Pension News

Today, President Obama signed three executive orders aimed at “leveling the playing field” for workers and the labor movement.  We at the Pension Rights Center have a few ideas of our own on how President Obama can level the playing field when it comes to the nation’s retirement income system. (more…)

The two stars of this entertaining video give us their unique - and accurate - take on the history of pensions and what led companies to ask for pension funding relief in the financial bailout. (more…)

I recently came across a helpful Department of Labor fact sheet - Your Employer’s Bankruptcy - How Will It Affect Your Employee Benefits? Given the current state of the economy, it’s never too early for workers to know what might happen to their benefits if their employer goes bankrupt.  The fact sheet highlights the important fact that, even if an employer declares bankruptcy, its pension assets cannot be touched by the company’s creditors to pay off debt. (more…)

It isn’t every day you that hear a company say that providing a 401(k) match is the “right thing to do” for its employees. Nope, you don’t hear it that often - especially during an economic downturn that many have compared to the Great Depression. So, when I heard that Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group reinstated matching contributions to its employees’ 401(k) accounts, I took notice. (more…)

At the Pension Rights Center our happiest moments come when people receive their pensions, sometimes after many years of trying. Thanks to the new Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, signed into law on December 23rd, Rose Colon, a former spouse of a railroad retiree, will finally receive her survivor annuity. (more…)

With the stock market tanking, people saving for retirement through their company’s 401(k) plan have yet another reason to worry: more and more employers are suspending their 401(k) matching contributions. This means that some workers will no longer receive a dollar-for-dollar match from their employer for the money that they themselves contribute to their 401(k). (more…)

Some employers may have learned a lesson from the collapse of Enron and its devastating impact on the 401(k) accounts of its workers and retirees.  For years, Enron had matched employee contributions to their 401(k) plans with employer stock, instead of matching their contributions with money that the employees could invest themselves.  Even worse, Enron employees were prohibited from selling the company stock in their 401(k)s until they turned 50.  When the company went bankrupt, the stock lost nearly all of its value.  As a result, Enron employees and retirees lost a great deal of their retirement savings. (more…)