Senate HELP Committee Explores DB vs. DC ‘Retirement Crisis’ | 401k Specialist
At a recent hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, lawmakers and experts discussed the state of America’s retirement system. The conversation centered around differences between defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, with experts debating which type of plan better prepares American workers for retirement.
Medicare Drug Price Negotiations: Judge Rejects AstraZeneca Challenge | CNBC
A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit from a drug manufacturer trying to block Medicare from negotiating drug prices. AstraZeneca, which brought the lawsuit, makes one of the 10 drugs included in the first round of negotiations. Other lawsuits are still pending, and drugmakers have said they’ll take their fight to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
401(k), HSA Balances Rose in 2023 | SHRM
While recent headlines about Americans’ savings habits have been largely negative, a report from Bank of America found workers upped their contributions to retirement and health accounts last year. The research found that 401(k) balances were up 15% for the year, and health savings account (HSA) balances were up 11% compared to 2022. Researchers say higher worker contributions were the main reason for the increase.
Millions of Americans are Family Caregivers. A Nationwide Support Group Aims to Help Them | CBS News
Being a family caregiver can be difficult and demanding. Duet, an organization that organizes support groups for caregivers, has seen its services expand in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to take its operations virtual.
News You Should Know is a digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.
Defined benefitAlso known as a pension, this is a type of pooled retirement plan in which the plan promises to pay a lifetime benefit to the employee at retirement. The plan manages investments on behalf of members, and the retirement benefit is based on factors such as age at retirement, years of employment and salary history.Defined contributionA type of individual retirement plan in which an employee saves a portion of each paycheck (along with a potential employer match) and invests that money. The employee’s retirement benefit is based on their account balance at retirement. A 401(k) is a type of defined contribution plan.
CONGRESS SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT GPO & WEP
The reduction in Social Security due to receiving PERA is what Congress needs to address! Call your Congressional representatives and urge passage of H.R. 82, The Fairness in Social Security Act, to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)!
Please help by passing this bill ! HR 82 thank you!
The best way to secure passage is to focus on Republican members of Congress (they’re the holdouts, especially the ones in Colorado). If you have friends and family in other states with Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives or U.S. Senate, have those friends and family members contact their Republican federal delegation to urge passage of H.R. 82 (and remember to add the words, “repeal the GPO and WEP that reduces Social Security benefits!”). Let’s keep up the pressure on our elected representatives, who are suppose to work for us (if they work?).
-P.S.- Those who are also AARP members, might consider contacting AARP to ask what the heck they’re doing to get the WEP and GPO repealed?
COLA
We have a Democrat Governor, a majority of Democrats in the Colorado Senate and a super majority of Democrats in the Colorado House. If they care so much about the working people, it makes me wonder why they have not reinstated the 3.5% COLA. They don’t have the excuse of the Republican “Boogie Man” so it must be they simply don’t care about PERA workers who are retired.
That is my take. They just don’t care. They have moved on to other causes….you know, homeless, addicts, illegals….
You said what needed to be said and that is the truth. Yes
It’s difficult to argue Colorado’s Democrats care about taxpayers (and both parties seem to forget public servants are taxpayers!). But why are Republicans a minority party in Colorado? Perhaps the majority of the electorate sees through their generally meaningless and offensive positions, and thus leaves us with the DINOs. I urge all PERA members who are registered Democrats to swarm their caucuses and reform the Colorado Democratic Party to restore the 3.5% COLA. As for registered Republicans, good luck trying to get your party to help PERA retirees.
G M SANTO (handsoffmypera@hotmail.com)