Is Your Pension at Risk?
How’s your pension these days? Are you worried about its health? If so, you’re not the only one.
IRS Issues Revenue Procedure Requiring Notices of Requests for Church Plan Status
The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue procedure and model notice Sept. 21 requiring church plans to notify participants and other interested parties if a plan applies to IRS for a letter ruling on church plan status. [Reproduced with permission from BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter, 38 BPR 1743 (Sept. 27, 2011). Copyright 2011 by […]
Retirement: Reality Not As Rosy As Expectations
Americans pride themselves on being optimistic. But Robert Blendon, of the Harvard School of Public Health, says that may not be such a good thing when it comes to planning for retirement. For many Americans, it is proving harder than they imagined, according to a a new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation […]
You Can’t Delay Retirement If You Don’t Have a Job
It’s become fashionable to say that longer life spans mean average Americans work well into into their 60s and possibly their 70s—what was once considered the early retirement years. The problem is, few prospects await most people who need or want to stay in the workforce.
Pension Rights Center Applauds IRS for Opening “Church Plan” Rulings Process to Comments by Employees and Retirees
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a long-awaited revenue procedure clarifying the process for retirement plans to apply for “church plan” status. Rev. Proc. 2011-44 requires employers that seek an IRS ruling that their retirement plans are so-called “church plans” to notify participants in those plans that, as a church plan, their plan would not […]
As Brokers Cheer, Advisers Sound Off on DOL 401k Fiduciary Capitulation
Chances are, very few 401k plan sponsors and precious few 401k plan participants even noticed the recent goings-on at the DOL and how they just lost valuable protection so big brokers could line their pin-striped pockets with a big chunk of somebody else’s retirement assets.
Forced Out of 401(k)? Not So Fast
Employers can automatically close the accounts of former employees only if the balance is low.
Delay on Pension Oversight
The Labor Department plans to push off until 2012 the adoption of a set of rules that would expand its oversight of pension plans, 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.
Proposed Retirement Plan Overhaul Faces Skepticism at Tax Reform Hearing
Employee benefits experts testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 15 about tax reform options for retirement security largely called for retaining the current structure of retirement savings plans with some improvements, but one witness recommended an overhaul that would replace deductions with refundable tax credits.[Reproduced with permission from BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter, […]
Shining a light on a hidden pension world
In a new book, Retirement Heist, prize-winning journalist Ellen Schultz has provided the ultimate backstage pass to the world of pensions, with plenty of drama and shocking details. Schultz, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, has woven together a compelling story that reveals how arcane accounting rules, legal maneuvering, and unfair claims procedures have led […]
Boomer Retirement Doesn’t Seem Rosy
Baby Boomers will have a tough financial row to hoe in managing their retirement and will need to adopt their own special game plan in order to live comfortably in their golden years, says Alice Munnel, keynote speaker at the Financial Planning Association’s 2011 Conference in San Diego on Friday.
