Corporate Profits and Disappearing Pensions

March 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

cracked eggThe New York Times reported this week that corporate profits are at their highest point in recent history, while the portion of that profit that goes to employees is near its lowest point.

 Meanwhile, a recent nationwide public opinion poll by the non-profit National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) has found that an overwhelming majority of Americans (85 percent) are concerned about their retirement prospects, with more than half (55 percent) saying they are very concerned.  Concern was higher for women than men (90 and 80 percent, respectively).

 According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,  only 18 percent of private industry employees were covered by defined benefit plans (pensions)  in 2011; compared to 35 percent in the early 1990s.   Only ten percent of private industry establishments offered a defined benefit pension  plan to their employees in 2011.  More than 80 percent of  employees who are offered traditional pensions work for unions or the state or local government.

The NIRS study found that 82 percent  of Americans believe that workers with pensions are more likely to have a secure retirement than workers who depend upon 401(k) plans and the volatile stock market.

The NIRS study found overwhelming support (90 percent) across generational lines for a new type of pension plan that is available to all Americans, is portable from job to job, and provides a monthly check throughout retirement for those who contribute. 

Americans do not appear to be optimistic that policymakers will act in response to their retirement concern. The NIRS study found that 87 percent of Americans do not believe the country’s policymakers understand how hard it is to save for retirement. 

 Note:  The Center for Responsive Politics estimated the median net worth of a U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.63 million in 2010. The median estimated net worth of a GOP House member was $834,250 in 2010, compared to a median net worth of $635,500 among House Democrats.

The New York Times reported that corporate profits, as a percentage of national income, stood at 14.2 percent in the third quarter of 2012, the largest share at any time since 1950, while the portion of income that went to  employees was 61.7 percent, near its lowest point since 1966. 

Corporate earnings have risen at an annualized rate of 20.1 percent since the end of 2008, the Times reports,  while dispoable income inched ahead by 1.4 percent annually over the same period, adjusting for inflation. “There hasn’t been a period in the last 50 years where these trends have been so pronounced,” said Dean Maki, chief United States economist at Barclays.

Filed Under: CULTURE, DISPATCHES, EMPLOYERS Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Where is America’s Age Discrimination Commissioner?

September 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Australia, a world leader in combating workplace bullying, recently announced the appointment of Australia’s first Age Discrimination Commissioner.

Despite the fact that age discrimination is epidemic in the United States, it appears the problem is being  ignored by the federal government and non-profit advocacy agencies like the American Association for Retired Persons (one of the country’s leading medical insurers).

Australia announced tn July 2011 the appointment of an Age Discrimination Commissioner  to combat age discrimination in Australian workplaces and the wider community.

Where is America’s age discrimination commissioner?

The current economic climate in the United States is like a “perfect storm” for older workers. There is record unemployment for workers aged 55 and above and there is record age discrimination.

The impact of unemployment on older workers is dire as they face potentially decades of retirement, and health issues, without the ability to prepare financially.  Older workers do not have the time and may never recover from the adverse impact of age discrimination.

Age discrimination complaints to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission  are at an all-time high.  In five years, the number of age discrimination complaints has increased FORTY PERCENT.  There were 23,264 age discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC in 2010.

Meanwhile, the  Bureau of Justice Statistics(BJS) reports that unemployment for persons aged 55 and above has increased sharply since the beginning of the recession in December 2007. The jobless rate among older workers was 7.1 percent (seasonally adjusted) in February 2010, just shy of the record-high level of 7.2 percent in December 2009.

In addition, the BJS says that older workers remain unemployed longer than younger workers. The BJS states that nearly half (49.1 percent) of older jobseekers had been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer in February 2010, compared with 28.5 percent of workers aged 16 to 24 years and 41.3 percent of workers aged 25 to 54 years.

(According to a 2011  CareerBuilder survey on workplace bullying,  women aged 55 and above are more likely than any other demographic group to  report feeling bullied in the workplace, another problem America ignores.)

Australia’s new age commissioner, the Hon. Susan Ryan, will operate under he auspices of the Australia Age Discrimination Act, and will tackle issues such as discrimination in getting job or applying for a promotion, enrolling at a university, applying to rent a house, or using services such as at a bank. The government provided $4 million in funding over four years to the Australian Human Rights Commission to support the new position.

Australia was one of the first countries to recognize the problem of workplace bullying, which causes potentially severe  injury to a target’s mental and physical health, destroys families and costs the United States billions each year in needless turnover, lost work, higher health costs, absenteeism, etc.  In fact, in Victoria, Australia, workplace bullying is considered a criminal offense under some circumstances.

At this point, it may go without saying that America has yet to offer workers any protection against workplace bullying.

Filed Under: CULTURE, DISPATCHES, EEOC, WORKPLACE BULLYING Tagged With: , , , Age Discrimination Commissioner, , Australian Human Rights Commission, , CareerBuilder survey on workplace bullying, , Hon. Susan Ryan