Headlines about "Ret plans - policy"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
DOL Releases Preliminary 2009 Versions of Pension and Health Plan Bulletins and Form 5500 Data
"Statistical summary of Form 5500 data on Direct Filing Entities (DFEs) including counts of DFEs, counts of private pension plans invested in DFEs, and asset counts." See the various links entitled "2009 - Preliminary," which appear under these headings: "Reports", "Excel Tables" and "XML Tables." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Opinion] 401(k)s in The Crossfire
"Perhaps the most commonly cited concern about 401(k)s is the size of current account balances. The typical investor approaching retirement has around $100,000 saved in various tax-deferred accounts. That amount might generate $4,000-$5,000 a year in income. It's been 30 years since 401(k)s appeared on the scene, so the thinking is that older investors should have much more money in these accounts than they do. This argument, however, overlooks the rapid expansion of 401(k) plans over the past three decades. More people have come into the system over the years, and many who are ready to retire haven't spent their full working careers saving in these plans." (Vanguard Blog)

How Did the Recession of 2007-2009 Affect the Wealth and Retirement of the Near-Retirement-Age Population?
"The retirement wealth held by those ages 53 to 58 before the onset of the recession in 2006 declined by a relatively modest 2.8 percentage points by 2010.... Although most of the loss in wealth is due to a fall in the net value of housing, because very few in this cohort have found their housing wealth under water, and housing is the one asset this cohort is not likely to cash in for another decade or two, there is time for their losses in housing wealth to recover." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)

Retirement Savings Shocker: For a Secure Retirement, Better Get Going on Your Savings Program
"[W]aiting even one year can have dramatic effects. If you invest $5,000 every year beginning at age 30 instead of 31, you will have $109,000 in additional savings, assuming an 8 percent compounded annual interest rate." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Average 401(k) Balance 62% Above 2009, Fidelity Says
"The average account balance in the U.S. was $74,600 compared with $46,200 at the end of the first quarter of 2009, according to a report released [by Fidelity Investments].... The stock market recovery and renewed commitment to saving has driven the increase[.]" (Bloomberg)

American Workers Shifting Their Plans and Expectations for Retirement (PDF)
"[The] majority of workers plan to work past age 65 (56 percent) and the majority (54 percent) plan to continue working after they retire. Despite workers' demonstrated commitment to saving, just 39 percent believe they are building a sufficient nest egg[.]" (Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

Florida Agency Says Legislators Should Consider Increase in Required Employee Contributions to Pension Fund
"The staff of the [State Board of Administration], which manages investments for the $121.6 billion [Florida Retirement System (FRS)] fund, advised the House and Senate leadership of potential problems this week. In a required annual review of the FRS actuarial valuation, the financial analysts also said the state could consider cutting the fund's 7.75 percent expected earnings target by a half-percent." (The Florida Current)

Houston Sues Firefighters Pension Board to Open Its Books
"The Legislature created Houston's firefighters pension system and gives it the authority to unilaterally establish what taxpayers owe the system each year. Fund representatives are not even obligated to meet with city officials to discuss possible changes to the system." (The Houston Chronicle)

[Guidance Overview] A Bridge Too Far: Early Retirement Exception from 10% Tax Was Available from Participant's 401(k), But Not After IRA Rollover
"The court held that the taxpayer would not have been subject to the 10% tax if he had taken the distribution directly from the 401(k) plan upon termination because of the exception in section 72(t)(2)(A)(v) of the Internal Revenue Code for post-separation distributions to an employee who has attained age 55, but because he chose to roll over his balance, the exception no longer applied to a distribution from an IRA." (Haynes and Boone)

Ohio Senate Passes Public Pension Reform; Ohio House to Act This Summer
"Supporters say without action from lawmakers the pension funds will fall short of meeting their 30-year solvency requirement. The teachers' pension fund alone would need 38 years to do so. One of the largest funds, the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, estimates that delaying reform costs their fund nearly $1 million a day. That same daily impact is nearly $2 million for the Ohio Police and Fire fund. And the State Employees Retirement System is losing $27 million in savings annually." (WIOT.com)

