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Your retirement
Consumer Reports – December 2008 issue
Is my pension safe?
After Losses, Pensions Ask For a Change
New York Times – November 20, 2008
Stung by outsize investment losses, some of the nation’s biggest companies are pushing Congress to roll back rules requiring them to put more money into their pension funds, just two years after President Bush signed a law meant to strengthen the pension system.
Center urges Congress to protect DB participants
Pensions & Investments – November 17, 2008
The Pension Rights Center wants Congress to change federal pension laws to protect participants in single-employer defined benefit plans in response to asset declines caused by the financial crisis.
What Happens if Your Employer Goes Broke
Kiplinger.com – November 17, 2008
What will happen to my health insurance and retirement plans if my employer files for bankruptcy?
Help wanted sign is out for top jobs
Pensions & Investments – November 10, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama — who ran on the promise of change — looks to be living up to his word, based on the potential appointees to top pension and investment policy positions in his incoming administration.
How will Obama tax plans work in this economy?
San Francisco Chronicle – November 6, 2008
On the campaign trail, Barack Obama proposed more than a dozen tax changes that would affect individuals.
Delay pension even in face of a bankruptcy
Chicago Tribune – November 2, 2008
Financial advice columnist answers a reader's question about taking a pension early.
Boomer fears rise as market falls
Chicago Tribune – November 1, 2008
Many older people who have watched in horror as the carnage on Wall Street has shrunk their nest eggs. Even before the crisis, one in five older Americans had been putting off retirement. Now that figure is undoubtedly higher.
401(k) losses: Older investors' retirement funds hit hard
USA Today – October 31, 2008
Older Americans are watching their retirement savings evaporate as the economy slumps and the stock market falters.
Down market squeezes pensions
Boston Globe – October 26, 2008
Some employers drop their plans; Others forced to pump in cash
American Dream is still alive, it's just getting harder for the middle class to achieve it
Press of Atlantic City – October 26, 2008
The financial challenges today are serious: How will I send my child to college? Or pay off my medical expenses? Or retire debt-free? Simply put, costs of food, fuel and other parts of the household budget are soaring, while incomes are staying grounded.
Working Longer as Jobs Contract
New York Times – October 23, 2008
In these extraordinarily turbulent times, with the stock market declining sharply and millions of 401(k) plans plunging in value, many workers are suddenly facing a starker situation — they worry that they might have to work 5, 7, even 10 years later than planned, perhaps well into their 70s.
Pension Plans Hit by Market Mess
CNBC – October 21, 2008
PRC Policy Director Karen Friedman is interviewed on CNBC about the stock market meltdown and retirement income.
Can my pension be reduced?
Money – October 21, 2008
Financial advice columnist answers a reader's question about her pension. The hyperlink in the second to last paragraph links to PRC's Help page.
Social Security recipients to get a raise in 2009
USA Today – October 17, 2008
More than 50 million seniors will see their Social Security benefits increase 5.8% next year, the biggest cost-of-living increase in more than 25 years, the Social Security Administration said Thursday.
Shut out of buyouts: Treasury slam the door on pension transfers to private firms
Employee Benefit News – October 1, 2008
For now, federal regulators at the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have shot down a proposal that would allow financial institutions and investment firms to acquire frozen defined benefit plans. Some critics are wary of the risk involved in the transfer of a frozen plan's assets.
DoL’s Campbell Wants Senators To Let DoL Do Rulemaking
Plan Adviser – September 17, 2008
A federal regulator on Wednesday urged U.S. Senate lawmakers not to interfere with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DoL) regulatory scheme for retirement plan fees through additional legislation.
Labor Dept. opens advice window
Pensions & Investments – September 1, 2008
Agency proposes allowing investment companies to offer participant guidance.
Pension ruling a partial win for both sides
Los Angeles Times – August 21, 2008
An appeals court says cash-balance plans are legal, but companies must give employees adequate warning before a conversion.
Planning for Retirement
New York Times – August 21, 2008
Letter to the editor from the Pension Rights Center, responding to an Aug. 15 editorial about 401(k) leakage.
