Resource Type: Fact Sheets and Issue Papers
How the Keep Our Pension Promises Act Would Save the Central States Pension Fund
The Keep Our Pension Promises Act would make it possible for the largest of the severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans, the Central States Pension Fund (CSPF), to continue to pay promised benefits to its 205,000 retirees. This is because money that would be transferred by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to the plan each […]
Why the Keep Our Pension Promises Act Must Be Passed
Updated: September 9, 2015 On June 18, 2015, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) introduced the Keep Our Pension Promises Act of 2015 into the U.S. Congress to stop benefit cutbacks for retirees in certain underfunded multiemployer plans. These cuts were authorized by the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. In the Senate, […]
Investment Advisers: Who Are They and Why Does It Matter?
The universe of financial advisers can be very confusing. People who give financial advice use many different labels, including investment adviser investment manager asset manager broker financial planner financial consultant financial adviser certified financial planner With such a variety of titles, it can be difficult to know which legal standards – if any – apply […]
Cash Balance Plans
A cash balance plan is a pension plan that has certain features of a 401(k) plan. A number of companies have converted their traditional pension plans into cash balance plans. This fact sheet describes cash balance plans and outlines the differences between a cash balance plan and a traditional pension plan, and between a cash […]
Pension Freezes
See our list of companies that have frozen or made significant changes to their pension plans. What does it mean to “freeze” a pension plan? When a company freezes its pension plan, some or all of the employees covered by the plan, stop earning some or all the benefits from the point of the freeze […]
Facts About Multiemployer Pension Plan Funding
This fact sheet explains funding issues in multiemployer pension plans and how the guarantee limits set by the Pension Benefity Guaranty Corporation could impact your multiemployer plan pension. Related: Read our summary of the pension cutback provisions (part of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014) that were included in the 2014 Omnibus spending law. See a list of […]
The facts about church pension plans
Almost all private retirement plans are required to comply with federal pension and tax laws. There is only one major exception: Church pension plans. Employees covered by church pension plans are denied the basic protections provided to virtually all other private-sector workers who participate in pension plans. Church plans: Do not have to give employees […]
“NAFI” Plans: Federal Retirement Programs Not Funded by the Government
This fact sheet provides an overview of retirement plans that are sponsored by government entities that do not receive funding from Congress. What are Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality Retirement Plans? NAFI Retirement Plans are retirement plans sponsored by government entities known as Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentalities (NAFIs). NAFIs are part of the federal government but they do […]
State Plans and Survivor Rights Information
Alabama Retirement Systems of Alabama What is required on benefit election forms? Spousal consent not required. Notes: Default option provides no survivor benefit. Source: AL State Code: §36.27.16 AL Administrative Code: 800-2-1-03 Alaska Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits What is required on benefit election forms? Spousal consent required Notes: Survivor benefit provided by default. […]
State Retirement System Rules on “Spousal Consent”
Does your husband or wife work in a job covered by a state retirement system? If so, it is important for you to know if you have a say in whether you will receive a pension if you outlive your spouse. In private-sector pension plans, husbands and wives who outlive their spouses automatically receive a […]
The United Kingdom’s New Retirement Savings Program
On October 1, 2012, the United Kingdom launched a new retirement savings program. The new program has two parts. First, all employers will be required to offer retirement plans meeting minimum requirements for their employees and to contribute to those plans. Second, all employers who do not sponsor pension or retirement savings plans meeting specified […]
Polling Data on America’s Retirement Crisis
The Retirement Crisis is a Top Concern for Americans A wide range of polls shows that the retirement crisis is all too real. Americans are experiencing the crisis firsthand, yet policymakers and opinion leaders are paying scant attention to the problem. Below are the results from recent polls that show the depth of national anxiety […]
