Insurance Company Failures Threaten Retirement Income
T-HRD-91-41: Published: Jun 27, 1991. Publicly Released: Jun 27, 1991.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO discussed the impact of insurance company failures on pension plan incomes, focusing on what happens when pension plans purchase insurance annuities and invest funds through insurance companies. GAO noted that: (1) pension plans have purchased annuities for 3 million to 4 million retirees and have invested about a third of all pension assets with insurance companies; (2) between January 1975 and December 1990, 170 life insurance companies failed, with 40 percent of failures occurring during 1989 and 1990; (3) despite the presence of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which guarantees defined benefit plans but not defined contribution plans, and a network of state insurance guaranty associations, some pensioners risk losing some retirement income in the case of an insurance company insolvency; (4) pensioners are not always informed that, when pension plans purchase insurance company annuities, PBGC protection ends; (5) insurance guaranty laws among states varied in terms of coverage, limitations, and restrictions, exposing some pensioners to the risk of losing a portion of their annuity in the case of insurance company insolvency; (6) none of the state guaranty laws required maintenance of reserve funds, and the failure of a large insurance company could strain resources and result in delays in pension payments; (7) state guaranty associations generally did not cover investment losses experienced by defined benefit plans; and (8) PBGC determined that it lacked authority to guarantee annuities purchased from an insurance company to satisfy pension obligations to retirees.
Oct 30, 2020
-
Retirement Security:
Other Countries' Experiences with Caregiver PoliciesGAO-20-623: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 30, 2020.
Sep 24, 2020
-
Retirement Security:
Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain FutureGAO-20-718T: Published: Sep 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 24, 2020.
Aug 28, 2020
-
Retirement Security:
DOL Could Better Inform Divorcing Parties About Dividing SavingsGAO-20-541: Published: Jul 31, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 28, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
-
Retirement Security:
Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain FutureGAO-20-435: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
-
Retirement Security:
BLS Should Explore Ways to Improve the Accuracy, Timeliness, and Relevance of Its Cost-of-Living MeasurementsGAO-20-422: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
Feb 27, 2020
-
Private Pensions:
IRS and DOL Should Strengthen Oversight of Executive Retirement PlansGAO-20-70: Published: Jan 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2020.
Jan 9, 2020
-
Social Security Disability:
Action Needed to Help Agency Staff Understand and Follow Policies Related to Prescription Opioid MisuseGAO-20-120: Published: Jan 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 9, 2020.
Dec 18, 2019
-
Capitol Police:
Potential Effects of Raising the Mandatory Retirement AgeGAO-20-137R: Published: Dec 18, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2019. -
Millennial Generation:
Information on the Economic Status of Millennial Households Compared to Previous GenerationsGAO-20-194: Published: Dec 13, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2019.
Oct 21, 2019
-
Military Pensions:
Servicemembers Need Better Information to Support Retirement Savings DecisionsGAO-19-631: Published: Sep 19, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 21, 2019.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here