House Democrats had crafted their own proposed legislation to compete with the Senate's stimulus proposal. The House version included the Butch Lewis Act to help those Critical and Declining multiemployer pension plans that are on the verge of collapse. Regrettably,...

I read with great interest a P&I article from last Friday that mentioned a group of retirement industry trade groups (roughly 25*) had sent a letter to Congress seeking immediate action to help employers that sponsor retirement programs, participants, and...

Bond funds have seen unprecedented outflows. According to Refintiv Lipper data released yesterday, U.S. investment-grade bond funds saw $35.6 billion pulled in the week ending March 18th. To put that in context, the previous "record" was $7.3 billion that had...

We are pleased to share with you the latest research piece from Ron Ryan and Ryan ALM. We believe that all DB plans should actively de-risk at least enough of their portfolio in order to defease the next 10-years of...

As we all know, Corporate defined benefit pension plans have been off-loading their Retired Lives liabilities for years. One concern that I've had has to do with an insurance company default and the impact on pension liabilities that would no...

The demise of the defined benefit pension plan that began in earnest in the early to mid 1980s, has forced most workers into defined contribution type "retirement" programs. Anyone who has read a small sampling of our posts would know...

As we've consistently reported, the damage to DB pension systems of falling equities and declining US interest rates is an awful combination that is harming the funded ratios of these plans, which will ultimately impact contribution expenses. But, there is...

Ron Ryan and I have been trying to get plan sponsors and their consultants to de-risk pension systems for years. In Ron's case: decades! Our thoughts are often met with skepticism for a variety of reasons, but one of the...

I frequently get comments on the blogs that I produce. I love the feedback, even when I am being called a putz or worse! There is a gentleman who has engaged more often than most everyone else who yesterday commented...

On March 2nd, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill to reform state employee pensions (all, but teachers). The reforms adjust contributions from both employees and taxpayers, partially freeze COLAs for three years, and eliminates automatic COLAs after...