Archives: Resources
Understanding Survivor Benefits in Private Retirement Plans
For married participants in retirement plans, a top concern is making sure that a spouse will receive their retirement benefits if they die. Luckily, most pension plans and many other retirement plans in the United States provide a survivor benefit to widowed spouses of retirement plan participants. In some cases, a survivor benefit can also be left […]
Bafford v. Northrop Grumman Corp
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circut in Bafford v. Northrop Grumman Corp. on August 10, 2020. Northrup-Grumman’s defined benefit plan, like all such plans, must provide participants with an estimate of their retirement benefits on request. Northrup-Grumman, applying an incorrect benefit formula to a group of […]
The Labor Department’s Notice-and-Access Disclosure Rule: The Basics
The Labor Department has issued a new rule for electronic delivery of plan disclosures to retirement plan participants, called “notice-and-access.”[1] The rule is effective July 27, 2020.[2] The new rule replaces prior guidance on electronic delivery of disclosures to participants, with the exception of a 2002 electronic disclosure rule.[3] The 2002 electronic disclosure rule remains […]
The Labor Department’s new disclosure rule: What could it mean for you?
The Labor Department issued a new rule, effective July 27, 2020, that describes a new form of electronic disclosure for retirement plan information called “notice-and-access.” This new scheme of disclosure will put the burden of finding retirement plan information on to the participants in the plan. Rather than receiving your retirement plan information on paper […]
The Top 10 Worst Things about the Department of Labor’s New “Notice-and-Access” Rule for Retirement Plans
The US Department of Labor has adopted a new rule that will allow retirement plans to use an automatic “notice-and-access” disclosure system that will result in millions of workers and retirees no longer receiving critical information about their retirement plan and benefits. The new rule will effectively upend the commonsense rule now in place.[i] Currently, […]
Disclosures you may receive from your retirement plan
Retirement plan participants receive multiple communications from their plans. Some disclosures are sent automatically, such as each year, every quarter or when joining a plan. Other disclosures are sent when “triggering” events occur, such as termination of employment or divorce. Certain plan documents and reports are available upon request. Beneficiaries, such as spouses, can generally […]
Summary of CARES Act provisions relating to retirement plans
Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, Public Law 116-136) in response to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Act includes several items designed to ease employees’ access to their retirement funds and certain provisions allowing employers to delay contributions to their pension plans. The Act was […]
Pension Rights Center Concerns about Proposed DOL Electronic Disclosure Rule
This Is No Time to Deny Workers and Retirees Vital Information about their Retirement Plans The Department of Labor, the agency charged with protecting people’s rights to retirement benefits, wants to adopt a new rule that would undermine workers’ and retirees’ rights by making it far less likely they get the information they need to plan their retirement and watchdog their pension […]
Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020
On October 27, 2020 House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 (H.R. 8696), a bipartisan bill with some important provisions for retirement plan participants. The following summary highlights parts of the bill that are likely to be of special interest to […]
Comments to the Labor Department on the Effectiveness of ERISA Disclosures.
The Pension Rights Center submitted comments to the Labor Department in response to a Request for Information on the Effectiveness of ERISA Disclosures. The Center suggested ways that required disclosures could be improved without eliminating crucial participant information. Read the comments here. Read the Request for Information in section D of the preamble to the […]
Intel Corp. Inv. Policy Comm. v. Sulyma
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in Intel Corp. Inv. Policy Comm. v. Sulyma on October 28, 2019 asking the Court to agree with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that sending an e-mail to Christopher Sulyma notifying him that information about his retirement savings plans’ investments was available […]
Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A.
On September 18, 2019, the Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A. asking the Supreme Court to reverse a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled that pension plan participants did not have the right to sue to recover investment loses of at least $748 million. […]