[Opinion] Ohio Public Retirement Systems Need Overhaul, Not More Tweaks
"$72 billion. That's the collective unfunded liabilities of Ohio's five defined-benefit public-pension plans. That's more than Ohio's biennial budget. Under current law, three out of the five plans never will be able to pay off those liabilities. Those are the stakes." (Columbus Dispatch)

Auditor: San Diego Pension Initiative Overstates Savings
"[T]he measure aims to hold steady city workers' pensionable salaries over the next five years to save on pension costs. But voters can't mandate city employee salaries at the ballot box so the measure provides a strong recommendation for City Council to impose the freeze. The pensionable pay freeze is so essential to the initiative's savings that with it supporters can claim the measure saves $1 billion over 30 years and without it opponents can claim it saves $0." (Voice of San Diego)

Considerations in Preparing Disclosure in Official Statements on a Government Bond Issuer's Pension Funding Obligations (PDF)
"The overall point of the disclosure of pension funding obligations is to indicate whether the state or local government will likely struggle in meeting such obligations without making difficult financial decisions. One of those decisions may be related to the payment of debt service on bonds. Thus, in circumstances where there is expected to be financial strain caused by an issuer's pension funding obligations, being clear and plain about this point to investors is very important." (Pension Disclosure Task Force, National Association of Bond Lawyers)

Is Stock Market Recovery Providing Light at the End of the Tunnel for State and Local Pensions?
"The stock market's rebound from its depths in the recession has lifted pension assets substantially over the past two and half years ... The effects of the recovering market haven't yet shown up in most state pension funds' financial reports, but they will over the next few years. When most funds estimate their available assets, they phase in the impact of investment gains and losses over several years in order to minimize year-to-year changes in the amount of money that the state must deposit in the fund." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Getting Young Workers to Save: Selling Confidence in the Future
"One popularly expressed motive, 'live for today, because who knows what tomorrow will bring?' puts thoughts of retirement a very, very long way into the future.... We live in a world that causes [young people] to question their safety, security, and especially the future. In fact, they are constantly provided with excuses not to save. If we want more young workers to choose to save, we have to sell the benefits of paying themselves first and getting the free employer money." (Plan Sponsor Council of America)

[Opinion] PBGC: Protector or Predator?
"[The three Dewey & LeBoeuf] plans PBGC has taken over are all cash balance plans that cover only past and current partners and they are relatively well funded.... What's the PBGC doing taking over a plan for partners-only, one of which is reported to be over-funded? Is this agency, strapped for cash itself, looking to prey on these lawyers by appropriating the approximately $150 million in assets in the plans and having to pay out substantially less (based on PBGC calculations) in monthly installments at later dates?" (Burypensions Blog)

[Opinion] That Which is Unsustainable Will Go Away: Pensions
"Assuming the pension funds are managed conservatively, how much money would have to be set aside to fund a single pension/benefits payout of $120,000 a year and one of $60,000? The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds is less than 2%, about in line with the average dividend on stocks. That means that a conservatively managed portfolio of stocks and bonds now yields around 2%.... To fund 100 senior retirees and 200 less-senior retirees, the city pension fund would need $1.2 billion, roughly equal to 10 years of the city's entire general-fund annual budget. To fund 600 retirees, the fund would need $2.4 billion." (Business Insider)

[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Notice of Meeting of Advisory Group for the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (PDF)
The Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. [in Washington]. An ACT subgroup will provide analysis and recommendations regarding the scope of the employee plans examination process. (Internal Revenue Service)

California State Workers Might Face Shorter Work Weeks and Less Pay But No Adverse Effect on Pensions
"Under [Governor] Brown's plan, state workers would switch to a four-day workweek, working 9.5 hours a day, or 38 hours a week, instead of the current five-day, 40-hour workweek. The change would cut workers' pay by 5 percent, saving the state $401 million in general fund costs.... Brown's plan wouldn't affect California employees' pension calculations." (The Sacramento Bee)

