Labor Unions Accuse Congress of Sneak Attack on Pensions in Lame Duck
As lawmakers pressed Monday to finalize the legislative language of a must-pass omnibus spending bill, labor unions and retiree groups were mobilizing to defeat what they are characterizing as a lame-duck sneak attack on the pensions of some already-retired workers.
Financial planning issues wrapped into government spending bill?
Members of Congress are considering adding provisions to the government spending bill that would impact at least two crucial issues for financial advisers: the DOL’s action on fiduciary duty and the right of pensions to cut benefits.
Bill could slash pensions across America
A new bill that could be passed before Congress leaves for winter break has a lot of retirees upset. Donna and Daniel McAuliffe are heading into a nightmare next week, as Congress could pass a bill that opponents say will slash some retiree’s pensions by 65 percent. This scares the Brunswick couple.
The lame-duck Congress plots to undermine retiree pensions
Passing legislation on a tight deadline–especially a bogus deadline–is invariably a formula for serious mischief. That’s what’s happening with a proposal to deal with a supposed crisis in worker pensions by allowing trustees to slash the pensions of already-retired workers to shreds.
Congress could soon allow pension plans to cut benefits for current retirees
Congress could soon allow the benefits of current retirees to be cut as part of an agreement to address the fiscal distress confronting some of the nation’s 1,400 multi-employer pension plans. Several unions and pension advocates opposing the move, which would be unprecedented…
Providence lawsuit raises questions about Catholic health providers’ church pension plans
Employees of Providence Health & Services, the state’s largest health care provider, are suing the Catholic health system in federal court alleging it is using a religious tax exemption to skirt federal pension law.
Congress could cut pensions in ailing plans
A proposal in Congress that could lead to cuts in pension benefits for retirees in financially troubled multiemployer plans drew fire Thursday from worker advocates and unions.
PRC letter to Congress opposing “stealth” provisions that would cut retiree benefits in multiemployer plans (December 3, 2014)
The Pension Rights Center sent a letter to every member of Congress, urging them to oppose measures that would allow certain multiemployer plans to cut the earned benefits of retirees. Such a provision might be slipped into the omnibus spending bill without public debate during the lame-duck session of the 113th Congress. Not only is […]
Lame-Duck Congress Nears Last-Minute Vote On Sweeping Pension Reform
Congress is nearing a vote on arguably the biggest change to private pension law in decades. The proposed reforms would grant sweeping new authority to the trustees of some “deeply troubled” multi-employer pension plans to slash benefits promised to current retirees—something that’s illegal under existing law.
The Pension Rights Center and the New England Pension Assistance Project Applaud Government Agencies for Rescuing SPDs
The Pension Rights Center and the New England Pension Assistance Project applaud the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the National Archives, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the Department of Labor for saving an extensive microfiche collection of Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs). Summary Plan Descriptions are plain-English summaries of employee benefit plan rules, […]
Amicus Briefs Filed in Church Plan Appeal, Organizations Debate Use of Exemption
The first challenge to the exemption of a religiously affiliated health-care organization’s pension plan from federal regulation to reach the federal appellate courts has drawn the attention of a nonprofit consumer organization, two religious organizations and a nonprofit law firm dedicated to free expression of religion, all of which have filed amicus briefs with the […]
Multiemployer Program Posts Record Deficit, Single-Employer Shortfall Shrinks, PBGC Says
The deficit of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s multiemployer plan program rocketed to an all-time high in fiscal year 2014 of $42.4 billion—more than five times its previous high in 2013— the agency said in its annual report.
