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'I think I'm never going to be able to retire'
Chicago Sun-Times – September 6, 2010
Many see grim future as they're forced to tap into savings
That pension? You might have to pay it back
Orange County Register – August 29, 2010
Ralph Yore made a career out of being careful. Now, in his retirement, another small thing has knocked him sideways.
How Safe Is Your Pension?
Morningstar – August 26, 2010
If you think your pension is in danger, consider these resources and strategies to help ease your fears.
Gender Gap: How retirement plan advisers and plan sponsors can help women combat a potential retirement savings shortfall
PlanAdviser – July/August 2010
While many Americans could be facing a potential retirement savings shortfall, you do not have to dig too far to find research suggesting women, particularly those nearing retirement, might be at a disadvantage.
US: Firms must spell out workers' benefit rights
Associated Press via Yahoo! Finance – August 12, 2010
The Obama administration is planning to upgrade consumer protections for tens of millions of workers and family members covered by health, disability and pension plans, ordering companies to clearly explain decisions on claims and how employees can dispute denials.
Labor Express For August 9, 2010 [audio]
Labor Express Radio – August 9, 2010
In June, I announced that Labor Express would devote time to looking at the issue of pensions and retirement security in the coming months, and today we finally make good on that claim. Will hear from Karen Friedman, Executive Vice President and Policy Director for the Pension Rights Center, about the attack on defined pension benefit plans in this country and how working people can join the center in their efforts to defend and improve retirement security.
401(k) needs watching for fraud
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – August 8, 2010
Workers with 401(k) plans know they risk losing money on the stock and bond markets. But they don't expect to lose their money before it gets to the stock and bond markets.
Retirees take on Lutheran-affiliated publisher Augsburg Fortress
Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN) – August 7, 2010
Judy Olsen remembers getting hired at Augsburg Publishing House in 1983, and how the pension plan was part of the package.
Improving Access to Lifetime Income for Women: The Time to Act is Now
BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter – August 3, 2010
Research indicates that retirement savings are likely to be inadequate for many Americans, and particularly for women. Recent losses in the stock market and poor economic conditions underscore that many U.S. workers are at risk of having insufficient income to provide for a secure retirement.
Don't let flashy apps ditch your savings plan
South Florida Sun-Sentinel – July 18, 2010
Short term distractions vs. long-term savings goals
401(k) Match Not Restored by Half of Firms, Towers Watson Says
Bloomberg News – June 30, 2010
Almost half of U.S. companies that reduced or suspended their contributions to employee retirement plans during the recession haven’t restored them, according to Towers Watson & Co.
Boeing workers fight to preserve traditional pension
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – June 24, 2010
As Boeing workers in St. Louis prepare for a possible strike, the company's defined-benefit pension plan has become a burning issue. Unionized machinists are trying to preserve a benefit that's fading fast across the country.
IRS Working to Bring "Church" Pension Plans under ERISA
LawyersandSettlements.com – June 23, 2010
The Internal Revenue Service is currently working to move the pension plans of employers with religious affiliations partially under the purview of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA.
Fiduciary requirement in Wall St reform draws fire
Reuters – June 18, 2010
Provisions sought to curb disastrous swap sales
The Missing Piece of Your 401(k) Pie
U.S. News & World Report – June 17, 2010
Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, had a pie delivered to each Senator on the Finance Committee yesterday. Each apple and blueberry pie had a piece missing. In its place was a note reading, "Wall Street's cut of your 401(k) pie."
How Big a Slice of Your 401k Pie Does Wall Street Get?
ABC's The Note – June 16, 2010
If your 401k is a pie, how big a slice does Wall Street take over the course of your career? Do you have a right to know?
What to do when your pension is frozen
Money – June 10, 2010
You've been looking forward to retirement -- and the steady income your employer was supposed to provide -- only to learn that your company has frozen its pension plan. Now what?
IRS Nears Action on Church Pensions
Wall Street Journal – June 5, 2010
The Internal Revenue Service is drafting guidance that could require employers with religious affiliations to warn workers when their pensions have lost their federal safety net.
Auto IRAs on the Way?
Treasury & Risk – June 1, 2010
The Obama administration is proposing that employees without access to 401(k)s be automatically enrolled in an IRA.
What Your 401(k) Really Costs You
U.S. News & World Report – May 27, 2010
How much does your 401(k) cost? It's a surprisingly difficult question to answer, but the amount you're charged for your tax-exempt retirement plan can make a huge difference in how much you'll have when it comes time to retire.
Church Workers' Pensions Lack Safeguards
All Things Considered (NPR) – May 26, 2010
Thousands of church-affiliated workers and retirees are at risk of losing funds they're counting on to see them through retirement because of a little-known loophole in federal pension protections.
