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.
1 Million American Pension Plans Could Be Insolvent In 10 Years
The federal agency that regulates the nation’s pension system issued a stark warning this week about some retirement plans.
PRC letter to OMB, supporting the collection of additional information from terminating pension plans (November 18, 2014)
The Pension Rights Center sent a brief letter to the Office of Management and Budget in support of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s request to require additional information from terminating defined benefit plans. The PBGC’s request includes the Center’s recommendation from July that plans provide an accurate list of annuity providers and list the participants […]
The Most Important Symbol for Investors Is ‘DOL’
Many investors are glued the financial news, tracking the latest reports about interest rates, earnings reports and stock movements. They believe this kind of intense focus will help them maximize returns. They couldn’t be more wrong. Instead of spending time looking up a stock symbol to find out its latest price, investors would be better […]
Benefit clawbacks: Only way to avoid a pension cliff?
The reduction and even suspension of pension benefits isn’t something anyone wants. However, a growing number of financially troubled multiemployer benefit plan managers may find it to be an inescapable eventuality.
Pension crisis looms
First we had the fiscal cliff, then the highway cliff. Now get ready for the pension cliff.
What to consider when your company offers a pension buyout
The old rock of retirement income — the pension — is increasingly fading from the American economic landscape.
Speech by Karen Friedman at the New England Women’s Policy Conference (November 7, 2014)
Thank you for inviting me to speak at the New England Women’s Policy Conference on economic security. I’m Karen Friedman, the executive vice president of the Pension Rights Center, the country’s oldest and foremost consumer group working to promote and protect the retirement security of workers, retirees and their families. You know, Halloween was […]
How to help older adults with their retirement plan problems
Event description: Retirement benefits earned through employment can play a critical role in poverty prevention for the older adults. Legal services providers, housing and financial counselors, benefit specialists, and other elder law advocates who encounter individuals unable to obtain the pension and retirement savings plan benefits they rightfully earned may feel they lack the expertise to […]
Senators’ De-Risking Letter Adds Weight To Growing Issue, Concerns, Observers Say
A recent letter sent by two Senate Democratic committee leaders asking several federal agencies to develop regulatory policy on de-risking pension plans adds some heft to the issue, but there are already some regulatory provisions in the law addressing their concerns, practitioners said.
