State-sponsored Pensions for Private-Sector Workers: The Case for Pooled Annuities and Tontines

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Wharton Pension Research Council Working Papers
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pensions
state-sponsored pensions
retirement savings
annuities
tontines
pooled annuities
assurance fund
budget constraint
underfunding
Economics
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Fullmer, Richard K.
Forman, Jonathan Barry
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This paper explains how state governments could create new low-cost lifetime assurance funds to help provide retirement income security for millions of private-sector workers who currently lack pension coverage. Basically, an assurance fund operates like a mutual fund held within a defined contribution plan, but with the added features of mortality pooling and fully-funded lifetime payouts. As we envision them, assurance funds would be offered as annuity-like investment options on the new investment platforms being created by states like Oregon, California, and Maryland that offer their citizens the opportunity to participate in state-sponsored retirement savings plans. Adding an assurance fund could effectively turn these retirement savings plans into lifetime pensions. To ensure their sustainability, assurance funds would operate under a strict budget constraint and be organized as either tontines or pooled annuities.

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2020-07-24
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The published version of this working paper may be found in the 2022 publication: New Models for Managing Longevity Risk: Public-Private Partnerships (https://pensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu/new-models-for-managing-longevity-risk-public-private-partnerships/).
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