The Defined Benefit

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  • National Retirement Planning Week

    This week is National Retirement Planning Week.  During this week, the financial services industry encourages Americans to focus on setting aside what they’ll ultimately need for a secure retirement.  Unfortunately, many Americans will only be able to save for retirement…

  • Cesar Chavez: Pension Pioneer

    Today we commemorate the life and achievements of Cesar Chavez – one of our country’s preeminent social justice champions. Born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez spent his life fighting for better treatment, fair pay and improved working…

  • Pensions are Still Important for Oklahoma Teachers

    For school districts, fire departments, and other government entities across the nation, public pensions are an important tool for recruiting and retaining high-quality public employees. In Oklahoma, defined benefit pensions for teachers are especially valuable given the ongoing teacher shortage…

  • Are Working Families Prepared for Retirement?
    retirement age public pensions

    It’s no secret that there is a retirement savings crisis in the United States. Financial planners frequently warn that Americans are not saving enough for retirement. Stagnating wages and the gradual disappearance of pensions in the private sector make it…

  • Attention South Carolina: Closing a Pension is Never a Good Idea

    If you’re a devoted reader of Defined Benefit, then you know there is one way to ensure a pension plan is well-funded: employees and employers alike must make contributions to the plan annually – and in full. State employees like…

  • Secure Choice Retirement Plans: What You Need to Know

    Roughly half of private sector workers do not have access to a retirement plan through their employer. For most of these workers, that means they will have little to retire on, except for Social Security. A half-dozen states have taken…

  • Defined Benefit Pensions and Racial Equity in Retirement

    A report released today finds that three-fourths of Americans- both Democrats and Republicans- are concerned about their ability to retire securely. Unfortunately, this lack of retirement preparedness affects some communities more profoundly than others. Black households earn significantly less income…

  • Three States That Abandoned Their Pensions – And Suffered The Consequences

    What happens when a state abandons its defined benefit pension for a riskier, 401(K)-style plan? Taxpayers lose – According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, “for a given level of retirement income, a typical 401(k) plan costs 91% more…

  • How Much is a Presidential Pension?

    Just like most legislators, former presidents receive a lifetime pension for their service. How much is that pension and what other perks do former presidents enjoy? Read on to find out! Pensions for former presidents were established by the Former…

  • President Trump and Your Retirement: What We Know So Far
    Trump federal pensions

    Donald Trump has been president for a few weeks now. During the campaign, we speculated on what his presidency might mean for your retirement. Now that he is actually in office, we are beginning to see the signs of his…

  • Moving Maryland workers into a 401(k) plan would harm retirement security

    Maryland Governor Larry Hogan recently proposed creating a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan for state employees. Future state employees would have the option of participating in this plan instead of the traditional defined benefit pension plan. Current state employees would not…

  • What would Andrew Puzder mean for workers’ retirement?

    President Donald Trump has nominated Andrew Puzder to be Secretary of Labor. Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which is the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Puzder’s confirmation hearing in the Senate has been delayed four times…