Month: September 2011
Delay on Pension Oversight
The Labor Department plans to push off until 2012 the adoption of a set of rules that would expand its oversight of pension plans, 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.
Proposed Retirement Plan Overhaul Faces Skepticism at Tax Reform Hearing
Employee benefits experts testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 15 about tax reform options for retirement security largely called for retaining the current structure of retirement savings plans with some improvements, but one witness recommended an overhaul that would replace deductions with refundable tax credits.[Reproduced with permission from BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter, […]
Shining a light on a hidden pension world
In a new book, Retirement Heist, prize-winning journalist Ellen Schultz has provided the ultimate backstage pass to the world of pensions, with plenty of drama and shocking details. Schultz, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, has woven together a compelling story that reveals how arcane accounting rules, legal maneuvering, and unfair claims procedures have led […]
Boomer Retirement Doesn’t Seem Rosy
Baby Boomers will have a tough financial row to hoe in managing their retirement and will need to adopt their own special game plan in order to live comfortably in their golden years, says Alice Munnel, keynote speaker at the Financial Planning Association’s 2011 Conference in San Diego on Friday.
Retirement experts clash over tax breaks for 401(k) plans
Some want to boost the deferral limit – others want to do away with it
401(k) savings proposal gets cold shoulder from panel
A proposal to replace the current tax deductions for 401(k) plans and IRAs with a flat tax credit got a chilly reception before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday as panel members and pension experts defended the plans and the incentives for employers to provide them.
Senate Panel Hears Sharp Disagreement on Improving Retirement Savings
Proposals ranged from substantial changes in the current system to adjustments that would not alter it drastically
Baucus Urges Minimizing Costs in Retirement Savings Proposals
Proposals seeking to increase workers’ retirement savings by making adjustments to the U.S. tax code should weigh the costs of such shifts, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said in a hearing held by the panel in Washington.
401(k) Plan Revamp Eyed By Senate Finance Committee
With less than one-half of workers having access to a retirement plan and even fewer saving enough for their old age, Congress is looking at ways to help get more Americans on track to a secure retirement.
Take it public: group offers novel retirement route
A flood of U.S. retirement is threatening to burst its dam and drown aging Americans with rising living costs, but one group is proposing a novel way to protect private-sector workers: invest in public pension plans.
Pension Rights Center to Lawmakers: “Changes to Retirement Plan Tax Breaks Should Address the Retirement Income Deficit, not the Budget Deficit”
WASHINGTON – At a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Finance today, the Pension Rights Center called on lawmakers to re-examine the tax incentives associated with 401(k) plans and other retirement savings plans, so that those tax breaks work more efficiently and equitably. The Center also asked the panel to consider broader measures that […]
Pension Rights Center testifies on tax expenditures in retirement plans (September 15, 2011)
At a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Pension Rights Center Executive Vice President and Policy Director Karen Friedman called on lawmakers to re-examine the tax incentives associated with 401(k) plans and other retirement savings plans — not as a way to reduce the federal budget deficit — but as a way to […]
