Blogs & Newsletters
11/02/23

PRC News, Fall 2023

PRC issues recordkeeping recommendations in testimony before the ERISA Advisory Council   Pension Rights Center Senior Policy Counsel Norman Stein was joined by Anna-Marie Tabor, a visiting law professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Law and the former director of the Pension Action Center located at the University of Massachusetts Boston in testifying before […]

Blogs & Newsletters
11/01/23

Pension Rescue Law Providing Critical Assistance to Growing List of Plans

By David Brandolph The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (BLA) continues to provide an important lifeline to financially challenged multiemployer pension plans, and in turn, has already brought monetary and mental stress relief to hundreds of thousands of retiree-plan-members, their spouses, families and their communities. As of October 27, the Pension […]

Press Release
10/31/23

Save Our Retirement Coalition Groups Applaud Public Release of DOL’s Proposal to Protect Americans’ Retirement Savings

The Pension Rights Center is pleased to stand with our fellow Save Our Retirement coalition members in applauding the Department of Labor’s public release of a proposed rule to protect consumers from conflicts of interest when receiving retirement investment advice from financial professionals.

Comments & Letters
10/18/23

PRC Responds to DOL Request for Information on Reporting and Disclosure

The Pension Rights Center submitted comments on October 18th in response to a Request for Information concerning the Paper Statements provision of Secure 2.0. Read the PRC’s response to the Request for Information here and our comments on Subsection F here.

Blogs & Newsletters
10/04/23

PRC Voices Concerns on Effect of Plan Information Electronic Recordkeeping

By David Brandolph The U.S. Labor Department should address the challenges and risks faced by employee benefit plan members due to the electronic and digital recordkeeping of their plan information, the Pension Rights Center told the ERISA Advisory Council during recent testimony. Pension Rights Center Senior Policy Counsel and Acting Legal Director Norman P. Stein, joined by […]

Comments & Letters
10/04/23

Senior Policy Counsel Norman Stein Testifies Before the ERISA Advisory Council

Norman Stein, PRC’s Senior Policy Counsel, and Anna-Marie Tabor, a visiting law professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Law and the former director of the Pension Action Center, testified before the Council about the risks posed by electronic recordkeeping and recommended stronger consumer protections including the creation of an electronic shoebox of relevant […]

Press Release
09/20/23

PRC Urges Protections for Electronic Recordkeeping of Pension Information

Electronic recordkeeping of employee benefits plan information can aid plan administration efficiency and reduce costs for employers, but also poses increased difficulties and risks for plan members that the U.S. Labor Department must address, the Pension Rights Center will tell the ERISA Advisory Council during testimony the morning of September 20.   Pension Rights Center Acting […]

PRC In the News
09/19/23

Bloomberg Law: UAW Aims to Restore Retiree Benefits Given Up in 2008 Crisis

At the center of a historic UAW strike against all three major US automakers is an effort against long odds to reclaim retirement benefits workers conceded decades ago as manufacturers teetered on the brink of collapse. United Auto Worker union activists say they want back the guaranteed lifetime pension payments and retiree medical care they […]

PRC In the News
09/09/23

NYT: Why Some Ex-Workers at Bed Bath & Beyond Face 401(k) Losses

Federal law generally protects retirement savings when a company files for bankruptcy. But that’s not always the case.

PRC In the News
09/07/23

CNN: Traditional pension plans are pretty rare. But here’s who still has them and how they work

The phrase “pension benefits” may come up a lot in the next several days as negotiations between the United Auto Workers union and the Big Three automakers go down to the wire to avert a strike. But for most private-sector US workers, pensions disappeared long ago.

Blogs & Newsletters
08/29/23

Barbienomics: from panacea to real world poverty

By Karen Friedman I joined the throngs of people who flocked to see the monumentally popular movie, Barbie. I dressed up in hot pink from head to toe – because I can’t resist any opportunity for theatricality and a fun community event (which won’t surprise anyone who has been to our fundraising galas). My younger […]

Blogs & Newsletters
07/26/23

PRC urges additional consumer protections when employers unload pension liabilities

Should the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rules be strengthened to better protect workers and retirees when employers unload their pension responsibilities in so-called “de-risking” transactions? That was the question asked and addressed during an all-day hearing July 18 convened by DOL’s ERISA Advisory Council. Norman Stein, PRC’s Senior Policy and Legal Counsel who testified […]