Free Republic

In between the happiness of Christmas and the promise of the New Year, permit me to introduce a sour note, a hint of a scold. If you're like, well, almost everybody, you're not saving enough. 15% of each paycheck into the 401(k) is the bare minimum you can get away with, not some aspirational level you can maybe hope to hit someday when you don't have all these problems. I mean, obviously if one out of two workers in your household just lost their job, or has been stricken with some horrid cancer requiring all sorts of ancillary expenses, then...

Ted Benna, who three decades ago seized on an IRS loophole to transform American retirement savings, says he’s proud to be “father of the 401(k).” He also thinks he created a monster. ... “I would blow up the system and restart with something totally different,” he told SmartMoney.com. “Blowing up the existing structures is the only way we can simplify them.”

The story is about growing scandal in the banking industry centered around banks allegedly overcharging pension funds for currency transactions. The man who uncovered the alleged scam, Harry Markopolos, expects all 50 states to eventually join the suit. If the name sounds familiar that's because Markopolos was a whistleblower on the Madoff Ponzi scheme, only to have his claims ignored by the SEC for the better par of a decade.

If you didn’t know anything about the stock market before October 4, you’d think the US had the strongest economy ever.  The Dow rallied more than 1,220 points since then - a gain of 12%! Naturally, the uninformed investor may think it’s time to jump into this bull market. However, thousands of investors are waking up to the reality of Wall Street - that it’s become more of a Vegas gamble than an investment based on fundamentals. Nothing is backing this latest rally, except for a few headlines swaying public sentiment. When the media announces that Europe has found a...

s your 401(k) safe from the tax man? That's a question that might be worth asking, as the congressional "supercommittee" scrambles to find $1.5 trillion in additional deficit cuts. In September, the Senate Finance Committee held a little-noticed hearing that explored changes to retirement plans — principally employer-sponsored 401(k)s — that would in one way or another cut their tax deductions. The tax breaks' size makes them a tempting target for lawmakers. According to the White House budget office, tax exemptions for 401(k)s and IRAs will "cost" the government more than $436 billion over the next five years. Senate Finance...

In the coming weeks, Americans could face sweeping changes to the tax deferral status and funding strategies of their retirement plans.

[snip] On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Finance committee will listen to proposals from a range of interests. On the table are such ideas as revamping the tax treatment of 401(k) plans to make the system more automatic, and possibly adding caps to make contributions less tax-favorable to higher-income workers. The hearing comes as the so-called retirement deficient Income, the gap between the pension and retirement plans Americans have today and what is necessary to maintain living standards, is at a high of $6.6 trillion, according to the Retirement Research Center. "Fewer than half of the working public currently have access...

I am 26 and recently graduated from school. For the past almost 2 years I have been running a 401k with the tiny percentage of money I can afford to put into it with the full expectation that Social Security won't be around when I'm eligible for it, regardless of the fact I've had to pay into it. I find it really scary how many people I know around my age that aren't saving at all. At first my work only offered a regular 401 so I put in slightly above the % for employer matching. Then they offerred a...

When President Obama provides his roadmap for saving the economy, he needs to explain why it is bad to privatize Social Security but good to privatize military retirement, changing it from a government pension plan to a 401(k) investment program. And if this really is the key to economic solvency in the retirement system, then why not privatize Social Security as well? When things aren't broken, don't fix them. The all-volunteer military system still attracts some of our finest young people even though we have been at war for ten years. If a change to 401(k)s is a good idea,...

A Pentagon task force is proposing the largest overhaul of the military retirement system in 50 years that will do away with a traditional pension system, opting instead for a 401(k)-style contribution program

When I was a kid, it was a big deal when the postman came around. He was an important man carrying important documents from far away lands that we could only dream about… and each time he pulled up there was a brief glimmer of anxiety, wondering what unexpected surprise he might be delivering that day. At the time, I remember postage stamps for first class mail costing about 20 cents. If you’re a bit older than me, you might remember them being much cheaper than that. In fact, prior to President Nixon taking the US dollar off the gold...

