Generally agree but with some qualifications.
Property taxes, unlike income and sales
Taxes,are fixed costs and I would agree
To some consideration for seniors, e.g.
raises capped at 50 Pct of the general
Increase.
I think it is OK to help retirees stay in their
homes in high tax states if that is their preference.
In New York public sector retirees pay no
State income tax in their pensions. Private
sector employees only have a 20 K per
person exemption - a level that has not
been adjusted since the 1990’s -
best to look at the whole picture.
We have established programs and tax policies
that address the issue you raise.
Earned income tax credit (EITC) and
SNAP as well as the child tax credit.
Benefits can be significant - I calculated
that a family of four earning 35 K, which
would be close to New York’s minimum
wage would have about 16-18 K of
benefits from EITC and SNAP.
https://mclagan.aon.com/aon.mclagan/media/files/2020/2020_07_CEO-pay-for-private-vs-public-companies.pdf?ext=.pdf Located a 2020 Aon study
indicating CEO pay targets
dramatically above your
BLS indication covering
A broad range of public
and private entities.
I think the number of 400K is
impossible for public company
CEO’s. Median number for
S and P 500 is shown on line as 16.3 million.
Additionally, there may be
Very valuable exit packages.
pls look at Randall Stephenson
of ATT whose pension was
valued at 64 million
this is after engineering two
failed acquisitions -
Direct TV and Warner i have no problem with rewarding
a CEO who delivers great operating or deal making
results. But comp is often influenced by stock price
and that is subject to many
extraneous factors. I did not mention public
companies in my initial
comment as I assumed
that your article was about
a public company.
Leaving aside the fact that executive comp
in the U.S. is a scandal, isn’t it better to
have institutions that manage long term
liabilities in a responsible manner rather
than have them threaten the company’s
future ?
The auto industry was never able to deal
with retiree health care and the result
was bankruptcies at GM and Chrysler and
extreme financial stress at Ford.
Many public sector pension plans
and retiree health plans are huge
headaches as well - will not go into the
causes.
Maybe a good approach for companies
like Mr. Quinn’s would be to provide
some stock options to employees losing
expected but not contractually promised
benefits.
Pennsylvania dies not tax retirement
income (pensions, 401 k’s etc) and it makes
up for that through the use of an inheritance
tax.
But the rate structure of the inheritance tax
has always seemed questionable to me.
it jumps from 4.5 Pct for children to
12Pct for siblings and 15 Pct for nieces,
nephews and all other inheritors.
Is it really appropriate fir the state to
impose differential tax rates in this manner ?
People have many reasons they may wish
to leave assets to inheritors other than their
children, or they may simply not have
children. Rate structure of this type does
not seem reasonable to me.
I believe the reforms passed in 1983 were
supposed to be adequate to fund the system
for 75 years. But now it seems that they will
barely make it to about 50 years. One of
the reasons I understand is that revenue
forecasts were based on payroll tax revenue
covering 90Pct of wage income but SS funding
has been running in the 83 Pct range as
a result of long term changes in wage
distribution.
is this the main reason for the 1983 failure?
How should it be addressed ?
I don’t think you are being unrealistic.
But it may be that the idea of an annuity
appeals to you because your expectation
of a pension conditioned you to focus on
the concept of a guaranteed income. if you had no pension, you might have
dealt with longevity risk by over saving.
Suppose you had arrived at retirement
with an asset base that supported
a withdrawal rate of 2.5 Pct. Would
you still be attracted to annuities.
Jonathan,
In the post private pension era, a great
need emerged for investors and retirees
to have access to sophisticated and
unbiased financial planning information. You have brought great passion to dealing
with this need for which you deserve high
praise and appreciation. Wishing you and your family the best.
Comments
Washington Post lost 100 million last year. Perhaps the cash payout exceeded the PGBC guaranteed value and that was a major factor in the decision.
Post: RDQ considers: A lump sum in lieu of a pension, withdrawal strategies, annuities and other mundane decisions – good luck.
