Pension News

Here’s some of the latest news from the world of pensions (more…)

When writer-comedian Al Franken was sworn in as Minnesota’s junior Senator on July 7, I was intrigued to hear that he will be serving on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (also known as the Senate HELP Committee). Not surprisingly, this is one of the committees that we deal with the most, and I wondered what kind of positions Senator Franken would take on retirement income issues. (more…)

Here’s some of the latest news from the world of pensions (more…)

Today marks the 44th anniversary of the Older Americans Act, a federal grant program that helps millions of older adults throughout the country.  One of the programs funded by the Older Americans Act is the Administration on Aging’s Pension Counseling and Information Program, which supports regional pension counseling projects around the country.  These nonprofit counseling projects provide free legal assistance to individuals who have questions about their pensions and retirement savings plans.  Since their inception, the projects have recovered more than $75 million on behalf of their clients, representing a return of 5-to-1 for every federal dollar invested in the program. (more…)

A new study released by the Ariel Education Initiative and Hewitt Associates and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation confirms what many researchers and retirement policy experts have known for a while now: When it comes to providing retirement income, 401(k) plans just aren’t cutting it for many minorities. (more…)

Last week Zep Inc. announced plans to reinstate its 401(k) matching contributions.  This move comes six months after the company suspended its match and cut executive pay to reduce costs.  At the time, Zep’s CEO said that restoring the match would be the top priority when the company returned to profitability.  Currently, Zep is restoring its match to half the level it was before the suspension, but the company expects to fully restore the match by January. (more…)