As is evident, complex pension rules lead to
pension wealth curves that are irregularly shaped and bear no resemblance to the smoothly growing cumulative value of contributions.
Thus, in Figure 1,
the pension wealth curve would coincide with the contributions curve depicted, for a fiscally equivalent plan, or with a lower curve if costs are to be reduced.
The push incentive in these plans can be seen in Figure 1 by the negative slope of
the pension wealth curve after the peak.
Not exact matches
The heavy S - shaped
curve in Figure 1 depicts
pension wealth (net of employee contributions) for 25 - year - old entrants to the Missouri teaching force who work continuously until they leave teaching at various ages.
As discussed above, the heavy solid
curve illustrates net
pension wealth for continuous service under the DB plan, evaluated at date of separation.
The two solid
curves in Figure 1 show
pension wealth for a typical Missouri teacher in 1975 and today.
The bottom
curve shows that under 1975 rules a teacher entering at age 25 would have accrued just under $ 400,000 in
pension wealth by age 55.
The nearly vertical slope of the
pension -
wealth accrual
curves leading up to age 50 shows the powerful «pull» incentives in these plans, which encourage educators to stay in their jobs.
Economists like Bob Costrell and Mike Podgursky have been drawing
pension wealth accrual
curves for several years now.
We can combine the
pension wealth accrual
curves discussed above with the estimated teacher retention rates.