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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: retirement benefits

retirement benefits stories: 15 news summaries

Social Security Faces Grim Forecast for 2010, 2011

Payouts will exceed tax receipts for first time since 1980s

Sep 27, 09 4:40 PM CDT
(AP) - Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next 2 years, the first time that's happened since the 1980s. The deficits—$10 billion in 2010 and $9 billion in... More »

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taxes • retirement • disability • deficit • unemployment • baby boom • Social Security • budget deficit • retirement benefits

Obama Offers New Options for Retirement Savings

Americans can have tax refunds sent as savings bonds

Sep 5, 09 7:07 AM CDT
(AP) - President Obama used his radio address today to roll out several initiatives aimed at making it easier for Americans to save for retirement. One move will allow people to have their federal tax refunds sent as savings bonds by checking a box on their tax return; another has workers automatically... More »

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Barack Obama • retirement • savings • tax refunds • retirement benefits • 401(k) plans • radio address

(Newser) - Low inflation could force the IRS to decrease the amount workers can contribute to their 401(k) plans to $16,000, USA Today reports. It would mark the first time the government has ever lowered contribution limits. Though a spokesperson says it’s too early for speculation, the IRS may not... More »

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IRS • pensions • retirement • Social Security • Internal Revenue Service • contributions • 401k • retirement benefits • 401(k) plans

(Newser) - Things are tough all over. Retirees from Molson brewing in Canada are up in arms after learning that their lifetime supply of free beer is running out, the Toronto Star reports. The company told pensioners it will gradually cut their allotment from the current 72 dozen bottles per year to... More »

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Canada • beer • retirement benefits • Molson

(Newser) - Social Security and Medicare are headed toward disaster, and that’s a good thing, Robert J. Samuelson writes in Newsweek. The programs are expected to run out of money by 2017 and 2037, respectively, and when they do, politicians will have to make painful, necessary reforms. “The counterintuitive lesson:... More »

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health care • bankruptcy • Medicare • retirement • aging • Social Security • retirement benefits • politicians

Early Retirees Face Shaky Financial Future

Bucking poll, older workers ditch work
in tough economy

May 24, 09 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - A growing number of older US  workers are bucking expectations and retiring early, risking financial hardship in their senior years, the Los Angeles Times reports. Instead of staving off retirement to rebuild diminished nest eggs, many older Americans, frustrated by the job market, are simply calling it quits. Add aging... More »

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baby boomer • retirement • recession • Social Security • retirement benefits

Auto Workers Fear
Deep Cuts in Pensions

If Chrysler, GM go to bankruptcy court, 1 million workers likely to take pension cuts

Apr 24, 09 8:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - As Chrysler and possibly GM head toward bankruptcy court, nearly a million retired workers fear deep cuts to their pensions and health plans, reports the Washington Post. Though the Obama administration is hoping to mitigate cuts, the plans are underfunded by billions of dollars. “I feel betrayed,” says... More »

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Chrysler • pensions • bankruptcy • General Motors • retirement benefits

'Sneaky' Loophole Boosts Execs' Pensions

Through lump-sum payments, executives net millions extra

Jan 23, 09 11:55 AM CST
(Newser) - A change in federal disclosure requirements has revealed that some companies are inflating the value of retirement plans for—guess who?—top executives. By converting pensions, which generally pay out in installments over a retired employee’s lifetime, to a lump-sum payment, CEOs can increase the value by 10% to... More »

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taxes • executive compensation • pensions • retirement benefits • 401(k) plans • Hartford Insurance

OPINION

Don't Take the 'Gold' Out of Americans' Golden Years

And why is retirement reform taboo?

Dec 4, 08 3:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Snow White’s dwarf pals are so happy to go to work that they sing about it, “and they’re 71 years old,” writes Irwin Stelzer of the Weekly Standard. “So why do so many of us less vertically disadvantaged worry about” extending the retirement age?... More »

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entitlement programs • age • retirement • Social Security • senior citizens • retirement benefits

Crisis Drains $2T From Retirement Savings

Tumbling values may mean more workers have to stay on jobs longer, retire later

Oct 8, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - The financial crisis has drained $2 trillion from Americans' retirement savings over the  past 15 months, reports the Washington Post, a 20% drop in the value of pensions and 401(k) plans that may force many to retire later and could spread to the general economy as workers tighten belts further.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stock market • workers • 401k • pension funds • retirement benefits • financial crisis

 Retirees Hit Hard by Markets 

Their money is in riskier investments these days

Sep 23, 08 10:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Among those hardest hit by the financial crisis are retirees, and they have less chance to recover than their younger counterparts, the New York Times reports. As companies have abandoned fixed pensions for 410(k)s, retirees can lose large percentages of their wealth in a short period. And low-risk investments, like... More »

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pensions • retirement • retirees • financial markets • subprime crisis • retirement benefits • financial crisis

(Newser) - As the stock prices of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunged 80% this year, employees of the companies helplessly watched their fortunes sink with the ship, the New York Times reports. For instance, Fannie Mae’s workers owned $116 million in company stock at the end of 2006;... More »

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Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • credit crisis • stock price • subprime crisis • stockholders • retirement benefits • financial crisis

 Firms Gamble Pensions
 to Fund Exec Perks

Rank-and-file benefits may be at risk as companies use tax loophole

Aug 4, 08 9:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Companies from CenturyTel to Intel are funneling pension benefits to retired executives at the expense of workers, using a practice that potentially violates tax rules and puts pension plans at risk, reports the Wall Street Journal. Hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term benefits pegged for executives are draining plans... More »

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IRS • executive compensation • pensions • Intel • Internal Revenue Service • retirement benefits

Employers Use Law to Withhold Benefits

Think you're covered? Not if your company decides you're not

Jul 5, 08 6:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thomas Amschwand was dying, but made sure his wife would collect on his $426,000 life insurance policy. Yet when he died, his boss withheld the money, and his wife was powerless—because a federal law stops workers from suing employers for large sums of health, life, or retirement benefits.... More »

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health insurance • lawsuit • benefits • US Supreme Court • life insurance • retirement benefits • Employee Retirement Income Security Act

 Bill's Bills Cost US
a Record $8M 

Clinton costs twice as much as Carter

Apr 11, 08 4:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bill Clinton is costing taxpayers significantly more in publicly funded perks than the two other surviving former presidents, reports Politico. From 2001 through the end of this year, $8 million will be spent on Bill Clinton, compared with $5.5 million for George H. W. Bush and $4 million for... More »

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Jimmy Carter • Secret Service • Bill Clinton • Ronald Reagan • George HW Bush • Government Accountability Office • taxpayer money • Harry Truman • taxpayers • former presidents • retirement benefits • National Taxpayers Union • Congressional Research Service • Former Presidents Act

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