Month: January 2016
Iron Workers Fund Looks to Cut Benefits,Is Second Plan to Seek Treasury’s Approval
An Iron Workers local pension fund has become the second multiemployer plan to apply for benefit suspension approval from the Treasury Department.
De-Risking and Rescue Plan Petitions Expected to Rise
The de-risking of single-employer defined benefit pension plans and the suspension of benefits by multiemployer plans are poised to be two of the primary issues facing pension plan sponsors and participants in 2016.
Pension cuts ‘crippling’ for retired Creve Coeur trucker and his family
When Joe Frakes stepped down from the cab of his truck for the last time, he thought he was set for life. After three decades on the road, he’d accrued a solid Teamster pension. But 13 years after retiring, the 75-year-old now fears a nosedive in his monthly check from $2,500 to less than $1,500.
Carefully Considering Pension Payment Options
Companies are increasingly offering retirees and former employees the option of taking their pensions in a lump-sum payment, rather than as a traditional monthly payment over a lifetime.
Lump sum or annuity? It’s not just a question for Powerball winners
Should a lottery winner claim the cash value of a jackpot and receive a reduced amount of money right away in a single payment, or choose 30 years of annual payments that add up to the jackpot amount? Well, few people will get rich playing the lottery, but many people do face a similar question […]
Teamsters look to fight pension cuts
Retired Teamsters fear it will take no less than an act of Congress to undo an act of Congress. Former Morning Glory Dairy employees are among the nearly 40,000 Wisconsin Teamsters who face a 50 percent cut to their pensions under a 2014 law aimed at keeping large pension funds solvent.
Take a lump sum? It applies to Powerball and pensions.
Take the lump sum? Or settle on the slow-but-steady monthly payout? No, we’re not talking about winning a Powerball jackpot or some other winning lottery ticket. We’re talking about what to do if your company or former employer actually has a traditional pension, not just a 401(k) plan, and offers you a lump sum if you […]
Is the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. worth propping up?
U.S. multiemployer pension plans disagree about the value of participating in the cash-strapped federal agency’s insurace program.
State-Run IRAs May Offer a New Retirement Plan Option
According to the Pension Rights Center, half the states in the nation are discussing the possibility of creating state-run IRAs for workers at small businesses.
Triangle Wire pension fight resolved for 14 former employees
Former employees of Triangle Wire & Cable Co. are finally receiving lost pensions and benefits after more than a year of negotiations. The Boston-based advocacy group New England Pension Assistance Project, represented the former employees.
Senate passes church pension plan clarifications
Pension Rights Center Director Karen Ferguson is worried that the legislation, if passed, could nonetheless have a negative effect on litigation filed by church plan participants.
Appeals court upholds ruling denying church-plan status for health-care system
Karen Ferguson, director of the Pension Rights Center, called the decision “a terrific victory for thousands of orderlies, cafeteria workers, nurses and others who were told throughout their careers at Saint Peter’s that they were fully protected by federal law.”
