Accounting mistakes can squeeze pension benefits
An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details the problem of recoupment — when a pension plan demand repayment of money that it overpaid to a retiree — and highlights the work of the Mid-America Pension Rights Project.
Betting on Getting to 80: Draw $40,000 a Year Forever, If You Don’t Die First
Sharon Carson admits she just did something strange. At 49, she wrote a check to an insurance company for a product that won’t give her any financial benefit until she’s in her 80s.
Lockheed to freeze pension plan
Lockheed Martin will freeze its defined benefit pension plan and transition its employees to a defined contribution plan, the Maryland-based aerospace giant said today.
Future of Retirement Solutions [VIDEO]
PRC Executive Vice President Karen Friedman moderates a panel discussion on the future of retirement solutions at the Global Future of Retirement conference sponsored by Pensions & Investments. More videos from the conference here.
Pension plan design should be cross-generational — panel
Income replacement and securing pension benefits for multiple generations should be the guide to achieving adequate retirement income, said panelists at Pensions & Investments‘ inaugural Investment Innovation and the Global Future of Retirement conference.
IRS Private Letter Rulings Add Fuel to Fire On Lump-Sum Offers, De-Risking Debate
Five recent Internal Revenue Service private letter rulings allowing defined benefit plans to offer lump-sum benefit distributions to participants already receiving benefits are likely to encourage more employers to jump on the de-risking bandwagon, especially at a time when many employers are expressing interest in decreasing the impact of plan risks on their balance sheets.
Senator Harkin Introduces Legislation to Protect Whistleblowers
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is leading the way in Washington when it comes to championing the rights of current and future retirees. His proposal for USA Retirement Funds has received widespread acclaim as a common-sense, innovative way of providing retirement security to millions of American workers who do not have a workplace pension or 401(k) […]
Retirees Suffer as 401(k) Rollover Boom Enriches Brokers
Kathleen Tarr says AT&T Inc. employees looked to her as “their de facto 401(k) expert.” Visiting their homes and offices, she advised them on their retirement plans as they called up balances on computer screens. Actually, Tarr worked for Royal Alliance Associates, a brokerage firm owned by insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG). She encouraged […]
The United States, on the verge of a retirement crisis
“For retirement, the answer is 4-0-1-k,” proclaimed Tyler Mathisen, then editor of Money magazine in 1996. “I feel sure that someday, like a financial Little-Engine-That-Could, it will pull me over the million-dollar mountain all by itself.” For this sentiment, and others like it, Mathisen was soon rewarded with an on-air position at financial news network […]
Brokers Fight Rule to Favor Best Interests of Customers
David O’Brien, a certified financial planner, has tried to repair the retirement portfolios of several victims over the years. There was the high school science teacher who didn’t realize she had been sold a variable annuity, where layers of incomprehensible fees devoured nearly 2.5 percent of her retirement savings each year. Then there was the […]
Breaking Pension Promises is No Solution at All
Complexity is to be expected when discussing an issue like pensions. So for the moment let’s make things simple: 150 to 200 multiemployer plans are severely underfunded and may run out of money in 15 to 20 years if no action is taken. There are approximately 1.5 million workers and retirees in these plans. To […]
PRC Letter to the Department of Labor on Its Spring 2014 Regulatory Agenda (June 10, 2014)
The Pension Rights Center sent a letter to the Labor Department’s Employee Benefit Security Agency (EBSA), expressing concern over pension issues that are missing from EBSA’s Spring 2014 Regulatory Agenda. The letter highlights four areas that need improvement to better protect the pension rights of workers and retirees: Updating claims and appeals procedures for pension […]
