Month: July 2011

Firms May Drop IRA Savers on Rule Change
The Labor Department wants to expand the scope of fiduciary responsibility to protect those saving for retirement from conflicts of interest, such as recommending investments with higher fees. The rule would require investment professionals who advise employers and workers with retirement savings plans such as 401(k)s or IRAs to act in the best interest of […]

Pension Rights Center testifies in support of proposed fiduciary rules (July 26, 2011)
The Pension Rights Center’s Senior Policy Advisor Norman Stein testified in support of the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary regulations at a hearing held by the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions of the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives. Read his testimony. Related: Letter and memo that […]

How Do I Find My Lost Pension?
I am a former employee of First Brands Corporation. I left the company in 1990 with vested rights to a small pension when I turn 65 in December 2011. I tried contacting the company at an address and phone number that I found on the internet, but they’re no longer there. Where do I go […]

R.I. Treasurer Raimondo says 60-year-olds with 401(k)s typically have less than $100,000 in them
General Treasurer Gina Raimondo has been leading the drive to overhaul the retirement system for public employees — with its $7.3-billion unfunded liability — but has rebuffed calls from some critics to scrap the pension plan altogether.

Pension Rights Center supports proposed DOL regulation on definition of fiduciary (07/20/2011)
The Pension Rights Center sent a letter to members of Congress supporting a proposed Department of Labor regulation that would protect participants in 401(k) plans and IRAs by changing the definition of a plan “fiduciary” to include firms and brokers that provide investment advice for a fee. This important regulation will ensure that those who […]

Why regulations matter
In today’s anti-government political environment, there’s a lot of rhetoric thrown around about the bugaboo “excessive regulation.” Just last week, I heard a spokesperson for Dupont tell a congressional committee that the decline of traditional pensions was due, in large part, to a “burdensome regulatory regime.” We hear this time and again in almost every […]