Archives: Resources
Pundt v Verizon
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief supporting Verizon employees who are asking the Supreme Court to reverse a Court of Appeals ruling that individuals whose future pensions have been placed at risk by the actions of plan trustees do not have the right to file a lawsuit since they have not yet been harmed by […]
Resources for Central States Pension Fund Retirees
This page is intended to serve as a resource hub for retirees who are subject to cuts as a result of the Central States Pension Fund’s application to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to reduce retiree benefits. This page will be updated on an ongoing basis. On May 6, 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department […]
Proposed Rule on Conflicts of Interest in Investment Advice (November 2015)
The Pension Rights Center submitted comments to the Department of Labor (DOL) and testified at a hearing in support of the department’s proposed revision of the definition of “fiduciary.” The proposed definition describes the circumstances under which a financial adviser becomes a fiduciary and must give advice in the best interest of the customer, avoiding […]
The Pension Accountability Act
In the last days of 2014, Congress passed the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) as part of a year-end budget compromise. As a result of MPRA’s enactment, for the first time in 40 years multiemployer pension plan trustees have been given the authority to cut already earned retiree pension benefits while a plan […]
The facts about pension advances
This fact sheet describes pension advances, financial transactions in which a company gives a retiree a lump-sum cash payment in return for some or all of the retiree’s monthly pension payments for a specified period of time. Pension advances can have extremely high interest rates and threaten the economic security of the retirees who receive […]
Status of Church Plan Litigation
Below is a summary of current and recent church plan cases. Case . Ruling/Status Result Chavies v. Catholic Health East District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jurisdiction: 3rd Circuit Year filed: 2013 District court denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. The court ordered discovery on whether the sponsor there at issue, a large […]
Companies That Have Changed Their Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Below is a list of employers that have announced significant changes to their defined benefit pension plans since December 2005. Changes include plan terminations, plan freezes for new and/or current employees, and changes to the formula by which pension benefits are calculated. For specifics, click on the employer’s name to see the company’s press release, […]
Companies that have transferred pensions to insurance companies
Below is a list of employers that have transferred their pension obligations for certain retirees and former employees to insurance companies by purchasing annuities. (Note: this is not a comprehensive list. These are only the changes that we are aware of, based on corporate press releases, news reports, and other sources.) This practice differs from […]
Amicus Briefs in Church Plan Litigation
There are currently eleven cases now pending before the federal courts that will determine whether a pension plan established by a religiously-affiliated nonprofit organization, which is not itself a church, is a “church plan” that is exempt from the federal law protecting private sector retirement benefits (ERISA). The results of these lawsuits will determine whether […]
Companies that are offering lump-sum pension buyouts
Note: This list is updated on an ongoing basis. Below is a list of employers that have announced that they are offering lump-sum pension buyouts to certain groups of employees, former employees, or retirees. For specifics, click on the employer’s name to see the company’s press release, SEC filing, or news story announcing the change […]
What happens when a pension is transferred to an insurance company?
In 2012, General Motors and Verizon entered into arrangements with Prudential Insurance Company to pay the pensions of certain groups of their salaried retirees. Both companies transferred pension assets to Prudential, which meant that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal agency that insures most private pension plans, no longer insured the pensions. Since then, […]
Should you take your pension as a lump sum?
Updated: August 2015 Some companies have offered to cash out the pensions of certain retirees and former employees and instead give them a one-time lump-sum payment. While the idea of suddenly having a large sum of money is tempting, this is a decision that you will have to live with for the rest of your life. […]
