ExpertGlossary

A money purchase plan is a defined contribution retirement plan that requires the employer to contribute a fixed percentage of each employee's salary every year the plan is in effect.

The contributions must be made regardless of how well the company does in a given year. In contrast, in profit-sharing plans, the employer's contribution is more flexible because it is based on annual profits.

However, some small-company employers or self-employed people create a paired plan that combines money purchase with profit sharing. Paired plans require them to add at least a minimum percentage of each employee's salary to the plan each year.

The money supply is the total amount of liquid or near-liquid assets in the economy.

The Federal Reserve, or the Fed, manages the money supply, trying to prevent either recession or serious inflation by changing the amount of money in circulation.

The Fed increases the money supply by buying government bonds in the open market, and decreases the supply by selling these securities.

In addition, the Fed can adjust the reserves that banks must maintain, and increase or decrease the rate at which banks can borrow money. This fluctuation in rates gets passed along to consumers and investors as changes in short-term interest rates.

The money supply is grouped into four classes of assets, called money aggregates. The narrowest, called M1, includes currency and checking deposits. M2 includes M1, plus assets in money market accounts and small time deposits.

M3, also called broad money, includes M2, plus assets in large time deposits, eurodollars, and institution-only money market funds. The biggest group, L, includes M3, plus assets such as private holdings of US savings bonds, short-term US Treasury bills, and commercial paper.