IRS slams door on pension transfers
Business Insurance – August 11, 2008
An Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department ruling last week will stymie for now any effort by defined benefit pension plan sponsors to transfer their frozen plans to financial services firms, say observers.
Now Wall Street Wants Your Pension, Too
Businessweek – August 5, 2008
The folks who brought you the mortgage mess and the ensuing hedge fund blowups, busted buyouts, and credit market gridlock have another bold idea: buying up and running troubled corporate pension plans.
401(k) plans used to avoid foreclosure
Global Pensions – August 4, 2008
An amendment to legislation which would waiver the 10% early withdrawal penalty for US homeowners who use retirement savings to avoid foreclosure will still be pursued.
Labor, SEC Join to Streamline Retirement-Fund Protection
Washington Post – July 30, 2008
The Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed yesterday to step up their cooperation in protecting $5.8 trillion in 401(k) plans and other retirement assets held by American workers, retirees and their families in employee benefit plans.
10 ways to spot 401(k) abuse
Bankrate.com – July 29, 2008
In 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, or EBSA, the agency charged with enforcing 401(k) regulations, investigated more than 1,326 cases of 401(k) mismanagement or malfeasance, resulting in more than $51 million in restitution and penalties.
Fee-Disclosure Proposal Scrutinized
Human Resource Executive Online – July 25, 2008
Most observers were pleased with the proposed fee-disclosure regulation issued by the DOL, which could take effect for the 2009 plan year. It requires both quarterly and annual disclosures, as well as information on investment performance. Critics say the proposal does not go far enough.
Cracking Into Your Nest Egg Early [blog entry]
U.S. News & World Report – July 24, 2008
Most people who diligently tuck money into a 401(k) know that those dollars are intended for retirement. But many 401(k)'s have provisions that allow workers to take loans when necessary. And economically squeezed workers are increasingly raiding their retirement plans to make ends meet.
About half of pension sponsors have frozen plans
Associated Press via Yahoo! News – July 22, 2008
About half of employers with defined-benefit pension plans have frozen one or more of those plans, putting the retirement incomes of millions at risk, according to a government report made public Tuesday.
Raiding the Retirement Stash
Washington Post – July 20, 2008
Would you still put money in a tax-advantaged retirement fund if you couldn't touch it until you retired?
Is your employer doing the '401k float'?
Marketplace Money (NPR) – July 18, 2008
Some Americans are giving their employers an interest-free loan, whether they know it or not. [Click on the "Listen to this story" link on the program's web page to hear the audio.]
In down economy, less upside to DC plans
Financial Week – June 23, 2008
Pensions may be seen as a mill-stone around the corporate neck, but for some companies, these relics of business largesse might actually provide labor management flexibility that their defined-contribution cousins can't match.
Bickering puts pension fixit bill in slow lane
Pensions & Investments – June 10, 2008
Key funding rule change at stake in legislation aimed to fix pension law problems.
Tracking those moving pensions
St. Petersburg Times – May 11, 2008
It's not unusual for workers to become separated from their pensions.
Supreme Court sends investors mixed message
Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Journal – May 5, 2008
A recent ruling defining the rights of 401(k) holders could shape future cases about the responsibility of portfolio managers to protect clients' investments.
Take steps to protect your retirement income
Consumer Reports – April 2008
Don’t be caught off guard by changes to your pension that might result in less income in retirement. Here are a few steps you can take to help smooth out any unpleasant bumps in the road ahead.
Make Sure Your Employer Isn't Misusing 401(k) Money
TheStreet.com – March 20, 2008
If you don't pay attention to your employer's treatment of your 401(k) plan, you might want to start.
Pension help may be available to Floridians [scroll to the bottom]
Florida Today – March 13, 2008
Letter to the Editor from John Hotz, deputy director of the Pension Rights Center.
Pension plans becoming more open
Syndicated column via the Columbus (OH) Dispatch – March 11, 2008
If you're among the Americans who still have a defined benefit pension, 2008 is a good year to pay close attention. New federal rules could affect your benefits.
