GE’s deep pension freeze
When I first saw the story that General Electric (GE) was closing its traditional pension plan to new hires I thought about lifelong activist and friend Helen Quirini and knew that she would be furious! Helen was a long-time GE employee who fought for cost-of-living adjustments in GE retirement plans. Sadly, Helen died last fall, […]
GAO lifts hood on target date funds – and finds big problems
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has recommended several major changes to the use of target date funds in 401(k) plans after finding that investments in funds with similar end dates vary wildly.
Fidelity: market gains push 401(k)s to record high
Small companies catch up to larger ones on restorations.
Five retirement planning mistakes to avoid
Retirement planning is a whole new world when compared with the reliable three-legged stool that the World War II generation relied on.
Blacks, Hispanics hold few investments, poll shows
As the economy emerges from the recession and the national debate turns to limiting the cost of the social safety net, only one in four African Americans and one in six Hispanics reported owning stocks, bonds or mutual funds, a new poll shows.
PBGC premium hikes in federal budget debated
The federal budget proposal that gives the PBGC new authority to increase premiums on the retirement plans it insures and impose higher premiums on riskier plans raises more questions than it answers, experts say.
New federal rule should reveal hidden fees eating away at your 401(k) investment
Members of a local law firm approached Orlando financial planner Paul Auslander with a problem: They suspected that fees were taking too big a bite out of their 401(k) retirement plan, but they had no way of knowing for sure.
Retiring Boomers Find 401(k) Plans Fall Short
The 401(k) generation is beginning to retire, and it isn’t a pretty sight.
BP Faces ERISA Lawsuit
Investors in various ERISA plans that invested with BP, such as ERISA pension funds, have filed a lawsuit against BP, saying the company committed securities fraud by making fraudulent statements about its commitment to safety.
ERISA Class-Action Suits Shape U.S. Retirement Future
In the absence of a national retirement policy, litigators in the courts — not lawmakers — have played an outsize role in shaping America’s retirement future. Why? Participant-directed defined contribution plans, most often 401(k)s, did not exist as mainstream retirement schemes when ERISA was created.
Nightmare for Elderly Might Not Be Unavoidable
The demographics of an aging nation are inexorable while living standards for future retirees are increasingly uncertain. A mandatory savings plan would bring greater financial security in old age.
What’s in a Name?
At the Pension Rights Center, we deal with a lot of technical language that can be puzzling to people who don’t work on retirement income issues. But the meaning of words is important, even if you don’t use them every day, and, when it comes to the law, a word’s meaning can make all the […]
