Blogs & Newsletters
In memory of Butch Lewis
We at the Pension Rights Center extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Butch Lewis who passed away on December 31, 2015. Butch, of Cincinnati, Ohio, fought alongside the Pension Rights Center and tens of thousands of retired Teamsters to stop the life-changing pension cuts made possible by the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of […]
This is what we do: help people
My colleague Kyle often brings to my attention news articles that might merit a response from us. Sometimes the article contains a factual error. Sometimes we disagree with a statement in the article and write an opposing view in a letter to the editor. Sometimes we have additional information to add. Back in March, Kyle […]
A big step forward for state-based initiatives
For the past 15 years, one of the Center’s top priorities has been to find innovative ways of finishing the formidable task of expanding pensions and retirement savings for the about 50 percent of the workforce – 70 million Americans – who are not currently participating in an employer-sponsored retirement savings or pension plan. Getting […]
The fight to protect savers from bad financial advice heats up
The U.S. Department of Labor’s effort to update its fiduciary rules – rules that protect Americans trying to save for retirement – has reached yet another new level. After asking the public for its thoughts on its proposal to close a loophole that, among other things, allows financial advisers to enrich themselves at the expense […]
Central States Pension Fund announces proposed pension cuts
In the last few days we at the Pension Rights Center have been inundated with calls from retirees who are receiving letters from their pension plan informing them that their pension is slated to be cut by as much as 70 percent. All of the retirees we have heard from so far are participants in […]
An amazing “Day of Action”
To help retirees around the country fight back against proposed reductions in their hard-earned pensions, the Pension Rights Center organized a “day of action” on September 10. The day was an amazing success with more than 200 retirees travelling to DC from 11 states to ask government officials and members of Congress to “stop the […]
New statistics show a different type of income inequality
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about income inequality – the increasing gap between our society’s highest-paid workers and the lowest-paid. Generally the term “income inequality” is used to highlight the difference in wages and salary for people while they’re working. Now, new data from the latest National Compensation Survey point to a different […]
Older Americans Month 2015 – Helping older Americans get into the act
May 1 marked the start of Older Americans Month, a time when the aging services community highlights the country’s older Americans and the programs that serve them. Sponsored by the Administration for Community Living, the theme for this year’s Older Americans Month is “Get into the Act.” In my position as Digital and Outreach Director […]
A “Gettysburg Address” on pension promises
Last week, I spoke to an auditorium full of economics and public policy students at Gettysburg College, as part of the Economics Department’s Finance Symposium. This year’s topic: “Re-Defined Benefits: The Past, Present, and Future of Defined Benefit Pensions in the United States.” You can read my speech here or watch the entire symposium on […]
Glimmers of hope for victims of unfair pension takebacks
In a recent article, “Can They Grab Your Pension?”, AARP Bulletin highlights the problem of recoupment – when a pension plan overpays a retiree and then demands that the retiree pay back the overpayment. To recoup the money, the plan usually reduces the retiree’s benefit. It might also demand that the retiree pay a lump […]
Signed, Sealed and Delivered! 1,500+ comments delivered to the Internal Revenue Service
Yesterday afternoon, Karen Friedman, Nancy Hwa and I hand-delivered more than 1,500 comments to the Internal Revenue Service. These comments were in response to the Treasury Department’s Request for Information on future guidance relating to the implementation of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014, a law that for the first time allows the trustees […]
Spouses should have a say in whether survivor benefits will be provided
A recent New York Post article drew attention to a widow facing a tragic situation. Her husband, a retired police officer, had taken his own life. Without going into the grisly details of the case, her husband wanted to cause his wife as much pain as possible. Three weeks before his suicide, the retiree changed […]