If company mishandles your 401(k), you can sue
Dallas Morning News – March 3, 2008
A recent landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court could lead workers to believe that they have a potent legal weapon against their employer if their 401(k) loses money.
Employers now responsible for 401(k) mismanagement
Colorado Springs Business Journal – February 29, 2008
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this month is expected to give employees a greater chance at recovering retirement money lost from a mismanaged 401(k) — and send a warning to business owners.
Pension plan didn’t pan out for Cocoa worker
Florida Today – February 27, 2008
The Pension Rights Center works in the big scope of things to protect and promote the retirement security of America’s workforce.
Quick! Plug Those Holes
Newsweek – February 23, 2008
Individual workers can sue their bosses for mismanaging their 401(k) plans, the Supreme Court said last week.
Ruling Allows Employees to Sue 401(k) Providers
SmartMoney.com – February 21, 2008
Thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday you can now sue your 401(k) plan sponsor if you've experienced a loss due to an administrative error or mismanagement of your funds.
Dark Victory for 401(k)
Condé Nast Portfolio – February 21, 2008
Top court says participants can sue, but chief justice leaves an out for companies.
Ruling Allows Workers to Sue On 401(k) Losses
Wall Street Journal via Yahoo! Finance – February 20, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the right of workers to sue over losses in their 401(k) retirement-savings accounts in some circumstances, but pension-law experts said a minority opinion in the case could also bolster some defenses used by employers.
Pensions by the numbers
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) – February 10, 2008
This is a sidebar to the main article, "What's your pension plan?"
Trying to Clear Fog From Pension Plans
New York Times – February 3, 2008
New pension rules being phased in this year may make some employees curious about the financial health of their pension plans — but it’s still hard to get enough information to make an intelligent judgment.
Profile of the Pension Rights Center
NABET News – January/February 2008 issue
The Center is profiled in this publication for members of the National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians and the Broadcasting and Cable Television Workers' Sector of the Communications Workers of America.
IBM pension freeze has ripple effects in retirement system
Journal News (White Plains, NY) – January 6, 2008
This month might just mark the moment when workers in America finally accept the idea that pensions are on their way out.
New rules proposed for 401(k)s
Marketplace – December 13, 2007
About 50 million of us contribute to 401(k)s. But returns can vary widely, in part because of the fees we pay to plan administrators. Today the Labor Department proposed some new rules.
Ideas for 401(k) Have-Nots
Washington Post – December 2, 2007
There are ideas percolating that would make it easier for those who don't have access to retirement savings plans to put aside money. The Conversation on Coverage, a PRC initiative, is mentioned.
Can you sue if your 401(k) nest egg is mishandled?
Christian Science Monitor – November 26, 2007
The US Supreme Court on Monday hears a case that will determine if individuals have redress under federal law if their savings plan is mismanaged.
Retirement-Fund Case at Top U.S. Court May Bolster Right to Sue
Bloomberg News – November 26, 2007
James LaRue says he tried to change the investments in his employer-offered 401(k) retirement plan in time to avoid the brunt of the 2001-02 stock market plunge. The problem, LaRue claims in a lawsuit the U.S. Supreme Court will consider today, is that his employer didn't do as he asked, costing him almost $100,000.
Retirement Plan Proposals Abound
Workforce Management – September 2007
During the past few months, a number of coalitions have come up with their own proposals for new and improved defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans.
New Retirement Plan Proposals Emerge from Conversation on Coverage (PDF)
Employee Benefit Plan Review – August 2007
The Conversation on Coverage, representing a new approach to forging consensus on retirement policy, has released four proposals for new types of retirement plans designed to increase coverage among the half of all private-sector workers who are not covered by a retirement plan in the workplace.
Nieces aren't eligible for Social Security benefit
Houston Chronicle – July 25, 2007
Personal finance columnist answers a reader's question about passing on his Social Security and pension benefits to his nieces.