Link to comment from March 16, 2025
Generally agree but with some qualifications. Property taxes, unlike income and sales Taxes,are fixed costs and I would agree To some consideration for seniors, e.g. raises capped at 50 Pct of the general Increase. I think it is OK to help retirees stay in their homes in high tax states if that is their preference. In New York public sector retirees pay no State income tax in their pensions. Private sector employees only have a 20 K per person exemption - a level that has not been adjusted since the 1990’s - best to look at the whole picture.
Post: Like it or not, we all need to pay taxes. Seniors are no exception. Everyone in the pool.
Link to comment from March 16, 2025
We have established programs and tax policies that address the issue you raise. Earned income tax credit (EITC) and SNAP as well as the child tax credit. Benefits can be significant - I calculated that a family of four earning 35 K, which would be close to New York’s minimum wage would have about 16-18 K of benefits from EITC and SNAP.
Post: Quinn ponders the minimum wage, a living wage and the possible consequences of changes for all
Link to comment from September 7, 2024
https://mclagan.aon.com/aon.mclagan/media/files/2020/2020_07_CEO-pay-for-private-vs-public-companies.pdf?ext=.pdf Located a 2020 Aon study indicating CEO pay targets dramatically above your BLS indication covering A broad range of public and private entities.
Post: Jonathan is right, employers don’t care, but that’s not the real problem- it’s people
Link to comment from September 3, 2024
I think the number of 400K is impossible for public company CEO’s. Median number for S and P 500 is shown on line as 16.3 million. Additionally, there may be Very valuable exit packages. pls look at Randall Stephenson of ATT whose pension was valued at 64 million this is after engineering two failed acquisitions - Direct TV and Warner i have no problem with rewarding a CEO who delivers great operating or deal making results. But comp is often influenced by stock price and that is subject to many extraneous factors. I did not mention public companies in my initial comment as I assumed that your article was about a public company.
Post: Jonathan is right, employers don’t care, but that’s not the real problem- it’s people
Link to comment from September 2, 2024
Leaving aside the fact that executive comp in the U.S. is a scandal, isn’t it better to have institutions that manage long term liabilities in a responsible manner rather than have them threaten the company’s future ? The auto industry was never able to deal with retiree health care and the result was bankruptcies at GM and Chrysler and extreme financial stress at Ford. Many public sector pension plans and retiree health plans are huge headaches as well - will not go into the causes. Maybe a good approach for companies like Mr. Quinn’s would be to provide some stock options to employees losing expected but not contractually promised benefits.
Post: Jonathan is right, employers don’t care, but that’s not the real problem- it’s people
Link to comment from September 2, 2024
Pennsylvania dies not tax retirement income (pensions, 401 k’s etc) and it makes up for that through the use of an inheritance tax. But the rate structure of the inheritance tax has always seemed questionable to me. it jumps from 4.5 Pct for children to 12Pct for siblings and 15 Pct for nieces, nephews and all other inheritors. Is it really appropriate fir the state to impose differential tax rates in this manner ? People have many reasons they may wish to leave assets to inheritors other than their children, or they may simply not have children. Rate structure of this type does not seem reasonable to me.
Post: A Time to Give
Link to comment from August 24, 2024
I believe the reforms passed in 1983 were supposed to be adequate to fund the system for 75 years. But now it seems that they will barely make it to about 50 years. One of the reasons I understand is that revenue forecasts were based on payroll tax revenue covering 90Pct of wage income but SS funding has been running in the 83 Pct range as a result of long term changes in wage distribution. is this the main reason for the 1983 failure? How should it be addressed ?
Post: Quinn’s musings on Social Security and the preponderance of misinformation about the program.
Link to comment from July 19, 2024
I don’t think you are being unrealistic. But it may be that the idea of an annuity appeals to you because your expectation of a pension conditioned you to focus on the concept of a guaranteed income. if you had no pension, you might have dealt with longevity risk by over saving. Suppose you had arrived at retirement with an asset base that supported a withdrawal rate of 2.5 Pct. Would you still be attracted to annuities.
Post: Is an automatic income stream in retirement unrealistic?
Link to comment from June 25, 2024
Jonathan, In the post private pension era, a great need emerged for investors and retirees to have access to sophisticated and unbiased financial planning information. You have brought great passion to dealing with this need for which you deserve high praise and appreciation. Wishing you and your family the best.
Post: The C Word
Link to comment from June 16, 2024