Those who believe our government is too honorable to raid private retirement accounts had better wake up! The seriously dangerous and wounded animal we know as government is fighting for its survival. It will do anything short of dying, reducing spending, or revealing itself as the Ponzi scheme it truly is. Your notions of integrity, law, and morality do not apply to this animal. The biggest, meanest man in town is trying to escape death and will use whatever means possible. Rightly or wrongly, he believes you are his antidote and he is going after whatever he can get. One...

Ireland Seizes $7 Billion From Its Pension Fund To Boost Employment Hugh O'Connell, thejournal.ie Jun. 12, 2011, 7:57 AM THE GOVERNMENT WILL use the last €5 billion in the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) to help create employment although it will need approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Europe before doing so. The Sunday Times reports today that the money will be used by the government to create as many as 80,000 jobs in Ireland. The paper cites government sources in reporting that the use of the money would be seen as more viable then the proposed sale...

About a year ago Zero Hedge posted an article titled: "Record Number Of Americans Using Retirement Funds As Source Of Immediate Cash" after a report by Fidelity uncovered that "plan participants with loans outstanding against their 401(k) accounts had reached 22 percent versus 20 percent a year earlier." It is now time to revisit this very important topic because if recent press reports are true, last year's record number has just increased by another 50%. "On "The Early Show" Thursday, financial journalist and Newsweek columnist Joanne Lipman said, "Right now we have 30 percent of people who have 401(k)s have...

June 9, 2011 10:49 AM New sign of tough economy: More 401(k) loans A significant increase in the number of people taking loans out on their 401(k) retirement plans is seen by analysts as fresh evidence of hard economic times. One-in-seven people took out such loans last year -- up by double digits from 2009, according to the consulting group AON Hewitt. Sheri Chaney Jones, of Columbus, Ohio, started a consulting business in October and borrowed from her 401(k) to help pay her bills. "It was extremely easy,' she told CBS News, adding that her financial planner told her "she...

Should Congress put limits or even completely do away with the tax incentives that make saving within a 401(k) or some other tax-advantaged retirement plan attractive in order to cut the deficit? The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation and the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Analysis conclude that these retirement planning programs will cost the federal government about $600 billion in lost revenue over the next five years. Here's what they suggest instead: Bipartisan Policy Center Debt Reduction Task Force -- Maintain existing accounts but cap tax-preferred contributions to the lower of $20,000 or 20 percent of income. National Commission...

Newsmax Watch Out! Feds Could Seize Your Private Retirement Savings Saturday, May 21, 2011 04:58 PM By: Greg Brown How long before Uncle Sam hits private pensions to balance the public budget? It’s quickly becoming a reasonable question to ask. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is ringing alarm bells across Washington, D.C., warning of a disastrous outcome if an agreement to raise the debt ceiling is not made soon. “A default would call into question, for the first time, the full faith and credit of the U.S. Pensions, Federal Government, Debt Ceiling, Retirementgovernment,” Geithner wrote in a letter Friday to Sen....

Broken Piggy Bank: 'Leaky' 401(k)s Worry CongressBy ALAN FARNHAM May 20, 2011 Americans in record numbers are raiding their 401(k)s, depleting their retirement savings to compensate for paychecks and mortgage equity lost to the recession. As employers and savings plan providers struggle to stem the outflow of money, two senators have introduced legislation that would make it both harder for employees to dip into company-sponsored retirement savings and easier to repay their borrowings. The SEAL Act (Savings Enhancement by Alleviating leakage in 401(k) Savings) introduced by Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., would reduce to three the number...

The Obama administration will begin to tap federal retiree programs to help fund operations after the government loses its ability Monday to borrow more money from the public, adding urgency to efforts in Washington to fashion a compromise over the debt. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has warned for months that the government would soon hit the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling — a legal limit on how much it can borrow. With the government poised to reach that limit Monday, Geithner is undertaking special measures in an effort to postpone the day when he will no longer have enough funds to...

The Obama administration will begin to tap federal retiree programs to help fund operations after the government loses its ability Monday to borrow more money from the public, adding urgency to efforts in Washington to fashion a compromise over the debt. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has warned for months that the government would soon hit the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling — a legal limit on how much it can borrow. With the government poised to reach that limit Monday, Geithner is undertaking special measures in an effort to postpone the day when he will no longer have enough funds...

