Archives: Resources
Plan Rules Trump Divorce Agreement
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the administrator of a retirement plan must follow the plan’s rules when distributing a deceased worker’s benefits, unless a “qualified domestic relations order” has been filed with the plan. In Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, William Kennedy had designated his wife Liv Kennedy […]
Court Rules Pensions Can Be Sought After to Pay Restitution
Pension funds can now be used to pay restitution in criminal cases, according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The court held that the Victim’s Restitution Act of 1996 clears the way for victims to go after funds held in an individual’s pension account when seeking restitution […]
Court Awards Retiree Back Payments for Wrongly-Suspended Pension Payments
A big issue for retired construction workers and others in multiemployer plans has been whether they can get payments for years that their early retirement pensions were suspended before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that the suspensions were unlawful. The federal appeals court in New York has ruled that these retirees must receive […]
U.S. Supreme Court Lets IBM Cash Balance Ruling Stand
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal of a court of appeals’ ruling that IBM’s cash balance pension plan did not discriminate against older workers. While this decision ends litigation in the IBM case, it does not end litigation brought against other companies that have converted to cash balance plans. By […]
The Right to Sue for Harm Caused by Breach of Fiduciary Duty
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals In Re Schering-Plough granted standing to a group of participants who trusted their employer by investing in company stock which subsequently lost tremendous value. The participants filed suit claiming that the company, its officers and directors breached fiduciary duties to the plan by continuing to offer employer securities knowing […]
Courts Disagree on Pension Credit for Early Breaks-in-Service
In a recent case, DiGiacomo v. Teamsters Pension Trust Fund of Philadelphia and Vicinity, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that if a retiree earned the right to a pension after the private pension law went into effect in 1976, a plan must count all the years he was a member of the plan in […]
Pension Protection Act of 2006
On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) [PDF] into law. The Senate passed the bill on August 3, 2006, and the House of Representatives passed it on July 28, 2006. The provisions of the law are summarized in a report by the Joint Committee on Taxation [PDF]. A number of […]
PBGC Premium Increase
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal corporation that insures most defined benefit plans in the United States. The PBGC is funded solely by premiums paid by plan sponsors. Currently the PBGC is experiencing deficits due to the large amount of plans which are terminated with insufficient funds to cover all its liabilities. […]
Increased FDIC Coverage Limits
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits in banks and thrift institutions. Currently the FDIC insures all deposits in banks, including retirement savings accounts such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). The FDIC covers for losses caused by the failure of the financial institution which holds the accounts assets up to $100,000. The Deficit Reduction […]
Proposed Rule on Investment Advice
The Department of Labor has proposed regulations for 401(k) plans wishing to provide investment advice to workers and their families. Read the Pension Rights Center’s comments.
Proposed Regulations and Class Exemption on Investment Advice
The Department of Labor has proposed regulations for 401(k) plans wishing to provide investment advice to workers and their families. Norman Stein submitted comments on behalf of the Pension Rights Center.
Proposed Model Cutback Notice
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has proposed a model notice [PDF] that will be sent to workers in multiemployer plans whose pensions may be reduced because their pension plan is severely underfunded. To shore up the health of underfunded pension plans, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 imposed several requirements that […]
