Your pension could go poof. Do you have a backup plan?
Two recent news events punctuate why we all should be concerned about our retirement readiness, even people who have been diligent financial stewards.
House passes multiemployer pension reform
The House approved late Thursday a package of reforms available to struggling multiemployer pension funds, as part of a congressional spending deal that the Senate must vote on by Saturday.
House approves bill to allow multiemployer pension plan benefit cuts
Trustees of financially distressed multiemployer pension plans would be allowed to cut participants’ benefits to prevent the plans from becoming insolvent under legislation narrowly approved by the House of Representatives Thursday night.
Pension Cuts in the 2015 Federal Spending Bill
Karen Friedman of the Pension Rights Center talked about cuts to government-guaranteed pension plans that would affect benefit recipients. The cuts were outlined in the 2015 federal spending bill.
House Votes to Allow Pension Plan Trustees to Reduce Retiree Benefits
Washington – The Pension Rights Center released the following statement from Executive Vice President Karen Friedman, following the passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of an omnibus spending bill that includes measures that allow certain underfunded multiemployer pension plans to cut retirees’ benefits: “It is a travesty that, in the year of the 40th […]
Warren and Pelosi Fight Spending Bill
The US House of Representatives passed a $1.1 trillion, 1603-page spending bill late last night, 219-209. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led the fight against passage, asking if Congress was representing Wall Street or representing the people. She said the bill represented “the worst of government for the rich and the powerful”.
Pension reforms pass House
The $1.1 trillion government spending bill – which includes an amendment that could lead to cuts in retiree benefits among troubled multiemployer pensions – is now in the hands of the Senate after it was approved Thursday night by the House of Representatives.
Congress poised to allow cuts to private pension payouts
More than 1 million Americans who were promised secure, predictable retirement income probably will see part of their monthly benefit checks evaporate as Congress moves to stabilize some private pension systems veering toward insolvency.
Congress’ No-Bailout Pension Plan Is No Solution for Retirees
The cuts to promised benefits for current retirees would roll back a landmark law protecting pensions—and opens the door to further cutbacks.
Congress Says It Has to Cut Pensions to Save Them
Joshua Gotbaum doesn’t like telling retirees that their pensions are about to be cut. After all, until August he was the director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal insurance fund that’s supposed to safeguard pensions. But yesterday Gotbaum interrupted a vacation in Madrid to return my call asking about a bill working […]
Pension Deal In Spending Bill Will Cut Benefits Before Safety Net Fails
The agreement comes as several “multi-employer” pension plans are insolvent. The federal government guarantees those plans’ benefits, but might not be able to handle all of them failing at once.
Rep. Kline’s proposed cuts catch pensioners by surprise
Dave Erickson of Isanti, Minn., believed his pension benefits were guaranteed when he contributed a fixed portion of his pay into the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. On Wednesday, Erickson learned that those benefits might be cut under a provision that Minnesota Rep. John Kline aims to tack onto the new federal budget bill.
