Month: February 2017
About one million American workers have pension plans on verge of insolvency
Nearly one million working and retired Americans are currently covered by pension plans that are in imminent danger of insolvency, according to an organization trying to help people keep their retirement earnings.
How To Save For Retirement? Tips For Saving Early To Avoid Stress About What To Do When Reaching Retiring Age
Fewer than half of Americans know or have figured out how much they need for retirement – a scary thought when taken into consideration that the typical American spends about 20 years in retirement.
How Republicans Could Block Access to Retirement Plans for Low-Income Workers
The United States Senate is on the verge of making a vote that would have a major impact on the chances for young and low-income people to save for a secure retirement.
Speech by Karen Friedman at a meeting of the Kansas City, Missouri Committee to Protect Pensions (February 9, 2017)
Hello! I’m so happy to be here speaking to all of you. Karen Ferguson, the Center’s director, and, Joellen Leavelle, the Center’s communications and outreach director, both wanted me to say a big hello to you too! Because, like me, they love you guys! When Dave Scheidt picked me up at the airport yesterday, he […]
Will your pension be there when you need it?
Karen Friedman is the executive vice president and policy director at the Pension Rights Center, and Joellen Leavelle is the group’s communications and outreach director. Last week, I invited them to answer readers’ questions about their pensions. Here are some questions they didn’t have time to get to from last week’s Color of Money live chat.
Color of Money Live Chat with Michelle Singletary
PRC’s Karen Friedman and Joellen Leavelle discussed an array of retirement issues during Michelle Singletary’s Color of Money Live Chat on February 16, 2107.
Letter to U.S. House of Representatives leadership urging a “no” vote on the Congressional Review Act Resolutions to overturn the Department of Labor’s common sense rule on “Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees
The Pension Rights Center sent a letter to key leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to vote against two resolutions that would overturn the common-sense rule issued by the Department of Labor in 2016 to expand retirement savings opportunities for private-sector workers who are not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such […]
Congress Poised To Halt State-Mandated Small Business Retirement Plans
Large employers are backing two Congressional resolutions that would put a stop to burgeoning state and city-mandated workplace retirement savings programs meant to cover the 55 million American workers without a private sector plan. The vote could come next week, and is causing alarm among retirement security watchdogs and the states that are rolling out […]
How to track down an old retirement account
Dear Liz: I worked for a company during the late 1990s. When I left, I had a 401(k) worth approximately $10,000. I recently found an old 401(k) statement and called the plan administrator.
Joellen Leavelle appears on the Ron Ponder Show
Joellen Leavelle, PRC’s communications and outreach director, appeared on the Ron Ponder Show where she discussed recent pension cuts affecting Iron Workers Local 17 retirees as a result of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act.
Financial Industry Groups Fear Trump Will Block Investor Protection Rule
Some watchdog groups that keep an eye on the financial industry are worried about the fate of a new Labor Department rule that’s supposed to take effect this April. It says financial advisers have to act in their customers’ best interest when giving them advice about their 401k retirement accounts. Under the Trump administration, that […]
Pension advance firms could get windfall from Dallas funding crisis
A proposal being floated by state lawmakers to fix the troubled Dallas police and fire pension could benefit companies that some fear would prey upon retirees seeking advances on their plans.
