Archives: Resources
Piercy v. AT&T Inc.
Cunningham v. Cornell
The Pension Rights Center filed a friend of the court brief with the Supreme Court in Cunningham v. Cornell University. The plaintiffs in the case allege that two Cornell University retirement plans were paying unreasonable levels of compensation to the plan’s recordkeeper. The plaintiffs argued that payment of these fees violated to separate sections of […]
Dunne v. Elton Corporation
In the 1940s, Mary Dupont established a trust to pay pensions to the personal employees she, her children, and her future grandchildren, most of whom over the years informed their employees of the pension trust and their right to a pension. The trust, however, turned out not to be adequately funded and no additional contributions […]
Konya v. Lockheed Martin Corporation
Lockheed Martin made a business decision to have its pension plan transfer benefit liabilities to an insurance company. The Department of Labor in 1995 issued guidance on how fiduciaries should select an insurance company in such circumstances. The guidance was, in part, a response to the failure of Executive Life Insurance Company, a large insurance […]
Pension Benefit Overpayments – What is Recoupment?
Overview I received a letter from my pension plan stating that it has been overpaying me. The letter says that the plan is going to reduce my monthly payments and that I will also have to pay an additional amount to the plan. What can I do? Believe it or not, sometimes pension plans make […]
How many American workers participate in workplace retirement plans?
Annual figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics help paint a picture of the number of Americans who participate in a retirement plan at work. Typically in any year only half of workers participate in a retirement plan at work. In 2023 participation by all civilian workers, full and part-time, was 56 percent. The information […]
Income of Today’s Older Adults
As concern about the adequacy of the nation’s retirement income programs moves to the forefront of public debate, policymakers and the public are looking to statistics to argue for or against the need for reform. Because there is a wide range of data from a variety of sources, the statistics can be confusing. To help […]
Income from Other Sources
Older adults also receive income from other sources, such as earnings from work, assets, and public assistance. Income from Assets Older adults also receive income from savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks and bonds, retirement accounts (such as 401(k)s and IRAs), and other investments. Income from assets takes the form of interest, dividends, rents and royalties. […]
Sources of Income for Older Adults
Today’s older adults typically have a number of sources of income. For most, the primary source of income is Social Security. Other sources are income from investments and other assets, pensions and other retirement plans, earnings from work and, for a small percentage, public assistance programs and veterans benefits. In 2022, over eight in ten […]
Retirement Plan Contribution and Benefit Limits
This chart lists the maximum amounts individuals are permitted to contribute to their retirement plans each year. The effective date for 2024 limits is January 1, 2024. Maximum Dollar Limits 2024 2023 2022 2021 Annual employee contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b), or 457 savings plans $23,000 $22,500 $20,500 $19,500 Annual catch-up contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b) […]
Income from Pensions
In 2022, pension benefits provided income to nearly one third of older adults. Below are some statistics on the median benefits received by older adults. Median Pension Benefit In 2022, one out of three older adults received income from private company or union pension plans, federal, state, or local government pension plans, or Railroad Retirement, […]
Income from Social Security
Nearly eight in ten older adults receives income from Social Security. Below are statistics on the benefits received by older adults, by average, median, and relative importance. Average Social Security Benefits In 2022, the average retiree received an estimated $21,901 a year in Social Security benefits. Couples in which both parties received benefits received $36,255 […]