~EXCERPT ~ The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today. Without the ability to sell debt due to soaring interest rates, and with severe spending rules in place due to its EU-IMF bailout, Ireland has few ways of spending to stimulate the economy. Today's jobs program includes specific tax increases, including the tax on pensions, aimed at keeping government jobs spending from adding to the national debt.The tax on private pensions will be 0.6%, and last for four years, according to the report.From the jobs...

My sufferings are growing through you , All that I AM growing anew , The blood , the stripes , the words you know , Persecution that just seems to grow and grow , My very essence speaking and flowing through you , Oh ! but as you suffer I become new , For it is heaven in you I desire to prolong , For as you suffer your flesh falls behind , And all your words now become mine , A beautiful tapestry sung just for me , Each stitch woven in perfect harmony , My kingdom then comes...

<p>Springfield, Ill. - The president of the state Senate says Illinois should consider taxing the retirement income of some senior citizens.</p> <p>Chicago Democrat John Cullerton said Monday that Illinois needs to overhaul its "outdated" tax system. As part of that process, the state could tax pensions or 401(k) plans for wealthier retirees.</p>

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today suggested the state should start taxing the retirement income of senior citizens who are able to afford it. The state does not currently tax pensions or retirement funds such as 401(k) plans, but Cullerton told a City Club of Chicago luncheon that should take place as part of an overall look at what he said was Illinois' "outdated" tax system. "It would just be a matter of fairness," said Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat.

Which executive order will allow the Feds to take our savings?

Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Hills, is preparing a package of pension reform bills she said must be addressed before taking up taxes. Among her reforms is legislation requiring all new state employees to enter 401(k)-style benefit plans. "We want reforms in place before there's any discussion about tax increases," said Walters, the GOP's nominee in the fall for state treasurer who was trounced by incumbent Bill Lockyer. "I do know there's not support at all to even put it on the ballot without significant pension reforms." Brown has proposed cutting $12.5 billion in expenditures and asking voters to extend for...

People’s retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don’t want to reduce spending or make privatizations. As most pension schemes in Europe are organised by the state, European ministers of finance have a facilitated access to the savings accumulated there, and it is only logical that they try to get a hold of this money for their own ends. In recent weeks I have noted five such attempts: Three situations concern private personal savings; two others refer to national funds. .The most striking example is Hungary, where last month the government made the citizens an offer...

The U.S. isn't the only place that's facing a major pension fund crisis. The Christian Science Monitor has this alarming report: People’s retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don’t want to reduce spending or make privatizations. As most pension schemes in Europe are organised by the state, European ministers of finance have a facilitated access to the savings accumulated there, and it is only logical that they try to get a hold of this money for their own ends. In recent weeks I have noted five such attempts: Three situations concern private personal savings; two...

Hello Freepers, I have been a lurker since the late 1990s. I think 1999 was the first year I started lurking here. I have enjoyed getting news on Free Republic for years and I have always thought the discussions about news articles were quite interesting. I have worked in various industries during my career. I worked as a computer programmer between 2002 and 2005. My second job out of college was called client services financial analyst. In 2007, I went back for my second master degree because I decided that it would be in my best interest to pursue accounting...

BOSTON — Odds are you're anything but average, but for a moment, let's pretend you are. And, if we pretend you're an average 60-year-old with a 401(k) plan, we may surmise that you don't have enough saved for retirement. According to a recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute, 401(k) participants in their 60s had an average account balance of $144,000 at the end of 2009. Workers in their 60s who have been participating in the same 401(k) plan for more than 30 years have on average $197,472 in their plan. Those numbers don't...

A generation ago, when Ronald Reagan was president, the accounting rule makers forced American companies to come clean on the cost of the pension plans they were promising to employees. That decision, perhaps more than any other, heralded the eventual demise of defined-benefit pensions for employees of American companies. Now something similar may be in store for public sector employees, thanks in part to the Republican victories in last month’s Congressional elections. Forcing companies to account in a reasonable manner for their pensions was a contentious issue at one time. Companies feared it would slash reported profits, and they preferred...

