Blogs & Newsletters
A pension earned during a marriage is usually the property of both spouses
Did you know that, in general, retirement assets earned during a marriage are marital property in the same way that a house and a savings account are? This applies to: ▪ pension benefits earned during a marriage; ▪ retirement savings accounts that were funded during a marriage; and ▪ the earnings on these accounts that accumulated during the marriage. Please […]
Getting divorced? Don’t forget the pension!
What better time than the week after Valentine’s Day to devote a week’s worth of blog entries to divorce? This is the first in a series of blog entries focusing on issues involving divorce and retirement. Enjoy! Did you know that, aside from real estate, retirement plans are usually the largest asset in a marriage? Yet, […]
Workers and Retirees Lose Pensions – and Take Action!
On New Year’s Eve, current and retired employees of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, learned that their traditional defined benefit pension plan would be terminated and that they could lose a substantial portion of their benefits as a result of the termination. These days, news of an employer […]
When is a participant not a participant?
As I was reading the most recent edition of the Private Pension Plan Bulletin Abstract of 2007 Form 5500 Annual Reports [PDF], published by the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, I noticed something rather odd in one of the footnotes. In its definition of “participant,” the Bulletin includes “individuals who are merely eligible to elect […]
Military retirement for the 21st century
A few months ago we posted a blog entry about a letter [PDF] we wrote opposing a bill in the Oklahoma state legislature that would limit the ability of former spouses to receive an award of military retirement pay in a divorce settlement. The blog entry received a number of comments – several disagreeing with our […]
Senators…Keep your hands off Social Security
Senators Kent Conrad and Judd Gregg, the leaders of the Senate Budget Committee, are proposing to set up a commission that they argue is necessary to address tough budgetary issues. In reality though, the proposed commission is likely to force Congress to make destructive cuts in Social Security. Their plan is to establish a commission with equal representation of […]
On this day…
On this day in 1981, the final regulations for 401(k) plans were issued. What better day than today to look back at what we’ve written on 401(k) plans? Here’s our top 10 list: ▪ TIME Magazine says, “Time to Retire the 401(k)” ▪ A retirement reality check ▪ Mother Jones for Mother’s Day ▪ The Office gets a 401(k) […]
TIME Magazine says, “Time to Retire the 401(k)”
With the provocative title, “Time to Retire the 401(k),” the cover story of today’s issue of TIME is a must-read. The article provides a stinging indictment of the do-it-yourself savings plan that has come to dominate our patchwork retirement system. Author Stephen Gandel writes If you have even peeked at your account statements in the […]
Happy International Day of Older Persons!
Did you know today is the International Day of Older Persons? We don’t want today to go by without pointing out two shocking facts that were highlighted recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Pensions at a Glance 2009: Retirement-Income Systems in OECD Countries. This report looks at current trends and […]
Military pensions and divorce: How a bill pending in Oklahoma could affect military pensions everywhere
Earlier this month, the Pension Rights Center, along with the National Women’s Law Center, sent a letter to the Oklahoma state legislature urging it to defeat a bill that could dramatically alter the way the state’s divorce courts treat military pensions. The Oklahoma state legislature is considering legislation that would change state law and affect […]
PRC mourns the death of a longtime board member
The nation has lost a great champion for retirement security, and the Pension Rights Center has lost a great friend. The Center was honored to have Lisle C. Carter, Jr. serve on our board of directors for more than 20 years. Read our tribute to Lisle and the Washington Post article about him.
Poverty and older Americans: A look behind the numbers
New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau contains information that may come as a surprise: Of the age groups surveyed (ages 18 and under, ages 18-64 and individuals age 65 and older), it was the group of Americans age 65 and older who have the lowest rate of poverty at 9.7 percent. The report, […]
