A history of public sector pensions in the United States / Robert L. Clark, Lee A. Craig, and Jack W. Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clark, Robert L. (Robert Louis), 1949-

Contributor:

Craig, Lee A. (Lee Allan), 1960-

Wilson, Jack W.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Military pensions--United States.

Military pensions.

United States.

United States--Officials and employees--Pensions.

Pensions.

Physical Description:

259 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2003]

Summary:

Understanding the historical development of pensions is critical to the future of retirement systems around the world. A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States offers a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century. The authors emphasize how retirement plans can help achieve human resource objectives, how public sector pension policy has sometimes been influenced by other government objectives, and how early pension plans were funded. After discussing the economics of retirement plans, A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States reviews the history of European retirement plans, beginning with their use in the Roman Empire, and then moves on to early American pension systems. The authors explore the development and management of U.S. army and navy pension plans during the nineteenth century, drawing on original records of participants, retirees, and plan finances. They document the struggle to establish a federal civil service retirement plan and trace the growth of state and local retirement plans. This history is inextricably linked to broader developments in U.S. financial markets, offering rich insights into political debates, including current debates surrounding plan design and plan funding. A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States will be of significant interest to financial market and pension experts, labor and corporate pension sponsors, policymakers, public sector plan participants, and others who want to know how and why pensions emerged.

Contents:

1. The Evolution of Public Pensions 1

2. Pension Economics 11

3. The Origins of Western Military Pensions 24

4. Establishing the U.S. Navy Pension Plan 43

5. Management of the U.S. Navy Pension Fund 63

6. Financial Markets and the Management of the Navy Pension Portfolio 92

7. The Civil War and the Revival of the Navy Pension Fund 109

8. The Development of the U.S. Army Pension Plan 122

9. The Birth of the Federal Employees Pension Plan 154

10. Early Pension Plans for State and Local Workers 167

11. Lessons from the Early Development of Public Pensions 218

Appendix Historical Price and Wage Indices 224.

Notes:

"Pension Research Council publications."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [239]-248) and index.

Local Notes:

Given to the Penn Libraries by Margy Ellin Meyerson in memory of her husband, President Emeritus Martin Meyerson.

ISBN:

0812237145

OCLC:

51324015