Retirement Readiness Crisis Spurs Interest in Government-Managed Pension Plans for Participating Private Employers
"About half of Americans working in the private sector have little retirement savings, and no pension plan on which to depend. For them, the so-called three-legged retirement stool -- pension plan, personal savings, government pension income -- has collapsed, with state income the only leg remaining. This is the reality that lies behind talk of a pension crisis.... It�s all leading to a crisis built from senior poverty, people working longer, increased demand on government programs � or a combination of all these factors." (Pension Pulse)

[Opinion] Text of Letter to Congress by American Benefits Council and Others, Urging DB Funding Interest Rate Stabilization (PDF)
"The undersigned organizations, which represent thousands of pension plans providing retirement benefits to millions of workers and retirees, urge immediate Congressional action to stabilize funding interest rate rules for private-sector pension plans. Without legislation to adjust for current economic conditions, the current plan funding regime will undermine job retention and growth and limit companies' ability to invest in capital improvements needed to be competitive worldwide and to maintain the economic recovery here at home. Moreover, failure to address on-going funding issues will threaten the long-term retirement security of workers and retirees." (American Benefits Council)

GAO Testimony on Unemployed Older Workers Facing Long-Term Joblessness and Reduced Retirement Security
Testimony by Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, May 15, 2012. "This testimony discusses the status of unemployed older workers. The most recent recession, which began in 2007 and ended in 2009, was the worst since the Great Depression, and has been characterized by historically high levels of long-term unemployment. While it is crucial that the nation help people of all ages return to work, long-term unemployment has particularly serious implications for older workers (age 55 and over). Job loss for older workers threatens not only their immediate financial security, but also their ability to support themselves during retirement." (Government Accountability Office)

Many Experience Challenges Regaining Employment and Face Reduced Retirement Security
"The number of workers age 55 and over experiencing long-term unemployment has grown substantially since the recession began in 2007. This raises concerns about how long-term unemployment will affect older workers' reemployment prospects and future retirement income.... GAO examined (1) how older workers' employment status has changed since the recession, (2) what risks unemployed older workers face and what challenges they experience in finding reemployment, (3) how long-term unemployment could affect older workers' retirement income, and (4) what other policies might help them return to work and what steps the Department of Labor has taken to help unemployed older workers." (Government Accountability Office)

New York City and State Pension Fund Chiefs Sing Praises of DB Plans and Offer Reforms
"[The chief of the New York City funds], backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, advocates an independent investment board composed of representatives of the mayor, comptroller and unions that would set pension strategy and hire managers for all five city pension funds. Additionally, the proposal calls for an independent Bureau of Asset Management headed by a chief investment officer who only answers to the investment board and not directly to any elected official. [T]he combined board and CIO proposal would lower costs of the five pension funds by $30 billion over 30 years without reducing benefits." (Pensions & Investments; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Roth IRA Was Not Eligible Shareholder of S Corporation
"An individual incorporated his business and elected subchapter S status. The corporation's sole shareholder in 2003 was a custodial Roth IRA for the benefit of the individual. The IRS issued a notice of deficiency, determining that the corporation was taxable as a C corporation for 2003.... [The] Tax Court sided with the IRS, finding that the Roth IRA did not qualify as an eligible shareholder of the S corporation." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

