The actuarial present value of pension plan benefits belonging to employees of an organization. The vested benefit obligation (VBO) is one measure of a pension fund's liability. The VBO only considers benefits that have vested in an employee, as opposed to the accumulated benefit obligation (ABO), which represents the present value of any benefits, whether vested or not. Since minimum vesting requirements are generally five years, the values of the vested benefit obligation and accumulated benefit obligation are very close in most pension plans. While the ABO and VBO values are required to be disclosed at fiscal year-end, in cases where the values are almost similar, companies' financial statements show the ABO value and state that the VBO and ABO values are not materially different.
A method of calculating an employer's contribution to an employee's defined benefit plan. The employer calculates the contribution by multiplying an employee's years of service by a percentage of his or her salary. For instance, the company may provide 0.5% or 1% of the employee's salary for each year of service. One advantage of this retirement plan contribution system is that employees are compensated for working longer at a company. However, many employers are reluctant to adopt this system because it requires the services of an actuary and, in turn, higher associated costs for the employer.
A company retirement plan that has more liabilities than assets. In other words, the money needed to cover current and future retirements is not readily available. Hence, there is no assurance that future retirees will receive the pensions they were promised or that current retirees will continue to get their previously established distribution amount. Pension plans can become underfunded in a variety of ways. Interest rate changes, a weak stock market, mergers and bankruptcies can all greatly affect company pensioners. During times of an economic slowdown pension plans are most susceptible to becoming underfunded.
A trust fund is a fund comprised of a variety of assets intended to provide benefits to an individual or organization. The trust fund is established by a grantor to provide financial security to an individual, most often a child or grandchild - or organizations, such as a charity or other non-profit organization. A trust fund can be comprised of cash, stocks, bonds, property and other types of financial products. The recipient of a trust fund must typically wait until a certain age, or until a specified event occurs, to receive a yearly income from the fund. Prior to this, a single trustee, or a group of trustees, manages the fund in a manner appropriate to the trust fund's specifications. This will usually include some allowance for living expenses and perhaps educational expenses, such as private school or college.
1. A tangible or intangible barrier or occurrence that, once breached or met, causes another event to occur. Triggering events are written into contracts to prevent or ensure that after a given occurrence, the terms of the original agreement are abandoned or changed to suit the party that included the triggering event in the agreement. 2. A certain milestone or event that a participant in a qualified plan must experience in order to be eligible to receive a distribution from a qualified plan. 1. It is common for banks to issue debt at a given interest rate on certain terms. For example, one of the bank's terms could be that the borrowing party does not incur any more debt for the term of the loan. Should the borrower incur more debt - the triggering event - the bank may foreclose on the loan or increase the original rate of interest accordingly.2. Triggering events are typically characterized by the attainment of retirement age (as defined under the plan), termination of employment, termination of the plan, the participant becoming disabled (as defined under the plan) or the death of the participant. In some cases, in-service withdrawals may be permitted within the plan, allowing for tax and penalty free distributions before a triggering event occurs.
An employer managed retirement plan that uses the employer's current income to fund pension payments as they become necessary. This is in contrast to an advance funded pension plan where an employer sets aside funds systematically and in advance to cover any pension plan expenses such as payment to retirees and their beneficiaries. A pension plan is a program offered by certain employers that provides a salary replacement when an employee is no longer working (for example, when the employee retires). When employers offer a pension plan, they can plan for the anticipated financial requirements of the pension plan and set aside a certain amount of money on a regular basis - and invest the money to ideally grow the fund. Conversely, certain employers elect to fund the pension plan out of current earnings. This is a pay-as-you-go pension plan, and the future of such plans can often be put in danger by unexpected events.
A trust that holds plan assets when a qualified plan is frozen. A "wasting trust" derives its name from the fact that its assets get depleted over time, since plan participants continue to receive payouts as required under the plan, but no new contributions are received by the trust. It may also refer to income trusts that hold depleting assets such as oil and gas. In a wasting trust, the trustee can use part of the principal to maintain the level of payments to the beneficiaries as required under the plan . This is because income generated by the plan's assets may be insufficient to meet such payments.
A tax-free post-retirement medical expense account used by retirees and their eligible dependents to pay for any eligible medical expenses. The plan is funded by the amount of unused sick leave that an employee has at the time of retirement, which is contributed by the employer into the plan. The benefit of this plan is the amount of sick leave left at retirement is paid out in full to the plan and is not subject to tax, which would reduce the amount one would receive. VEBA plans are considered to be welfare benefit plans under federal tax law and are tax-exempt under Section 501c9 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to a VEBA are therefore tax-deductible and the funds grow tax-deferred. There are no tax penalties for early distributions from the VEBA, and assets are protected from creditors.Employers must first obtain a letter of determination from the IRS for their plan to be considered a VEBA for federal income tax purposes. VEBAs are subject to some aspects of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA); however, they are not considered to be qualified retirement plans. For example, unlike 401(k) or 403(b) plans, participant withdrawals from a VEBA are not taxable if made before age 59.5 And withdrawals from a VEBA are not required to begin at age 70.5.