Resource Type: Fact Sheets and Issue Papers
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 […]
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 […]
Tax Expenditures for Retirement Plans
The tax law recently enacted by Congress includes a great many provisions. Some are easy to understand. Others are not. Among the least understood provisions are those that modify “federal tax expenditures.” This fact sheet explains what tax expenditures are and how they affect retirement plans. What are Tax Expenditures? Tax expenditures are commonly called […]
Resources for Multiemployer Reform
This is a critical time for retirement security. Thousands of retirees and workers in certain severely underfunded multiemployer plans – Cleveland Iron Workers Local 17, New York State Teamsters, Baltimore Ironworkers Local 16, and Teamsters Local 707 in New York, among them – have already lost a big share of their hard-earned pensions. More than […]
The Keep Our Pension Promises Act of 2017 | Talking Points
The Keep Our Pension Promises Act addresses the crisis created by the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. Use the talking points below when communicating with policymakers, including members of Congress. The Problem Multiemployer Pension Reform Act. MPRA allows deeply underfunded multiemployer plans to take the unprecedented step of cutting retiree pensions – in some […]
I’m getting divorced: What is a qualified domestic relations order and why should I care?
A retirement plan can be the largest asset in a marriage. Nonetheless, retirement plans are often forgotten or overlooked during divorce, in part because divorce is so complicated and in part because a divorce can occur years before retirement – and who’s thinking about retirement when it’s 10 or 20 years down the road? If […]
Saver’s Credit At-A-Glance: How the Saver’s Tax Credit Can Boost Your Retirement Savings
The average retirement benefit from Social Security may not be enough to pay for your expenses during retirement. The federal government encourages low-income earners to save for retirement through a tax credit called the Saver’s Credit. It is a non-refundable tax credit for individuals who make under $31,000 or married couples who make under $62,000 […]
Problems with ESOPs
An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a retirement plan in which investments are made primarily in the employer’s stock. The value of an ESOP account can grow in two ways – if the value of the stock increases or if additional shares are allocated to the participant’s account. Conversely, an ESOP account’s value will shrink […]
Employee Stock Ownership Plans: Are They Worth the Risks?
In good financial times, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) have the appearance of being an excellent deal for employees, because ESOPs offer partial ownership over the company that employs them. However, ESOPs pose serious risks that employees may not recognize until it’s too late. This paper describes how ESOP participants do not face just a single risk, […]
Resources for Participants in Multiemployer Pension Plans in “Critical and Declining” Status
The Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) allows severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans that are in “critical and declining” status to seek Treasury Department approval to cut pension benefits. Retirees worried about future pension cuts have asked us what they can do to protect their pensions. This fact sheet suggests steps they can take […]