Why Your 401(k) Still Hasn't Recovered
U.S. News & World Report – May 24, 2010
Investors haven't given up on their 401(k)'s. Retirement account balances have rebounded this year, but are still below their 2007 peaks.
The latest blow: Smaller payouts for new retirees
Kiplinger's Personal Finance via the Washington Post – May 16, 2010
For many of the 15 percent of private-sector workers covered by defined-benefit plans, the guaranteed pension is no longer guaranteed.
Our View: Lawmakers fail to set priorities, deal with problems
Rockford Register Star – May 8, 2010
We expected in the midst of a financial crisis the likes of which Illinois has never seen that lawmakers would want to set priorities, reduce expenses, raise revenue, cut existing benefits or do something worthwhile to address the state’s money woes.
6 Reasons More Americans are Delaying Retirement
U.S. News & World Report – May 7, 2010
Early retirement is no longer the goal of most workers. Even retirement at age 65 now seems unattainable to many people. The majority of Americans now expect to work until age 65 or later.
Most Participants in Frozen DB Plans Not Left Out in the Cold, BLS Report Says
BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter – May 4, 2010
As employers confronted with the economic recession have closed or frozen their defined benefit retirement plans, most private industry workers and all state and local government workers had alternative plan options available, according to a government report released April 29.
Counterpoint: Retirement Security and Defined Benefit Plan Funding
BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter – April 20, 2010
The Pension Rights Center makes a case for pension funding relief that protects workers and retirees.
Administration Funding Plan Gains Support; Employers Take Exception to Conditions
BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter – April 20, 2010
Employer groups praised the Obama administration April 15 for supporting pension funding relief but took exception to some of the "principles" that companies would have to meet in order to receive the relief.
The Trouble With Pension Funds
SmartMoney – April 16, 2010
For many employees, the price of loyalty isn’t what it used to be.
Transforming 401(k) plans into DB plans
Employee Benefit News – April 5, 2010
In the quest to make 401(k) plans look more like defined benefit plans, government officials are reaching out to employers and other stakeholders in the retirement plan industry for advice on offering annuities through defined contribution plans.
Build a better 401(k)
Baltimore Sun – March 14, 2010
Social Security is under stress, and baby boomers are just starting to retire. Traditional pensions that provide an income for life continue to disappear. And the shortcomings of 401(k)s become evident whenever the stock market tanks; the last market crash erased as much as 40 percent of account balances.
Pros and cons of taking the lump sum
Bankrate.com – March 9, 2010
If presented with the option of getting a pension check for life or getting a lump sum, what's the better deal? Getting a monthly annuity certainly has a certain allure -- you get a steady paycheck for life.
The Return Of The 401(K)
Newsweek – February 2, 2010
Companies are starting to match employee contributions again. But will they be as generous as they were before the recession?
Running the Fund:The DB(k)'s Day Arrives
PlanSponsor – February 2010
Small employers could offer it as of January 1, but...
Proposal for automatic IRAs is a good step to boost Americans' retirement savings
Dallas Morning News – January 30, 2010
President Barack Obama's proposal to make it easier to save for retirement is a good, necessary first step.
Prof's calculus: 401(k) not enough
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – January 17, 2010
University of Pittsburgh business school professor Dennis Slevin got to thinking about how much a worker would have to save in a 401(k) account to replace 75 percent of his final year's pay by withdrawing 5 percent annually from the account in retirement.
Efforts to raise 401(k) participation hit snags
USA Today – January 11, 2010
The thinking two years ago seemed logical enough: If more companies would automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans, then offer them the simplest of investment strategies, the employees would get a leg up on retirement savings, and we'd all be better for it.
As 401(k) accounts spring back, calls for reform recede
Los Angeles Times – January 10, 2010
As the worst bear market since the Great Depression sent her 401(k) account into a downward spiral, Cathy Coleman would shudder when her quarterly statement arrived.
Retiree Annuities May Be Promoted by Obama Aides
BusinessWeek – January 8, 2010
The Obama administration is weighing how the government can encourage workers to turn their savings into guaranteed income streams following a collapse in retiree accounts when the stock market plunged.
Public-pension tab in Ohio: $4.1 billion -- and growing
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) – January 3, 2010
At a time when budget problems are forcing Ohio schools to lay off teachers and cities to raise taxes, eliminate jobs or both, one expense that government leaders have not cut is pensions for their workers.
Outrage: Bosses’ Bonuses Trump Workers’ Pensions
AARP Bulletin – January 1, 2010
While many companies are cutting back as the recession makes a dent in profits, it appears some corporate executives won’t be sharing the pain with lower-level colleagues come retirement time.
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