Seen from the viewpoints of politics and administration, the retirement system of civil servant is related to the overall planning and flexible utilization of human resource, the improvement of national competitiveness and the collocation of financial resource of a country; seen from the viewpoint of economy, the prosperity or depression of national economy closely affects the planning of retirement payment system; in the aspect of society, as the aged society comes earlier than expected and the social structure changes, the retirement system of civil servant is related to whether the living security and social welfare system for the aged people is sound enough. Through the proper and reasonable retirement payment, the retirement system of civil servant is intended, firstly, to motivate the civil servants to be satisfied with the job and work hard for the public; secondly, to provide a reasonable income for the civil servants and guarantee their life in the years after retirement; and thirdly, with the reasonable retirement payment mechanism and the social security mechanism of the country, to construct a complete social security system network and build a safe and peaceful society in which all people can make their own livings. The implementation of the new pension system has really improved the problems faced in the old public finance-based pension system, and has laid a solid foundation in stabilizing the source of pension fund and establishing the civil servants' concept of being prepared to burden their post-retirement life when they are on the job. However, the current retirement system was designed more than 20 years ago and some tradeoff or progressive measures were taken for the purpose of reducing the resistance in the beginning of implementation. As the age and the environment both have changed, some provisions of the pension system have been behind the time. Therefore, it is really necessary to research how to manage and operate the retirement system, think over the problems in the current retirement system of civil servant, and research how to build a better retirement fund system and balance the retirement benefits of the civil servants of different generations. In this thesis, the legal system of retirement of civil servant is the subject of research and the other related administrative legal provisions are used for explanation, and the basic theories of administrative law ¡V administrative principles, administrative organization, administrative authority, administrative remedy, and administrative supervision, are used as the research methods to review the retirement system of civil servant in Taiwan. Through the research it is found that, the average age of Taiwanese people has been higher and a lot of civil servants choose to retire earlier for they can receive monthly pension for a long time; this is likely to deteriorate the governmental finance. How to solve this problem efficiently and reasonably, relieve the accumulation of retirement cost and avoid it from being transferred to the later generations as a heavy burden, maintain the existing rights and benefits, provide a reasonable guarantee for the original expectation of civil servants and distribute the national resources reasonably? It is necessary for us to think about for planning a reasonable legal system of retirement.

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Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Richard Doyle, Ira Lewis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-82). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The defined benefit (DB) pension system that provides retirement security to 44.5 million Americans faces significant challenges. At the end of 2003, the system was underfunded by $350 billion, there were 82,696 fewer plans then during the system peak (in 1985), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) responsible for ensuring retirees receive their retirement benefits even after a plan terminates, reported a deficit of $11.49 billion. This thesis examines the challenges facing the DB pension plan system, beginning with an overview of the DB plan system, a review of the different plan types, the benefits received, and funding rules. Next, examining the PBGC, its purpose, its organization, and the role that it plays in the DB pension system. Followed by an identification of the challenges facing the pension plan system, and corporate America's frustrations with the system. Finally, the thesis presents some recent reform proposals, and provides corporate America's response to them. A changing workforce demanding leaner retirement options, plans that allow multiple career changes, provide beneficiaries with lump sum benefits, provide early vesting characteristics, and are easily understood, is challenging the future of the DB plan system. To survive the DB plan system must continue to change. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

摘要 本文於確定給付退休金計劃下，探討基金經理人於最差基金財務短絀情境發生前極大化管理目標之最適投資組合，基金比值過程定義為基金現值與負債指標之比例，管理人將於指定最差基金比值發生前極大化達成既定經營目標之機率，隨時間改變之基金投資集合包括無風險之現金、債券與股票。本研究建構隨機控制模型描述此最適化問題，並以動態規劃方法求解，由結果歸納，經理人之最適策略包含極小化基金比值變異之避險因素，風險偏好及跨期投資集合相關之避險因素與模型狀態變數相關之避險因素。本研究利用馬可夫練逼近法逼近隨機控制的數值解，結果顯示基金經理人須握有很大部位的債券，且不同的投資期間對於最適投資決策有很大的影響。 關鍵字: 短絀、確定給付、負債指標、隨機控制、動態規劃。 / Abstract This paper analyzes the portfolio problem that is a pension fund manager has to maximize the possibility of reaching his managerial goal before the worst scenario shortfall occurs in a defined benefit pension scheme. The fund ratio process defined as the ratio between the fund level and its accrued liability benchmark is attained to maximize the probability that the predetermined target is achieved before it falls below an intolerable boundary. The time-varying opportunity set in our study includes risk-free cash, bonds and stock index. The problems are formulated as a stochastic control framework and are solved through dynamics programming. In this study, the optimal portfolio are characterized by three components, the liability hedging component, the intertemporal hedging component against changes in the opportunity set, and the temporal hedging component minimizing the variation in fund ratio growth. The Markov chain approximation methods are employed to approximate the stochastic control solutions numerically. The result shows that fund managers should hold large proportions of bonds and time horizon plays a crucial role in constructing the optimal portfolio. Keywords: shortfall; defined benefit; liability benchmark; stochastic control; dynamic programming.