The news of Hungary effectively seizing private pension fund assets to pay for the debt obligations of the state last week should come as yet another reminder of the urgent need to get tax-sheltered retirement savings away from the clutches of the state before it's too late. Hungary is just the latest country to decide that it's citizens retirement savings are the property of the state. The last major country to use similar tactics was Argentina who confiscated about $3.2 billion of pension savings in 2001 before the country stopped servicing its debt and then nationalized the $24 billion industry...

-By Warner Todd Huston Connie Hair has an informative piece at Human Events about what Democrats are hoping to do in the next few weeks in this lame duck session by pushing another big union bailout. In October, Sen. Tom Harkin (D, Iowa) heard witnesses advancing the “Guaranteed Retirement Account” (GRA) idea authored by left-wing activist and purported “labor economist” Theresa Guilarducci. As an aside, Guilarducci being called an “economist” is an hilarious conceit. She is nothing of the kind but is merely a big labor activist disguising herself as an “economist.” Anyway, the Democrats would love to slip this...

Greetings, I was wondering if some of you more informed business types could suggest the best way to handle my 401K? I am due to retire in March, and I have received several opinions on what to do with the account. Is a IRA the best way to go, or is there something better. I need to be able to draw money out should the need arise. I thank you in advance for your input.

Will the government outlaw your 401(k) plan? It seems like an absurd possibility, yet earlier this month two Democratic senators, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., held a hearing on Capitol Hill exploring the possibility of doing exactly that. On Oct. 8, the two senators from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on "Retirement (In)security in America." Among the proposals discussed was "Guaranteed Retirement Accounts," or GRAs. The purpose of the GRA proposal is simple: To force Americans to stop putting their retirement savings money into private 401(k) accounts and send their...

Dear Carrie: I'm 60 and will probably retire between age 66 and 70. I currently have $375,000 in IRA/401(k) funds and I'm adding 8 percent of my income annually. My employer matches a portion. I still have a mortgage of over $165,000 at 4.75 percent. I'm wondering... should I stop my 401(k) contributions and apply that money in extra principal on my mortgage? If I do, I'd pay my house off in about 10 years, making life a lot easier when I retire. But I'd lose the tax advantages as well as the employer match. One idea is to contribute...

401(k) plans will have to disclose feesBy Margaret Collins Saturday, October 16, 2010; 8:55 PM Employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans will have to disclose fees that savers pay on investments and transactions by 2012, the Labor Department said. "Participants will be able to understand the dramatic effect fees play in the returns that they get," Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi said. The regulations, which will apply to the plans by Jan. 1, 2012, will require companies to provide investors information on administrative and investment fees charged to their accounts in their quarterly statements, the department said. Regulators and legislators have...

T'S OFFICIAL YOUR IRA's and 401K's ARE ABOUT TO BE CONFISCATED

Department of Labor says it will require companies providing 401(k) accounts to lay out all the fees and other charges in plain language beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The new regulations, announced by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, will affect about 483,000 retirement plans. She said the 72 million workers enrolled in 401(k) plans will now have the detailed information they need to do easy comparisons of the costs of their investment choices in their plan. Companies must begin to lay out the administrative expenses, including accounting and recordkeeping fees, and the charges that apply to the individual choices a worker...

Democrats in the Senate on Thursday held a recess hearing covering a taxpayer bailout of union pensions and a plan to seize private 401(k) plans to more "fairly" distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone. Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee heard from hand-picked witnesses advocating the infamous "Guaranteed Retirement Account" (GRA) authored by Theresa Guilarducci. In a nutshell, under the GRA system government would seize private 401(k) accounts, setting up an additional 5% mandatory payroll tax to dole out a "fair" pension to everyone using that confiscated money coupled with the mandated contributions. ***...

Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about this. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa is threatening 401(k) plans — insisting Democrats can use the lame duck, post-defeat session of Congress to ram through a measure that would seize your personal 401(k) plans and use them to prop up the union pension plans that are imploding.

