulates dollars that are the property of the worker and pad as a lump-sum at retirement. The more dollars accumulated, the bigger the account grows, and the greater the income it can provide during retirement.