Spouse’s Consent Is Required to Change Retirement Account Beneficiary
Why does a married person who has certain kinds of accounts have to get his or her spouse’s permission to change the beneficiary of those accounts?
The Tightwire Act of Living Only on Social Security
Living on an inflexible budget, one that teeters on the brink of poverty, is not what most people equate with retirement. But that is pretty much what anyone who lives solely on Social Security can expect.
For Top Executives, Richer Retirement Plans
With traditional pensions disappearing, tax rates and the future of Social Security in flux and even well-known businesses facing financial trouble, many workers are worried that their company retirement plans will not provide enough income. But for the upper tier of executives, these trends could actually lead to richer corporate perks as management moves to […]
Pension tension in store
Two companies controlled by the daughters of the late millionaire owner of Spag’s Supply Inc. have filed for bankruptcy with $6.1 million-plus in unfunded pension liabilities for 400 former employees of the defunct no-frills discount store.
Protecting our benefits
Are your health and retirement benefits protected? If you’re one of the lucky ones who still has a job with benefits, you should be very grateful.
DNC platform short on details for private-sector retirement plans
Private-sector retirement plans got a passing mention Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, where the party platform focused on Social Security.
Weak jobs rate in Michigan may be ‘the new normal’
Labor Day means more than a chance to relax and eat hot dogs. It’s also a time to reflect on the challenges facing the American worker. (NOTE: this article also appeared in USA Today.)
How Safe Are the New GM Retirees’ Annuities?
Back in June, thousands of salaried General Motors retirees were given seven weeks to decide whether to take their pension as a lump sum or continue with their lifetime monthly payments. As Pension Rights Center Executive Vice President Karen Friedman wrote in a Detroit Free Press op-ed, the annuity was the better option for most […]
Postponing Retirement Indefinitely
More than a third of adults near retirement age — 35 percent — said last year that they simply don’t expect to retire. That was up from just 29 percent two years earlier.
Cash Balance Plan Ordered to Pay $18 Million for Improper Benefit Calculation
A cash balance pension plan must pay a certified class of plan participants $18,677,671 in additional plan benefits and prejudgment interest as a result of its failure to use a whipsaw calculation in determining lump-sum distributions of participants who terminated employment before their normal retirement age, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of […]
When a 401(k) Is Locked in the Freezer
Everyone with a 401(k) knows that bad investments and high fees can threaten their retirement. But what if the company that sponsors your plan goes bankrupt?
Benbrook widow sues Fort Worth fund for husband’s pension benefits
When So Son Harabedoff’s husband died last year, she thought she would receive his pension from the Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund.
