Joint letter to Secretary of the Treasury on Notice 2019-18 on Lump Sum Buy-Outs
The Pension Rights Center, AARP, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the National Retiree Legislative Network sent a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin urging him to rescind a recent notice that would allow companies to offer lump sum buy-out offers to retirees already receiving their benefits. Read the letter, here.
Recognizing the Pension Counseling Attorneys on Be Kind to Lawyers Day
By Emily Spreiser Today – the second Tuesday in April – is International Be Kind to Lawyers Day. The holiday was invented in 2008 by a non-lawyer who recognized that lawyers often get a bad rap and that a lot of lawyers deserve to be recognized for all of the good that they do. So, […]
Persistence pays off for New Mexico widow
By Emily Gilbert Last month, USA Today published an article about Libby Leask, a woman who had just been forced to put her house on the market after being denied a survivor benefit from her late husband’s pension plan. Before his death in 2016, Steven Leask worked at, and earned a pension from, New Mexico […]
Treasury Notice puts retirees’ pensions at risk
By Karen Friedman Sometimes important changes in pension law are made through the regulatory process or even, more subtly, through guidance that agencies issue to address key issues. Often the guidance sounds technical, but it can make a world of difference, either positively or negatively, to the economic security of retirees. One negative change was […]
Statement of the Pension Rights Center on the “Cost of Inaction: Why Congress Must Address the Multiemployer Crisis” Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (March 7, 2019)
The Pension Rights Center submitted this statement for the record of the Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing, “Cost of Inaction: Why Congress Must Address the Multiemployer Crisis.” Read the full statement.
New book sounds alarm about retirement insecurity in America
By David Brandolph In her new book, Downhill from Here—Retirement Insecurity in the Age of Inequality, Katherine S. Newman compellingly relates the story of the American retirement experience by diving into the individual and heart-wrenching sagas of a diverse group of workers and retirees. She profiles blue-collar retired truck drivers, highly paid white-collar airline pilots, […]
Romancing our donors on Valentine’s Day
By Karen Friedman It’s Valentine’s Day, that holiday of romance and love. So on this February 14th, we want to send PRC’s special candy hearts, shoot our arrow of amour – or at least our arrow of great and undying gratefulness – to those wonderful individuals and organizations who supported us so gallantly in 2018. […]
The Pension Rights Center Educates Couples, Divorcees & Widows on How to Get the Retirement Benefits They Deserve
The Scoop: The Pension Rights Center (PRC) is the nation’s foremost consumer organization dedicated solely to protecting retirement security in the U.S. The nonprofit provides free information and legal assistance regarding earned benefits, pensions, and other retirement income. By empowering everyday individuals, couples, families, divorcees, and widows and widowers to learn more about retirement plans, […]
House Committee hearing focuses on retirement security
By Emily Gilbert Wednesday on Capitol Hill, the House Ways and Means Committee held a wide-ranging hearing about retirement security. The chairman of the Committee, Richard Neal (D-MA), opened by saying he hoped this could be the first of “many conversations” about this topic, and he reiterated his commitment to finding a solution to the […]
House Committee to Tackle Retirement Issues in Feb. 6 Hearing
The House Ways and Means Committee under the lead of the new Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) will hear testimony Wednesday morning on “Improving Retirement Security for America’s Workers.” Among those testifying will be Cynthia McDaniel, the wife of a retired Missouri truck driver who suffered a near-fatal heart attack soon after learning that his hard-earned […]
Super Bowl weekend – A time to honor and reward former NFL players
By David Brandolph As the National Football League basks in the glory of Super Bowl weekend, thousands of former players who laid the foundation for the league’s prosperity are fighting for fair pensions. The NFL’s season will conclude this Sunday when either the Los Angeles Rams or New England Patriots lay claim as league champion […]
PBGC Advocate’s Report Highlights Issues Important to Retirees
By Emily Spreiser Recently we posted a five-part “Know Your Agencies” blog series covering government agencies that play a role in regulating retirement plans. Our third post focused on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency that acts as an insurer for pension plans sponsored by private employers. Since the PBGC pays benefits […]
