Blogs & Newsletters
Leveling the playing field
Today, President Obama signed three executive orders aimed at “leveling the playing field” for workers and the labor movement. We at the Pension Rights Center have a few ideas of our own on how President Obama can level the playing field when it comes to the nation’s retirement income system. Initiative #2 of our Consumer […]
A history of pensions in six minutes
The two stars of this entertaining video give us their unique – and accurate – take on the history of pensions and what led companies to ask for pension funding relief in the financial bailout. Watch the video and let us know what you think.
What happens to my pension if my employer declares bankruptcy?
I recently came across a helpful Department of Labor fact sheet – Your Employer’s Bankruptcy – How Will It Affect Your Employee Benefits? Given the current state of the economy, it’s never too early for workers to know what might happen to their benefits if their employer goes bankrupt. The fact sheet highlights the important […]
Three companies do “the right thing”
It isn’t every day you that hear a company say that providing a 401(k) match is the “right thing to do” for its employees. Nope, you don’t hear it that often – especially during an economic downturn that many have compared to the Great Depression. So, when I heard that Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group reinstated […]
Getting back on track
At the Pension Rights Center our happiest moments come when people receive their pensions, sometimes after many years of trying. Thanks to the new Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, signed into law on December 23rd, Rose Colon, a former spouse of a railroad retiree, will finally receive her survivor annuity. Most of […]
The match game
With the stock market tanking, people saving for retirement through their company’s 401(k) plan have yet another reason to worry: more and more employers are suspending their 401(k) matching contributions. This means that some workers will no longer receive a dollar-for-dollar match from their employer for the money that they themselves contribute to their 401(k). […]
A 401(k) lesson learned
Some employers may have learned a lesson from the collapse of Enron and its devastating impact on the 401(k) accounts of its workers and retirees. For years, Enron had matched employee contributions to their 401(k) plans with employer stock, instead of matching their contributions with money that the employees could invest themselves. Even worse, Enron […]
401(k) regrets
Some teachers in West Virginia have learned the hard way that traditional pensions end up paying better benefits than 401(k)-type plans. The Associated Press reports that, in light of current stock market volatility, some of the teachers who passed up an opportunity to switch to the state’s defined benefit pension want to revisit their decision. […]
Record profit yields underfunded pension
A recent article in Financial Week revealed a big surprise. ExxonMobil has the most underfunded defined benefit pension plan of all the S&P 500 companies. Yes, you read that correctly. A company yielding record profits has neglected to adequately fund its pension plan. According to the article, the ExxonMobil pension plan was funded at just […]
New report makes the case against pension freezes
Look Before You Leap: The Unintended Consequences of Pension Freezes, a new issue brief from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), makes the case for why pension freezes aren’t always a good idea for state and local governments. Here are some of the brief’s key findings: Freezing a traditional defined benefit pension (DB) and […]
More broken promises
Last week General Motors announced plans to temporarily suspend the practice of making matching contributions to their employees’ 401(k) accounts. This cut, coupled with the impact of the reeling stock market, only adds to the sense of retirement insecurity felt by workers who have seen the nation’s pension and 401(k) account balances plummet by as […]
Current economic crisis helps make the case for guaranteed pensions
During the last few weeks, the Wall Street roller coaster has wreaked havoc on the economy and the retirement assets of the millions of American workers with 401(k) plans. For workers who, like me, are relatively young and decades away from retiring, the current economic crisis doesn’t make me terribly anxious about my 401(k). While […]
