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…)
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…)
The recent bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors have caused a lot of workers to be concerned about their pensions. While Chrysler has now emerged from bankruptcy GM is still going through the bankruptcy process and the question. “What will happen to my pension?” is very much on the minds of workers and retirees in the automotive sector - and elsewhere. (more…)
Today the IRS announced new tax “withholding adjustment procedures” for pension plans today, repairing a problem that we raised in a letter to the Treasury Department on April 1. (more…)
The NFL, what many (including this avid sports fan) consider to be the nation’s favorite and most popular sport’s league, has taken an action that could potentially undermine the retirement security of it workers and retirees. (more…)
Today, May 1, marks the start of Older Americans Month. What better a day to discuss the retirement security of older Americans? Not so long ago retirement security was thought of as a three-legged stool, consisting of employer-sponsored pensions, personal savings and Social Security.  (more…)
With Mother’s Day approaching, it seems only fitting that I put in a plug for the current edition of Mother Jones magazine. Its cover asks, “Who Ran Away With Your 401(k)?” and the issue is required reading for anyone interested in the future of retirement income.  (more…)
Today, April 28, is Equal Pay Day, in recognition of the fact that on average women earn less than men. For women, as former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder once noted, this discrimination throughout their lives “strikes its cruelest blow at the end.”
The Lily Ledbetter Equal Pay Act of 2009 will not only help close the wage gap for women who have experienced pay discrimination in the workplace, but it will also help close the pension gap. (more…)
Are you a retiree from the auto industry? The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal agency that guarantees pensions, has provided helpful information for retirees of Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and other car companies. Â
The PBGC guarantees pension benefits up to a certain limit for retirees of companies that have gone bankrupt and are unable to fulfill their pension obligations. Unfortunately for some retirees, the PBGC maximum guarantees may be less than what their pension is worth. For more information on how the PBGC protects defined benefit pensions, read our fact sheet.
These days, it’s not often that we agree with the decisions companies make when it comes to pensions (take a look at our lists of companies that have frozen their pensions or that have cut their 401(k) matches), but an activist alerted us to one company that is actually doing the right thing. As reported in the Times of Northwest Indiana last week, steel giant ArcelorMittal is forgiving $960,000 in pension overpayments made to 79 widows of retired workers. Many of these women are in their 80s and 90s and have relied on their survivor’s pension for decades. Having to pay back years of overpayments would have been a severe hardship for them. (more…)
Print - 
E-mail