Rank and file owed corner office perks
Investment News – July 16, 2007
Any company that offers non-qualified deferred-compensation plans would have to provide defined benefit pensions to all employees under legislation introduced late last month by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
Benefit plan idea may hurt — or help — DB cause
Pensions & Investments – July 9, 2007
The ERISA Industry Committee proposal for a new national retirement and health program that operates independently of employers could reduce the number of defined benefit plans, some pension industry stakeholders fear. But others in the industry say the proposal could breathe new life into the U.S. benefits system — particularly into DB plans.
Big Ideas for Small Business Retirement Plans
Washington Post – July 1, 2007
One group that's been thinking about ways to help ensure a financially secure retirement for a larger number of people is the Conversation on Coverage, a Pension Rights Center initiative launched in 2001
Group works to redefine retirement dictionary
Employee Benefit News – July 1, 2007
A cohort of retirement analysts have designed a national public policy initiative called “Conversation on Coverage,” which outlines ways to help low- and moderate-income workers save for retirement.
Looking for information on your retirement plan
Providence Journal – June 10, 2007
If you believe you’re entitled to receive a benefit from a pension or other retirement-savings plan, but can’t find the person or organization responsible, here are some resources.
Group's Report Continues 'Conversation' on Retirement Savings
Human Resource Executive Online – May 29, 2007
A group studying retirement savings in the United States, the Conversation on Coverage, released on May 11 a series of recommendations, including the creation of a new "hybrid" plan and a simplified defined-benefit pension plan.
Pension system proposal is worth a look
Investment News – May 21, 2007
The Pension Rights Center, a Washington consumer organization that follows retirement plan rights, recently unveiled a series of proposals designed to help overcome the retirement savings shortfall.
Conversation on Coverage Issues Recommendations
PlanSponsor – May 11, 2007
With less than half the nation’s working adults covered by a workplace retirement program, a group of industry experts has put their heads together to focus on solutions.
Diverse Pension Experts Outline Plan to Increase Coverage
Workforce Management – May 11, 2007
The goal of the initiative, dubbed the Conversation on Coverage, is to increase the number of people participating in retirement savings programs.
Group floats plan to boost retirement savings
Insurance News – May 11, 2007
The “Conversation on Coverage” group, sponsored by the Pension Rights Center in Washington, released a report that focuses on three areas: guaranteed pensions, retirement savings, and expanding small-business pension coverage.
How to Get American Workers to Save More
Wall Street Journal via MarketWatch.com – May 11, 2007
An unlikely coalition of employer, retiree and business groups is expected to unveil proposals today intended to fix problems in the private-sector U.S. retirement system, the latest in a number of such plans vying for lawmakers' attention.
Verizon retirees seek say on pay
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – May 4, 2007
An activist group of Verizon retirees will set the issue of executive pay before the corporation's board of directors this morning at the company's annual meeting.
New Look for the Nest Egg
New York Times – April 10, 2007
We are in a third generation of changes in corporate retirement plans, and it is still not clear whether this version will succeed better than the others.
Tracking Down Your Long-Lost Pension Payments
Washington Post – February 18, 2007
Although traditional pension plans -- also known as defined-benefit plans -- have a fiduciary obligation to pay benefits, they don't have to chase down potential recipients.
Former Bank of Lodi employees unable to access 401(k) funds
Stockton Record – December 13, 2006
Bank of Lodi's former employees are still unable to access funds in their 401(k) retirement and profit-sharing accounts because of a discrepancy in the number of stock shares held by employees, and Placer Sierra Bank officials don't know when the freeze will end.
If Company Goes Bankrupt, Don’t Count on Your Pension
New York Times – October 24, 2006
When a company is in such severe financial trouble that paying the pensions it owes could put it out of business, it can turn the responsibility over to the pension agency in a so-called distress termination.