ERISA Advisory Council to Examine Disability Coverage, Retirement Income and Beneficiary Designations (PDF)
"[The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Advisory Council) [meeting] will be held on June 12-14, 2012 [in] Washington, DC].... The Advisory Council will study the following issues: (1) Managing Disability Risks in an Environment of Individual Responsibility; (2) Current Issues Regarding Income Replacement During Retirement Years; and (3) Current Challenges and Best Practices Concerning Beneficiary Designations in Retirement and Life Insurance Plans." (Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Federal Government Rolling Out Roth Option to 3.3 Million Employees This Week
"The sign-up rate for workplace Roth accounts in the federal government's huge Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) could be higher than in the private sector because of a twist on the Roth benefit that will be available to military personnel stationed in combat zones. Military personnel are granted a 'combat zone tax exclusion' for any month served in a combat zone, meaning their pay for that month is excluded from gross income subject to income tax.... While the TSP is ready to receive Roth contributions as of this week, availability to federal workers depends on rollouts by more than 100 government payroll offices." (Reuters)

A False Objection When Public Employers Consider a Switch from DB Plan to DC Plan: 'GASB Won't Let Me' (PDF)
"Defined Contribution, Cash Balance and Hybrid plans are all proposals that tie benefits more closely to contributions.... In the legislative arena, such proposals face a set of objections commonly called Transition Costs -- claims that structural reforms will raise employer costs in the short run, even if they lower them in the long run. Advocates for traditional pensions argue that it would be especially unwise to incur these Transition Costs in times of fiscal duress, and legislatures, with short time horizons and balanced budget requirements, are deterred by these claims from undertaking structural reform. This paper examines the most common of these claims, that structural pension reform requires an acceleration of payments to amortize the old plan's unfunded liability." (Laura and John Arnold Foundation)

Can Part-Time Retirement Save the U.S. Postal Service?
"[P]olicymakers are closely watching recent proposals that would institute work-retirement hybrid programs for all federal workers. Both the House and Senate have approved proposals to help ease eligible employees into retirement slowly -- allowing agencies such as [the U.S. Postal Service] to delay hiring and training new employees. While the House bill would amend U.S. code to allow [federal employees] to continue working part time while partially retired, a lesser-known but similar setup already is available under an Office of Personnel Management regulation." (Government Executive)

[Opinion] 401(k)s Are Too Risky for Retirement
"Retirement experts find that [401(k)-style defined contribution] plans have numerous shortcomings, including high operation costs and low investment returns. The biggest problem with defined contribution plans is that alone they do not provide retirees with guaranteed retirement income. If employees don't make the right large contributions into the right investment mix at the right time, they are at high risk for poverty during retirement." (CNN)

[Opinion] Time to Control Runaway Military Personnel Costs
"[W]hile the military's retirement program serves only a small minority of the force, it provides an exceedingly generous benefit, often providing 40 years of pension payments in return for 20 years of service. As a result, the program now costs taxpayers more than $100 billion per year, an exceedingly steep price tag for a program hampered by serious flaws. This number is projected to double by 2034." (Tuscon Sentinel)

Investment Advisers Often Tell Customers What They Want to Hear, Tout Higher-Fee Products, Finance Professors Conclude
Professor Mullainathan (Harvard) is the Assistant Director for Research at the Treasury Department's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Excerpt: "Do financial advisers undo or reinforce the behavioral biases and misconceptions of their clients? [This study uses] an audit methodology where trained auditors meet with financial advisers and present different types of portfolios. These portfolios reflect either biases that are in line with the financial interests of the advisers (e.g., returns-chasing portfolio) or run counter to their interests (e.g., a portfolio with company stock or very low-fee index funds). [The authors] document that advisers fail to de-bias their clients and often reinforce biases that are in their interests. Advisers encourage returns-chasing behavior and push for actively managed funds that have higher fees, even if the client starts with a well-diversified, low-fee portfolio." (Sendhil Mullainathan, Markus Noeth and Antoinette Schoar via National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full text)

Reinhart Employee Benefits Update, April 2012 (PDF)
Articles include: Clarification on Reasonable Interest Rate for Participant Loans; Final Interim Rule on Health Insurance Exchanges; Adoption of Preapproved Defined Benefit Plans; and Departments Issue New FAQs on SBC Requirements. (Reinhart)

