Blogs & Newsletters
Social insecurity
Last week the federal minimum wage rose to $6.55 an hour, increasing the annual earnings for a full-time minimum wage worker to $13,624. While it’s certainly the right move for Congress to raise the minimum wage for current workers, it raises an important question about retired workers. Take a look at our statistics page and […]
How much does a 401(k) really cost?
When I was head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (the Department of Labor agency charged with protecting pensions) during the Clinton administration, I became concerned about whether or not people who had 401(k) plans truly understood how much they were paying in fees and what those fees were for. So in 1997 and 1998, […]
Robbing your retirement piggy bank
By Nancy Hwa In an earlier blog post, we discussed efforts in Congress to make it easier for people to withdraw money from their 401(k) accounts to save their homes from foreclosure. Such withdrawals are part of a larger problem with 401(k)s known as “leakage” (what a lovely name!) – loans, early withdrawals, and lump-sum […]
The good news about public pensions
Too often we hear bad news stories about how public pension plans are underfunded and that they’re a drain to taxpayers. But a congressional hearing last week told a different story. The hearing, Your Money, Your Future: Public Pension Plans and the Need to Strengthen Retirement Security and Economic Growth, focused on how public sector […]
MetLife and Benefit Denials: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Last month, the United States Supreme Court addressed the issue of how courts should review a benefit plan’s denial of an application for benefits. The results were mixed for workers and retirees. A little background first. An employee submits a claim for benefits from a pension, disability or health plan. The plan’s claims administrator denies […]
Cashed Out: Congress might make it easier for people to dip into their 401(k)s
By Joellen Leavelle In down economic times, it isn’t uncommon for people to feel the urge to dip into their assets to help make ends meet. Therefore, it isn’t a surprise to hear that more and more people are borrowing from their 401(k) plans for a little extra cash. Some people are even paying hefty […]
How do you get young people thinking about pensions?
Investment & Pensions Europe reports on a Swedish company’s efforts to address this perennial question. They ran a multi-media ad campaign that was creative enough to win an international advertising award. (An explanation of the campaign that was prepared for the competition was posted on YouTube and can be viewed here.) The advertising bureau behind […]
Does Gannett’s pension freeze leave its employees in the cold?
By Rebecca Davis You may have read that last week newspaper publisher Gannett announced that it will freeze its pension plan for all employees as of August 1, 2008. The company announced the freeze and details of its plan to “enhance” the company 401(k) in a memo sent to employees. Gannett is just one of […]
