Month: December 2012
PBGC holding $300 million in unclaimed pension benefits
At a time when many Americans are worried about saving enough for retirement, nearly $300 million in pension benefits has gone unclaimed by U.S. workers and retirees.
Joint letter to Congress in support of H.R. 5981, which closes a gap in the law for survivor benefits in multiemployer plans (12/27/2012)
The Pension Rights Center, the National Women’s Law Center, and the National Coordinating Committee on Multiemployer Plans sent a letter [PDF] to every member of Congress, asking them to pass H.R. 5981 before the end of the current Congress. The bill closes a loophole that unfairly denies pension benefits to widows and widowers when multiemployer […]
Benefit Groups Tailor Policy Agendas To Congressional Lame-Duck Session
Retirement benefits are front and center on the policy agendas of employee benefit groups as Congress and President Obama negotiate a deal to solve the nation’s fiscal crisis during the final weeks of 2012. [PDF]
Will 401(k) plans keep getting worse?
IBM, one of America’s largest companies, shook the employee compensation world when it announced recently that it would contribute only once every December to its employees’ 401(k) accounts. Any employee who leaves before December would not be able to collect the company’s match.
Benefits Leader Reins In 401(k)s
International Business Machines Corp., a bellwether for employee benefits, is overhauling its retirement program to contribute once a year to employee 401(k) accounts in a lump-sum payment.
IBM remakes its match
If your company matches your retirement savings, that payment probably shows up on your pay stub every other week or so. This week IBM notified employees it’s changing its 401(k) match. The company will make one lump-sum payment per year. What’s the difference? Potentially, a lot of money.
401(k) tax breaks in lawmakers’ gunsights
Tax reform could change some retirement savers’ plans
Retirement savings tax breaks face scrutiny
For many Americans, it’s the first order of business when they visit the HR department at a new job: enrolling in the 401(k) plan.
Who gains most from 401(k) tax breaks?
In the discussion over retirement security, retirement plans like 401(k)s are often talked about as if they benefit all Americans equally. But with these tax-deferred accounts coming under scrutiny amid the fiscal-cliff budget debate, it’s worth remembering: They’re a perk that’s far more valuable to the upper-middle-income, corporate golf-outing set than to store clerks or […]