Governmental Pension Plans: Can Peter's Sponsor Borrow From Peter To Pay Peter?
"Whose skin is in the game when pension plans make loans to plan sponsors to pay pension contributions, and is the answer different if the plan sponsor is a government body? Those questions come to mind on learning that last year the highest elected officials in New York State authorized financially distressed local governments in the state to use a problematic borrowing scheme to defer a portion of their pension liabilities, by, in effect, borrowing from the state pension system to satisfy significant percentages of contributions owed to the pension trust for the retirement benefits of their respective employees." (By Alvin D. Lurie, Esq. on BenefitsLink.com)

California Counties Deciding to Stop 'Picking Up' Employee Pension Contributions
"Yolo County along with many other local governments in California began, more than a decade ago, the practice of paying employees' share of pension contributions to CalPERS. The theory was that by taking on those contributions, which are a percentage of employees' salaries, cities and counties could help hold the line on future salary inflation. That backfired after 2008-09, when CalPERS suffered a 24 percent investment loss and began boosting required pension contributions." (The Modesto Bee)

How Is Economic Hardship Avoided by Those Retiring before the Social Security Entitlement Age?
"[Four] out of five people who have zero earnings at pre-entitlement ages are able to find a way to lift their incomes over the poverty line. For men, pension and annuity income is important while for women, spousal income helps most to get them over the line. Reaching the early retirement entitlement age at 62 also has a significant impact on poverty avoidance." (The National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full text)

Virginia Governor Wants Mandatory Employee Contribution Requirement for Legislators' Pensions
"'Similar to requirements passed in 2011 for state employees, this amendment would require elected officials to contribute 5 percent of their income toward their Virginia Retirement System pensions, offset by a 5 percent increase in compensation when constitutionally permitted[.]'" (goDanRiver.com)

Road Trip: Traversing the Country in a Yellow VW Bus to Advocate 401(k) Reform
"On April 16, [Chad Parks, CEO and founder of The Online 401(k),] and his team set out for six weeks in an orange 1970s VW bus, on a mission to shoot a documentary about Americans' soured retirement dreams and 401(k) miscues, [to be entitled] 'Broken Eggs: The Looming Retirement Crisis in America.' They'll also be hunting for solutions to the crisis -- ideas for how we can successfully navigate our way to a comfortable retirement." (Daily Finance)

Kansas Senate Endorses New Cash Balance Plan for State Employees
"[The proposal] would create a 'cash balance' system in which employees pitch in 6 percent and the state adds 4 percent. The state would guarantee employees' investments earn 6 percent. Employees would be vested after five years." (Chicago Tribune)

[Opinion] Text of Comments by Eight Women's Organizations and the Pension Rights Center on Proposed IRS Regs for Lifetime Retirement Income Options (PDF)
"The joint comments addressed the groups' concerns about protecting women, who generally live longer than men, who tend to accumulate less retirement income during their working years, who can be more dependent on a spouse's pension, and who face gender bias in the annuities market." (Pension Rights Center)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Notice Suggests Changes to Normal Retirement Age Rules for Governmental Plans (PDF)
"The Notice ... leaves open several questions related to normal retirement age for governmental plans, including: Should an additional rule be provided under which retirement after 20 or 30 years of service may be a reasonably representative normal retirement age for qualified public safety employees and would this also be reasonable for other categories of governmental employees? What information is available to assist the IRS and Treasury in determining the earliest age that is reasonably representative of the typical retirement age for governmental employees?" (Gabriel Roeder)

Louisiana Legislators Decide Switch from DB to 401(k) for State Employees Might Be More Expensive Overall
"The [Louisiana House of Representatives] dealt a significant setback to a plan to enroll new state employees in a 401(k)-style plan [recently,] with members requiring that those placed in the new system also be put into Social Security. House Bill 61 would replace the pensions for most new employees with one based mainly on market returns as has been pitched as a way of keeping retirement costs in check for state government. But requiring that state employees, who are not now part of the Social Security system, enroll in the program could more than double the costs the state pays for each employee." (nola.com)

Retirement Issues Particular to Women: Patterns of Saving, Spending and Effectiveness of Incentives (PDF)
"This paper explores how women save and invest for retirement, what motivates them and how they feel about their own situations, where they look for information and how they save and spend. These insights can help employers, financial professionals, and financial providers offer solutions that might help address the risk women currently face in being prepared to care for themselves in retirement." (ING Retirement Research Institute)

Would Raising Social Security Covered Compensation Cap Be Harmful or Helpful to System in the Long Run? (PDF)
"Analysts have proposed raising the maximum level of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax ... to improve long-term Social Security Trust Fund solvency. This article investigates how raising the tax max leads to the 'leakage' of portions of the additional revenue into higher benefit payments." (Social Security Administration)

Raising Household Saving: Does Financial Education Work? (PDF)
"This article highlights the prevalence and economic outcomes of financial illiteracy among American households, and reviews previous research that examines how improving financial literacy affects household saving. Analysis of the research literature suggests that previous financial literacy efforts have yielded mixed results. Evidence suggests that interventions provided for employees in the workplace have helped increase household saving, but estimates of the magnitude of the impact vary widely. For financial education initiatives targeted to other groups, the evidence is much more ambiguous, suggesting a need for more econometrically rigorous evaluations." (Social Security Administration)

How Social Trends in Marriage Duration Affect Women's Eligibility for Social Security Wife and Widow Benefits (PDF)
"[A]nalysis reveals substantial changes in women's marital patterns among baby boomers and generation Xers [from 1990 through 2009]. Those changes have prompted a decline in qualifying marital histories for Social Security spouse and widow benefits. The findings also reveal substantial variation by race/ethnicity." (Social Security Administration)

The Sensitivity of Proposed Social Security Benefit Formula Changes to Lifetime Earnings Definitions (PDF)
"Several Social Security proposals have included benefit formula changes that apply to earners above a specified percentage of the combined male and female (unisex) lifetime earnings distribution. The unisex distribution is an average of two disparate groups with large lifetime differences in labor market participation. This study finds that if Social Security's median unisex average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) amount is used to define an earnings threshold below which benefits will be held roughly unreduced, the percentage of fully insured men subject to benefit reductions (70 percent) exceeds the unisex estimate of the population subject to benefit reductions (50 percent) by 20 percentage points. If policymakers wish to adjust future benefits and focus benefit reductions on middle or high primary or full-time wage earners in a household, the male, rather than unisex, AIME would come closer to achieving such a goal." (Social Security Administration)

Large Connecticut Public Employee Union Rallying Support for State-Run Retirement Plan for Private Companies
"One of Connecticut's largest public employee unions is trying to rally support in the waning days of the General Assembly session for a study of whether state government should offer a retirement plan to private citizens. But one of the key lawmakers behind the proposal conceded late last week that the chances of passage this year are poor with the legislature scheduled to adjourn in less than two weeks." (CT Mirror)

New Jersey Politicians Grandfather Own Benefits But Limit Those of New Workers
"[Figures obtained as part of a Star-Ledger analysis of sick and vacation time records for lawmakers and other public employees across the state] show that politicians can reap generous rewards from the same system they are charged with policing. The payouts also take sizable chunks out of local budgets that are already under duress." (nj.com)

Pensions for Elected State Officials: Target for Reform?
"It's the latest quirk in the hodge-podge of laws and practices, drawing the attention of a [California] legislative committee, that gives some elected officials pensions, prohibits pensions for other elected officials and allows some to choose no pension. Elected official pensions are 'under consideration' and 'may be included' in the proposal made by a two-house legislative committee on pension reform[.]" (Calpensions)

[Opinion] Illinois Pension Reform Plan: Taxpayer Costs Must Be Fixed, Not Unlimited
"The discussions going on in Springfield regarding pension reform still have not addressed the key concern: taxpayers must have a reasonable, fixed annual cost going forward. They cannot be on the hook for everything that can and will go wrong between now and 2062. Any increased pension costs beyond the agreed, affordable fixed taxpayer portion must either be paid for by other employees or result in automatic pension decreases." (Champion News)

Would Tax Increases at the Top Affect Savings and Investment?
"Capital gains tax increases do reduce after-tax returns to saving, and this may cause some taxpayers to save and invest less. But, other people may save and invest more in order to reach a certain savings goal, balancing out those who scale back. On the whole, the Congressional Research Service ... concludes that capital gains tax rate increases appear to have 'little or no effect' on private saving." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

[Guidance Overview] 2011 Tax Year FATCA Reporting by U.S. Persons of Participation in Foreign Retirement Plans and Deferred Compensation (PDF)
"[One] major part of FATCA requires reporting of foreign accounts by individual US persons, generally beginning with the 2011 tax year. Such reporting involves a requirement to file new IRS Form 8938, which accompanies the individual's US tax return, usually one of the 1040 series, and which is due at the same time.... For purposes of the Form 8938, non-US. pensions and deferred compensation, whether funded or not, and including equity-based compensation and stock options, may be treated as a foreign account subject to reporting." (Groom Law Group)

Freeing Boomers from Social Security Cuts Blows Up Math
"Retiring Baby Boomers are swelling the program�s rolls, with 10,000 turning 65 every day ... By 2035, there will be only two workers paying taxes to finance benefits for every retiree. While lawmakers have no solution, they generally agree they can�t make significant cuts for those in or near retirement. The longer Congress waits to act, the more people will be shielded -- and the more heavily cuts will fall on younger Americans. The result could be a two-tiered system raising questions about generational fairness[.]" (Bloomberg)

[Opinion] Text of Pension Rights Center Policy Director's Speech at 2012 Latino Retirement Security Summit
Speech by Karen Friedman. "[P]eople need to have a secure retirement and, sadly, technology can't fix that issue -- only having adequate income can.... Half of the nation's private-sector workers have neither a pension or savings to supplement Social Security and, as [the] study for National Council on La Raza shows, the situation is even more acute among the Latino population." (Pension Rights Center)

Funding Stabilization for Pension Plans on the Horizon (PDF)
See pages 11-12. "During deficit reduction committee talks occurring in late 2011, plan sponsors and trade associations hoped the committee would consider proposals to stabilize funding rules for single-employer plans. A proposal put forth included interest rate relief and amortization relief[.]" (The Actuarial Digest)

Public Pensions Won't Work Until Hard Structural Impediments Are Solved
"If reform is to succeed, it must tackle head-on the following structural factors that caused pension costs to explode in states across the nation: ... Pension payouts based on final year pay. ... Collective bargaining and binding arbitration. ... Politicized pension fund boards. ...[and] Faulty accounting standards." (The American)

Senate Votes Down Forced Retirement for Postal Service Employees
"A measure that would have required eligible postal service employees to retire without buyout incentives failed in the Senate.... The amendment ... would have reduced the cash-strapped agency's expenses by reducing its large percentage of retirement-eligible workers. It failed in a 33-65 vote." (Government Executive)

Putting Social Security's 2012 Financial Outlook in Perspective (PDF)
"The Social Security actuaries project the system's financial outlook over the next 75 years under three assumptions - high cost, low cost, and intermediate. This brief focuses on the intermediate assumptions.... The 2012 Trustees Report confirms what has been evident for two decades - namely, Social Security is facing a long-term financing shortfall which now equals 2.67 percent of taxable payroll or 0.9 percent of GDP." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Florida Governor Signs Measure to Reduce State's 401(k) Contributions
"[The bill will] lower contribution rates for optional retirement programs at colleges and universities.... This will save the state and local governments an estimated total of more than $175 million in the upcoming year[.] The measure will bring the investment plan's costs to state and local governments more in line with those of the defined benefit ... plan." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

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