Retirement, Squeezed
Washington Post – September 17, 2006
As Traditional Plans Decline, Workers Face a Less Certain Future
DuPont Shift to Defined Contribution Plan Consistent With Trends
BNA Pension and Benefits – September 1, 2006
The DuPont Company's recent announcement that it is shifting retirement benefits toward defined contribution pension plans is consistent with current employer-provided pension plan trends, which will be accelerated by the new Pension Protection Act, practitioners told BNA Aug. 30.
Law to boost pension costs at companies
Boston Globe – August 19, 2006
Analysts say hikes will hasten end of traditional programs.
Deciphering the New Retirement Law
BusinessWeek Online – August 18, 2006
H.R. 4, 907 pages of pension legislation, has changes that will affect every worker, regardless of age and income
Congress passes complex pension bill full of favors
Northwest Labor Press – August 18, 2006
In July and August, the U.S. House and Senate approved what Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy called “the most important action to safeguard the retirement of hard-working Americans in a generation.”
Bush signs massive pension overhaul
Associated Press via USA Today – August 17, 2006
President Bush on Thursday signed new rules to prod companies into shoring up their pension plans with a tough message for corporate America: "Set aside enough money now."
Pension Reform: Write a check
Seattle Post-Intelligencer – August 10, 2006
The bill doesn't do enough to balance a $450 billion shortfall in pension funding, nor will it prevent companies from using bankruptcy courts to dodge their pension obligations. It even permits sleight-of-hand accounting.
Pension reform aims to boost savings
The Christian Science Monitor – August 9, 2006
Under legislation that will soon be signed by President Bush, key features of the nation's pension system will shift from discretion toward autopilot for both companies and workers.
As more companies adopt cash-balance plans, what you need to know
USA Today – August 7, 2006
The pension-reform act passed by Congress last week isn't expected to reverse the trend away from traditional pensions. It could encourage more companies to shift to the cash-balance type of plan, a hybrid that mixes features of a traditional pension and a 401(k).
Court: IBM cash-balance pension is okay
CNN Money.com – August 7, 2006
In a victory for IBM, an appeals court on Monday ruled that IBM's conversion of its traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan did not discriminate against older workers.
Change to boost 401(k)s, put brakes on pensions
Dallas Morning News – August 7, 2006
Congress' pension reform bill will spark more savings in 401(k) plans but hasten the death of traditional pension plans, experts said Friday.
Reaction mixed to pension reform
The Republican – August 5, 2006
The pension reform bill that recently passed the House and Senate won praise yesterday from the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., based in Springfield, Mass., but protests from the chief executive officer of the city's Teamsters union.
What's At Stake In The New Pension Bill
Nightly Business Report – August 4, 2006
Early this morning, the Senate passed a plan to shore up the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and ensure better funding for the defined benefit plans that cover 44 million Americans.
Freeze To Get Deeper
HR Magazine – August 2006More plan sponsors will freeze their defined benefit plans in the next few years, retirement experts predict, continuing a 20-year shift toward defined contribution plans as the favored vehicle for employee retirement saving.
Pension bill under fire from Teamsters
The Republican – July 31, 2006Tucked inside the 900-page bill is a brief amendment that Springfield-area Teamsters say threatens their pensions by allowing labor and management to reopen agreed benefit packages in ways that could cut benefits.
Senate considers pension overhaul
Marketplace Radio – July 31, 2006Many companies have been underfunding their pension plans, so this week the Senate's expected to vote on the first pension overhaul in three decades. Host Scott Jagow talks to Karen Friedman with the Pension Rights Center about the proposed bill.
Today's Tip (scroll to bottom)
Providence Journal – July 25, 2006In time for its 30th anniversary, the Pension Rights Center has launched a newly designed Web site.
Know Where Your Pension Is?
Kiplinger's – July 2006Advice column provides answers to a person with a lost pension plan
Even healthy companies are killing pension plans
Virginian-Pilot – June 18, 2006For years, it was struggling companies in the steel, airline and auto-parts industries that scaled back or dumped their defined benefit pension plans. Today, a growing roster of large, financially healthy companies have frozen their pension plans or sharply reduced employees’ eligibility for the plans as a way to hold down labor costs.
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