Investment News: Employers racing to offload pensions to insurers
Among companies that still have active defined-benefit plans on their books, 89% are planning to offload their pensions to insurance companies using a strategy called pension risk transfer, which puts workers and retirees into group annuities.
Senior Policy Counsel Norman Stein Testifies Before the ERISA Advisory Council
Norman Stein, PRC’s Senior Policy Counsel, and Anna-Marie Tabor, a visiting law professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Law and the former director of the Pension Action Center, testified before the Council about the risks posed by electronic recordkeeping and recommended stronger consumer protections including the creation of an electronic shoebox of relevant […]
PRC Urges Protections for Electronic Recordkeeping of Pension Information
Electronic recordkeeping of employee benefits plan information can aid plan administration efficiency and reduce costs for employers, but also poses increased difficulties and risks for plan members that the U.S. Labor Department must address, the Pension Rights Center will tell the ERISA Advisory Council during testimony the morning of September 20. Pension Rights Center Acting […]
Bloomberg Law: UAW Aims to Restore Retiree Benefits Given Up in 2008 Crisis
At the center of a historic UAW strike against all three major US automakers is an effort against long odds to reclaim retirement benefits workers conceded decades ago as manufacturers teetered on the brink of collapse. United Auto Worker union activists say they want back the guaranteed lifetime pension payments and retiree medical care they […]
NYT: Why Some Ex-Workers at Bed Bath & Beyond Face 401(k) Losses
Federal law generally protects retirement savings when a company files for bankruptcy. But that’s not always the case.
CNN: Traditional pension plans are pretty rare. But here’s who still has them and how they work
The phrase “pension benefits” may come up a lot in the next several days as negotiations between the United Auto Workers union and the Big Three automakers go down to the wire to avert a strike. But for most private-sector US workers, pensions disappeared long ago.
Barbienomics: from panacea to real world poverty
By Karen Friedman I joined the throngs of people who flocked to see the monumentally popular movie, Barbie. I dressed up in hot pink from head to toe – because I can’t resist any opportunity for theatricality and a fun community event (which won’t surprise anyone who has been to our fundraising galas). My younger […]
PRC urges additional consumer protections when employers unload pension liabilities
Should the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rules be strengthened to better protect workers and retirees when employers unload their pension responsibilities in so-called “de-risking” transactions? That was the question asked and addressed during an all-day hearing July 18 convened by DOL’s ERISA Advisory Council. Norman Stein, PRC’s Senior Policy and Legal Counsel who testified […]
Senior Policy Counsel Norman Stein Testifies Before the ERISA Advisory Council
As part of PRC’s efforts to advocate for stronger consumer protections for retirees, Stein entered a written statement and appeared before the Council on July 18, during a day-long meeting in which the Labor Department’s advisory body heard testimony on possible changes to DOL’s Interpretative Bulleting (IB) 95-1. Stein was joined by nearly two dozen […]
When Swimming in 401(k) Asset Transfer Water: Beware of Sharks
By David Brandolph I expect a 401(k)-type plan customer service call center to be a place to get impartial information about the plan and one’s account. But a recent experience with a center representative has made me question the impartiality of anyone—including such a representative–who recommends transferring plan assets to an IRA, particularly if that […]
PRC News, Spring 2023
PRC urges IRS to protect spouses The Pension Rights Center (PRC) filed comments with the IRS/Treasury Department on March 30th urging the agency to strengthen – not weaken – critical legal protections for spouses’ retirement security. In its letter, PRC registered its strong disapproval of an IRS proposed rule that would eliminate the long-standing requirement […]
Senior Policy Consultant Norman Stein Testifies Before the IRS
PRC’s Senior Policy Consultant Norman Stein testified before the IRS and the Department of the Treasury on April 11th, urging them to take measures to protect spousal retirement rights. Read his testimony here:
