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Can Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund Be Saved?

"The pension system ... is hurtling toward insolvency by 2030. The fund has $3.27 billion in unfunded liabilities and less than $2.7 billion in assets -- a funding ratio of 45 percent.... [T]he Deferred Retirement Option Program [DROP] ... gave recipients an 8 percent to 10 percent annual return even while the system earned significantly less.... That makes up $1 billion of the fund's money.... The plan will trim cost-of-living increases, base payments on a five-year highest-salary average rather than three years, and raise all members' contributions to 9 percent."

FBI Raids TPA's Office Amid Allegations of Missing Retirement Funds

"The FBI has raided the offices of a downtown Dallas financial business amid concerns that money may be missing from retirement accounts the company manages. The company, Vantage Benefits Administrators, declined to comment, according to its in-house lawyer, Laura Mercer. The company's website is down, and employees reached by The Dallas Morning News said they could not comment. Vantage specializes in managing retirement plans such as 401(k)s for other companies."

Grandfathering Means Many Employer Plans Won't Change

Excerpt: The landmark health care law approved this week was sold as an effort to reform unfair insurance practices, but it largely exempts the existing employer-based network from the overhaul. The law grandfathers many existing employer-sponsored plans, sparing them from the consumer protections that will apply to new plans, including minimum-benefit standards and limits on how much a worker can pay in out-of-pocket medical costs.

Retiree's Pension Decision: Lump Sum or Annuity?

Excerpt: Taking the lump sum will give you considerably more flexibility and control over the timing and amount of distributions than the annuity. This could be a big factor in your decision if you need more income over the next 10 years prior to receiving social security. I would be in favor of the lump sum here. If you take the annuity, you will be counting on your company's (or potentially a company that acquires your company in the future) ability to make those payments to you for the rest of your life and your spouse's life. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp may or may not insure all of your benefits if your company can't meet its obligations.

American Airlines Asks for Further Deferral of Pension Contributions

"Five years ahead of its own bankruptcy in 2011, [American Airlines] ... had not yet frozen its workers' pension benefits. As a result, it was allowed to defer some of its contributions to its pensions ... The law allowed American's accountants to assume a faster rate of growth for assets in its pension funds, a move that meant it was required to set aside even less cash each year to be in good standing with its pension obligations.... Now the airline is seeking to amend the deal it struck in 2006 to extend that deadline by an additional seven years.... It wants Congress to make the change while allowing it to still use the more aggressive rate-of-growth assumptions that have helped reduce what it must contribute to the funds each year."

Vast Data Warehouse Raises Health Overhaul Privacy Concerns

"The health care system, known as MIDAS, is described on a federal website as the 'perpetual central repository' for information that the [ACA] authorizes federal agencies to collect. 'Data in MIDAS is maintained indefinitely at this time,' says another document, a government privacy assessment dated Jan. 15. It lists the kinds of information stored, including names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, passport numbers, employment status and financial accounts."

Obamacare Insurance Application Complexity Rivals Tax Return Forms

"The government's draft application runs 15 pages for a three-person family. An outline of the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions. Seven months before the Oct. 1 start of enrollment season for millions of uninsured Americans, the idea that getting health insurance could be as easy as shopping online at Amazon or Travelocity is starting to look like wishful thinking."

Texas Insurance Commissioner Forbids Insurers' Provisions that Allowed Them to Interpret Policies

"Health, life and disability insurers will no longer have blanket authority to decide what their policies do and don't cover in Texas, under rules approved Monday ... The decision ... ends long-standing provisions in most health and disability plans-- called discretionary clauses-- that give insurers the right to interpret their policies and decide what benefits must be paid."

'Phased Retirement' and Its Paychecks Have Gained Popularity, But Watch for Drawbacks

Excerpt: [A] phased retirement is not for everyone, and there are financial factors to consider in deciding whether you can afford to do this. Obviously, the primary financial benefit of taking a phased retirement is that you continue to get a paycheck, which can lessen the need to draw on your retirement savings, allowing the money to grow further. On the other hand, when you reduce your work hours and salary, that could have a direct impact on your employee benefits.

J.C. Penney Cuts Its Pension Obligation with Lump Sums and Prudential Annuities

"J.C. Penney ... said it has cut its $5 billion pension obligation by more than 25 percent by making lump-sum offers to 12,000 retirees and by buying annuities for 43,000 retirees. No changes were made to pension plan benefits of active employees. Penney closed the plan to new hires in 2007.... Penney's pension plan will remain over-funded and the company doesn't expect to have to make cash contributions to it for the 'foreseeable future.' "