Speeches & Statements
04/15/11

Speech by Karen Friedman to the American Council on Consumer Interests (April 15, 2011)

Hello, I’m Karen Friedman, the Executive Vice President and Policy Director of the Pension Rights Center.  It’s fabulous to be speaking to the American Council of Consumer Interests, because we are fellow travelers on the road to making this country safer and better for consumers. The Pension Rights Center is the only consumer rights group […]

PRC In the News
04/13/11|Huffington Post

Can I Take Money Out Of My 401K During My Divorce?

As a Divorce Financial Strategist™ I am frequently asked, “Can I take money out of my 401K before/during my divorce?”

PRC In the News
04/12/11|Oklahoman

Oklahoma House panel kills bill that would prevent nonmilitary ex-spouses from getting retention pay

A House committee killed a measure Monday that would have prevented extra earnings for military veterans with at least 20 years of service from being declared marital assets in divorce proceedings.

PRC In the News
04/12/11|Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal

Pensions May Now Struggle With Lump-Sum Payments

With the stock market up, many beleaguered corporate pension plans are healing. But because of regulatory quirks and recent tinkering by Congress, fewer plans could meet minimum requirements to allow investors to take lump-sum distributions rather than less popular annuity-style payments this year.

PRC In the News
04/12/11|Bloomberg Businessweek

The Rising Price of Retirement

As more people work part-time rather than hit the greens, the formula for how much they need to live on is changing. Their tax rate may not fall, and expenses may be higher than planned

PRC In the News
04/11/11|Forbes

Pension Hunting

As an Internal Revenue Service flyer warns, “Mistakes in benefit plans can–and do–happen.”

PRC In the News
04/11/11|TheStreet.com

401(k) Plans Are Designed for Mediocrity

Understanding the typical investment will help people understand why 401(k)s are intentionally designed for mediocrity.

PRC In the News
04/10/11|Washington Post

Obama plan to boost retirement security, shore up pension agency faces hurdles

Joshua Gotbaum, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., has a problem.  His agency, which guarantees private-sector pensions promised to 44 million Americans, is saddled with a huge deficit at risk of growing out of control.

PRC In the News
04/07/11|Poynter.org

AP: Why we need to reduce our pension obligation

Two days after the AP union issued its “Tweet-out” memo, the Associated Press sent a letter to employees saying that it’s bargained in good faith during the last five months and that “throughout the negotiations, we have been clear that freezing the defined benefit pension plan by July 1 is essential to the health and […]

PRC In the News
04/06/11|Florida Times-Union

Pensions: The decline of the 401(k)

With all the talk of bringing government pensions in line, too little attention has been paid to pensions in the private sector. “Suffering” is a description for the 401(k)-style pensions that most American workers rely on.

PRC In the News
04/06/11|Huffington Post

One In Four Working Baby Boomers Say They’ll Never Retire, Survey Finds

Baby boomers are starting to retire, but many are agonizing about their finances and believe they’ll need to work longer than they had planned, a new poll finds.

PRC In the News
04/04/11|Pensions & Investments

Music by Gershwin, words by Gotbaum

Joshua Gotbaum’s resume got a bit longer last week.  The director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. now can add lyricist and vocalist to his CV.