For 16 years I've been telling you that if the Democrats gained enough power in Washington, they would attempt to seize the money you have in your 401K, IRA and private pension plans. Many of you poo-pooed me, calling me "over-the-top" or unable to back up my claims. Maybe you might be interested in knowing that just last Thursday, a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on retirement savings and security. WebGuy forwarded me lots of emails of people asking me to prove it. So here you go. You can watch the committee meeting right here...

In a nutshell, under the GRA system government would seize private 401(k) accounts, setting up an additional 5% mandatory payroll tax to dole out a "fair" pension to everyone using that confiscated money coupled with the mandated contributions. This would, of course, be a sister government ponzi scheme working in tandem with Social Security, the primary purpose being to give big government politicians additional taxpayer funds to raid to pay for their out-of-control spending.

Democrats in the Senate on Thursday held a recess hearing covering a taxpayer bailout of union pensions and a plan to seize private 401(k) plans to more "fairly" distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone.

Democrats in the Senate on Thursday held a recess hearing covering a taxpayer bailout of union pensions and a plan to seize private 401(k) plans to more "fairly" distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee heard from hand-picked witnesses advocating the infamous "Guaranteed Retirement Account" (GRA) authored by Theresa Guilarducci. In a nutshell, under the GRA system government would seize private 401(k) accounts, setting up an additional 5% mandatory payroll tax to dole out a "fair" pension to everyone using that confiscated money coupled with the mandated contributions....

Democrats in the Senate on Thursday held a recess hearing covering a taxpayer bailout of union pensions and a plan to seize private 401(k) plans to more "fairly" distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee heard from hand-picked witnesses advocating the infamous "Guaranteed Retirement Account" (GRA) authored by Theresa Guilarducci. (You can find the blistering interview with Guilarducci by radio talk show host Mark Levin in 2007 at the link). In a nutshell, under the GRA system government would seize private 401(k) accounts, setting up an additional 5%...

I am Live Tweeting America's Fiscal Choices conference at the Newseum in Washington, DC 2 minutes ago via TweetDeck # Teresa Ghilarducci wants a new "mandatory" government retirement plan to replace 401k, IRA; admits preferred euphamism is "universal" 10 minutes ago via TweetDeck # "Social Security is affordable and extremely efficient." We should have a national "conversation about expanding it." 22 minutes ago via TweetDeck # Teresa Ghilarducci is on panel; she wants to get rid of 401ks and IRAs and create a new government retirement system 24 minutes ago via TweetDeck # @juliemrobison Indeed, they have! 26 minutes ago...

Workers resist ND switch from pension to 401KPosted in: Valley News Live Facebook, By the AP Sep 22, 2010 - 6:03:30 AM BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Spokesmen for North Dakota school teachers and government workers are resisting proposals to put new employees into a 401(k)-style retirement savings plan. Both teachers and government workers now have pension plans with guaranteed retirement benefits. The pension funds are in financial trouble and North Dakota lawmakers are looking for solutions. A legislative committee is considering proposals to ease the state out of the pension business and put new workers into 401(k) type plans that...

Is the government making plans to confiscate your retirement money? The Obama administration is certainly exploring the idea. This question no longer seems far-fetched when the group-thinkers in Washington unabashedly promote a doctrine of wealth redistribution and central planning. These Keynesian socialists know they will need vast new sources of revenues to fund their relentless spending binges to "transform" this nation. A logical next step would be to legitimize the confiscation of private retirement assets -- an idea that was contemplated in the recent past by the Clinton administration. According to the Investment Company Institute, there was $7.835 trillion in...

Is the government making plans to confiscate your retirement money? The Obama administration is certainly exploring the idea. This question no longer seems far-fetched when the group-thinkers in Washington unabashedly promote a doctrine of wealth redistribution and central planning. These Keynesian socialists know they will need vast new sources of revenues to fund their relentless spending binges to "transform" this nation. A logical next step would be to legitimize the confiscation of private retirement assets; an idea that was contemplated in the recent past by the Clinton administration. According to the Investment Company Institute, there was $7.835 trillion in IRA,...