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The research investigates the application of asset allocation model to pension structure and mortgage payment. The defined contribution pension plan has become the main pension plan in Taiwan. In this pension plan, labors could adjust the contribution rate to maximize their utility function even if they change jobs. Thus, the pension plan may cause changes in their optimal asset allocation. In addition, due to the financial innovations of personalized debt instruments, lenders are allowed to adjust the mortgage payment to maximize personal utility function and hence the adjustable payment ratio could also change the lenders¡¦ optimal asset allocation. This study presents an extended intertemporal asset allocation model of Campbell(1993) and Viceira(2001) to investigate the effects of defined contribution pension and mortgage payment. The numeric simulation is also present to demonstrate the effects on labors¡¦ optimal asset allocation.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-168).

Defined Benefit (DB) state pension trust funds are an integral component of state finances and play a major role in the country’s labor and capital markets. The last decade though has seen a substantial growth in unfunded pension obligations and a seeming inability by states to make the contributions needed to cover funding shortfalls. When coupled with even larger unfunded retirement health benefits, the looming threat of insolvent state retirement systems pose both current and long-term fiscal challenges to state governments already struggling with the ongoing economic downturn and billions of dollars in budget deficits. The convergence of these factors have led states to undertake various reform strategies in an attempt to move their respective public pension plans towards a more sustainable funding path. Using an asset-liability framework to describe the DB plan funding structure and process, this dissertation advances the discussion over major pension reform efforts currently implemented or considered by states. I show analytically the link between various pension reform categories and specific DB plan funding components, and how this in turn, affects DB plan funding outcomes. From this analytical framework, I derive the study’s hypotheses on the relationship between DB plan reform-linked funding components and outcomes of interest. This study looks at three DB-plan reform-linked funding components: (1) plan member employee contributions, (2) plan employer contributions, and (3) retirement benefit payments. Four major funding outcomes are evaluated: (1) the employer contribution rate, (2) flow funding ratio, and (3) stock funding ratio, and (4) relative size of plan unfunded liability. Utilizing a unique panel dataset of 100 DB state retirement systems from 50 states covering a nine-year period of FY 2002 to 2010, I empirically test the following hypothesized funding relationships: (1) States as DB plan sponsors have underfunded their plans as indicated by their failure to meet annual employer funding requirements; and (2) Increasing the employee and employer contribution rate and reducing the cost of retirement benefits are associated with higher plan stock funding ratios and lower unfunded pension liabilities. Results from my fixed-effects (FE) panel regression analyses provide the clearest empirical evidence to date that state DB pension plan sponsors underfunded their required annual employer contributions. The financial condition of a state’s budget is also shown to have a significant effect on the amount states are able to contribute into their pension funds. I find empirical support for the crucial function of employer contributions in determining the overall funded status of state pension plans. This finding is further reinforced when I estimate plan stock funding ratios using a dynamic system GMM (sGMM) panel regression model. The results from static FE and dynamic sGMM models suggest no significant effect on overall plan funding levels from changes in the employee contribution rate or the average retirement benefit cost. Lastly, the results lend evidence to the significant influence of past funding levels on current funding levels. It is recommended that future empirical research account for the dynamic nature of public pension funding and related endogeneity issues. This dissertation concludes by discussing the implications of the empirical findings for policy makers seeking to improve the funded status of their respective state DB retirement systems.