Month: July 2012
Pension error hits Fresno widow with $48,000 debt
Sally Baker answered her phone in late May and got hit with a double whammy from the city of Fresno pension system. We’ve been paying you too much on your survivor’s pension, Baker was told. Kiss about $530 from your monthly check goodbye. And, the billion-dollar pension system added, we want all those overpayments returned. […]
GM Retirees Must Decide Today On Lump Sum Payout
After presumably agonizing for weeks over whether to keep their lifetime pension benefit or take a one-time lump-sum payment, some 42,000 General Motors retirees are faced with making that critical decision today.
Why GM retirees should say ‘no’ to lump-sum payoff option
Today’s Detroit Free Press includes an op-ed from the Pension Rights Center about GM’s lump-sum offer to salaried retirees.
Beware Advice on Lump Sum Offers
If your pension plan gives you a lump sum option, get two or three opinions before taking the money.
Retirees Wrestle With Pension Buyout From General Motors
For weeks, John and Kathy Matthews have agonized over the choice: accept $818,000 in a lump sum from General Motors to buy out Mr. Matthews’s pension or keep collecting a check of $4,854 a month.
Retirement savings raided by 35% of laid-off workers
The number of displaced workers has risen dramatically since the start of the Great Recession, and this year a third of them had to raid retirement savings to make ends meet.
Pension or buyout? GM retirees make the tough call
Is it better for existing retirees to convert their pension to an annuity or to take a lump sum payout?
Americans borrow heavily from 401(k)s but loan defaults are up
The default rate on 401(k) loans hit 17.4% in the 12 months through May, compared with 9.7% in mid-2008, before the financial crisis.
Study identifies major flaw with 401(k) plans
If you haven’t realized it by now, you’re on your own when it comes to figuring out how you’ll be able to afford to retire on the retirement savings in your 401(k) plan.
Decision time nears for GM, Ford retirees on lump sum offer
Put a pile of money on the table before thousands of retirees from two major carmakers. Will they grab it? Or do they skip it and stick with their regular monthly check?
For 401(k)s, Size Matters
Higher fees? Less scrutiny from the boss? Experts say workers at smaller firms should pay extra attention to their retirement plans.
Idea floated for state-run retirement system for private-sector workers
An effort to give private-sector workers the ability to ditch their 401(k)’s and instead participate in a state-run retirement system that would offer a more reliable pension payout could be on the horizon in Wisconsin.
