PRC In the News
Proposed pension cuts have Teamster retirees worried
Retired truck drivers and other retirees who draw a pension from an underfunded pension plan expect to find out early this fall how much their pension will be cut.
Impassioned Voices Ring Loudly at Benefits Suspension Hearing Savings
When crafting final regulations on suspending benefits under multiemployer pension plans, the IRS and Treasury Department should use the “maximum limits” of their authority to write rules that follow the law but are as fair as possible to workers and retirees, speakers said during an IRS hearing.
Retirees brace for hardship as multi-employer pension cuts loom
Of all the negative financial surprises that can hit in retirement, learning a “guaranteed” pension could be severely cut is among the worst.
Is your adviser truly protecting your retirement?
There’s a discussion going on that is vital to the retirement money you’ve worked so hard to save. The Labor Department, directed by the Obama administration, is proposing that more advisers, when giving retirement investment advice, put their clients’ best interests first.
With union pensions in jeopardy, Ohio members plead with Congress and the feds
Alex Adams lifted his shirt so the panelists and audience could see the bandages and feeding tube. “This is how I eat,” he said in a halting voice.
Retirees, experts testify at Multiemployer Pension Reform Act hearing
Federal regulators charged with implementing the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 heard from concerned retirees and pension experts Thursday during a hearing convened by the IRS. “This is a dangerous precedent for all types of pensions,” Karen Ferguson, director of the Pension Rights Center, told the panel, which included officials with the Labor Department […]
Pension, patent rights at stake in SCOTUS Spokeo case: new briefs
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Spokeo v. Robins on Nov. 2. And if you still had any doubts (despite my frequent reminders) about the potentially enormous consequences of this case, the 14 newly filed amicus briefs backing Thomas Robins – the lead plaintiff in a Fair Credit Reporting Act class action […]
AIG freezes pension
American International Group Inc. will freeze its defined benefit pension plan, effective January 1, 2016, according to an internal company memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
Financial advisers should all play by the same rules
Thousands of Registered Investment Advisers already abide by a fiduciary standard when giving advice under the federal Investment Advisers Act. But brokers and insurance agents aren’t held to this standard, even though they might use “investment advisor” on their business cards. They only need to offer choices that are “suitable” for clients, and that doesn’t […]
IRS releases multiemployer benefit cut voting rules
Procedures for allowing multiemployer plan participants to vote on benefit reductions in distressed plans were issued by the IRS on Wednesday.
Plans Applying for Partitions With PBGC Need Flexibility in Final Rules, Groups Say
Multiemployer plans asking the PBGC to allow them to partition their pension plans need the application process to be flexible, according to comment letters from various groups.
Can you afford to retire?
Many Americans are facing the reality that they might not be able to retire in their 60s as planned. In 2014, President Obama and Congress passed the 2015 Omnibus spending bill, which includes provisions that allow trustees of certain multiemployment plans to cut retirees pensions – part of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014.
