Fall 2012
    Law No.: LAW9098
    Sched. No.: 112820573

Retirement Security*
Section 1
X
Cummings, Frank
White, Thomas R.



Administrative Information:
During SIS enrollment, check on SIS for real-time enrollment numbers
Days, Times (Room):M, 1600-1800 (WB116)
Credits:3Type:Seminar
Capacity:14 **This information is current as of 05/21/2013 06:18:01 AM**
Current Enrollment:13 **This information is current as of 05/21/2013 06:18:01 AM**
Syllabus: View Syllabus (requires LawWeb account)



Course Description:

What makes retirement secure (or at least less insecure)? Economic security is supported by Social Security, private (employer-employee) retirement plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and personal savings. Healthcare security (which overlaps and fundamentally affects economic security) has been supported by Medicare and private (employer-retiree) health benefit plans. Now that we have entered an era of economic distress and budget crises, how sufficient are the traditional retirement security programs, and can they remain so? How reliable are current or past commitments for benefits to be paid in the future? What laws and public policies control or affect the reliability and enforceability of such commitments?

At present, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), the partially implemented Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), as sustained but limited by the Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling, and (iii) the Social Security Act, including title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) provide a federal regulatory structure. And state laws? The answer there depends on the scope of federal preemption—an issue still heavily litigated. The Seminar will discuss important economic, legal, political, and moral issues within this context, including the proper scope of the “safety net”; the “intergenerational compact” between one generation and the next (different cohorts of taxpayers); the actuarial unpredictability of costs; the legitimacy of risk-taking; employer duties and burdens; employee/retiree rights; the impact of economic downturns and bankruptcy; and the duties of “fiduciaries” in managing other people’s money and deciding other people’s benefits.

COURSE REQUIREMENT: A substantial research paper

This course is on the approved upper-level writing requirement course list.