The University of Missouri (also, Mizzou, MU, or University of MissouriâColumbia) is a public land-grant research university located in Columbia, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1839 as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River.
A Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) is a relatively uncomplicated retirement savings vehicles. A SEP allows employees to make contributions on a tax-favored basis to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) owned by the employees.
Discount Rate. The discount rate plays a key role in assessing whether the pension plan has enough assets to meet its future pension obligations. The discount rate reflects what the plan's assets can reasonably be expected to earn over the long term. From this are subtracted the cost of running the pension plan and provisions for major adverse events, such as the 2008 financial crisis and the tech bubble in 2001. The discount rate is approved annually by the plan's board members. The process to set the discount rate is robust to ensure this assumption is reasonable and appropriate for the plan.