Blogs & Newsletters
Just Say No to Automatic E-Delivery of Your Retirement Plan Records
By David Brandolph I just received a troubling letter from my 401k plan. It said I would no longer receive my plan statements and other important plan notices and disclosure documents in the mail. Instead, the plan would from now on be sending emails telling me to log in to my account on its website […]
LGBTQ+ Americans Face Retirement Inequities
Pride Month is observed each June to mark the 1969 Stonewall Uprising that sparked the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States. Celebrations are centered around building community, recognizing the progress made towards equality, and honoring those who have made that progress possible. But Pride Month is also an opportunity to reflect on the work […]
PRC News, Spring 2024
New “No conflicts” Retirement Investment Rule Rolled Out Pension Rights Center Executive Director Karen Friedman joined other members of the Save Our Retirement Coalition at the White House in April for the Biden Administration’s announcement of a new U.S. Department of Labor rule to protect retirement income security. The rule requires that investment advice given […]
401(k)s Failing Most Americans, Politico Investigation Confirms
By David Brandolph The Pension Rights Center has long made the case that the U.S. retirement system is failing millions of workers who won’t have sufficient income for a dignified and secure retirement, as we’ve been reminding blog readers in recent posts. Billions of dollars in Congressionally authorized tax subsidies for contributions to self-directed retirement […]
NIRS Study Finds Americans Support Pensions to Address Retirement Crisis
A whopping 83% of working age Americans surveyed agree that having a pension makes it more likely to have a secure retirement, the National Institute on Retirement Security found in a recent study. Without a pension, most middle-class Americans won’t accumulate enough savings to be self-sufficient in retirement, NIRS said. The survey found that 77% […]
PRC Supports Senate Committee in Quest to End Retirement Income Crisis
By David Brandolph The Pension Rights Center weighed in last week with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, stating that both short-term incremental and long-term bold solutions must be considered and implemented if we are to help millions of Americans avoid the hardship of a financially calamitous retirement. Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) […]
More Resources Now Available for Finding Lost Retirement Plan Benefits
By Jane Smith There is a new resource for the many people who are entitled to retirement plan benefits but can’t locate their former employer to claim those benefits. Those searching for benefits can start by checking out the “Find Unclaimed Retirement Benefits” search tool on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) website. This tool […]
A (Belated) Valentine’s Day Message from the PRC
As you polish off the rest of your Valentine’s Day chocolates, we wanted to take a moment to share our love and appreciation for all of you. Because of your tireless support, we’re able to take our fight for retirement security to the halls of Congress, the hearing rooms of regulatory bodies, and beyond. Your […]
Our 2024 Resolutions Reflect our Commitment to Retirement Security for All
By Karen Friedman The New Year is always a great time to take stock and resolve to do better. I’m already making headway on my personal goals of hitting the gym, eating healthier (mostly), and generally getting in better shape. Our resolutions at the Pension Rights Center, however, are a bit more ambitious. We’re working […]
Return of Traditional Pension, Use of Hybrid Structures Touted in Media
By David Brandolph Lately, private-sector traditional defined benefit plan pension plans have been getting some well-deserved attention in the media. Articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have been reenforcing what we already knew–that American workers value the guaranteed lifetime income offered by traditional defined benefit plan pensions. But these articles also […]
Uptick in Withdrawals Exposes the Inadequacy of Do-It-Yourself Retirement
By David Brandolph For decades, employers have been steadily ridding themselves of the responsibility of funding and making payments to traditional defined benefit pensions in favor of 401(k)-type defined contribution plans. But are these individual account retirement savings plans providing sufficient retirement income for most Americans? For millions of workers, that answer is “No.” A […]
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 […]
