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Survey: Public Supports Guaranteed Pensions
Nearly nine out of 10 Americans believe that everyone should have access to a defined-benefit pension plan. Most also support creative government policies that would help make this dream a reality. These are some of the findings of a recent national public opinion survey of more than 800 Americans undertaken for the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS). On a conference call announcing the survey results, NIRS Executive Director Beth Almeida said she hopes that the survey can serve as an opinion benchmark for policymakers as they attempt to improve the fading retirement prospects of millions of people.
According to the survey, 85 percent of the public view retirement security as a shared responsibility between individuals, employers and the government. People believe the three-legged retirement stool of the past, consisting of Social Security, pension plans and private savings, is still the best approach to meeting retirement needs in the 21st century.
Backdating Stock Options Boosts CEO Pay, Hurts Companies, and More Capital Stewardship News
Lots of recent news from the AFL-CIO Office of Investment team.
The AFL-CIO has urged the “Big Four” accounting firms to determine what role, if any, they had in the stock options backdating of client companies under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Justice Department. As independent auditors, these firms are responsible for properly examining and verifying companies’ financial and accounting statements.
CEOs Try to Defend Their Excessive Pay. They Could Use Better Apologists
Overpaid CEOs and the insiders who enable them sense their pay-for-failure era is ending. But the recent backlash in support of overpaid CEOs is being spearheaded by CEO pay apologists who have histories as conflicted insiders increasingly under fire for putting their own interests above shareholders, the company’s owners.
