Congressional Research Service Reports - 10 Matching Results

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Cash Balance Pension Plans: Selected Legal Issues

Description: Over the past few years, cash balance pension plans have received significant attention. In particular, three issues have been controversial: the negative effect of a plan conversion on older employees due to wear-away, the whipsaw effect that may occur when computing a lump-sum payment of benefits prior to normal retirement age, and the claim that these plans violate federal laws prohibiting age discrimination. This report discusses the wear-away and whipsaw issues, a proposal by the Treasury … more
Date: July 29, 2005
Creator: Lunder, Erika & Staman, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2002 (FY1983-FY2003)

Description: The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar … more
Date: November 29, 2002
Creator: Goldich, Robert L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fee Disclosure in Defined Contribution Retirement Plans: Background and Legislation

Description: This report provides information on the kinds of fees that are charged in 401(k) and other defined contribution plans and details the provisions of bills introduced in the 111th Congress that address fee disclosure in retirement plans.
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Topoleski, John J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: A Fact Sheet

Description: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal government agency established in 1974 by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (P.L. 93- 406). It was created to protect the pensions of participants and beneficiaries covered by private sector, defined benefit (DB) plans. These pension plans provide a specified monthly benefit at retirement, usually either a percent of salary or a flat dollar amount multiplied by years of service. Defined contribution plans, such as §40… more
Date: January 29, 2008
Creator: Topoleski, John J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments

Description: To compensate for the effects of inflation, Social Security recipients usually receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Benefits will be increased by 1.7% in 2015, following an increase of 1.5% in 2014. This report discusses how the COLA is determined.
Date: October 29, 2014
Creator: Sidor, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

Description: This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically impre… more
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Veterans' Benefits: Pension Benefit Programs

Description: This report describes several pension benefit programs for veterans and their families, including the eligibility criteria and current benefit levels, and provides data on the number of pension beneficiaries and average annual benefit amounts for FY1999 through FY2013.
Date: June 29, 2015
Creator: Meyerson, Noah P. & Davis, Carol D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008: An Overview

Description: This report highlights the provisions of the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) (P.L. 110-455) relating to the economic crisis. This report also discusses certain technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act made by WRERA, and certain other notable provisions of the Act affecting retirement plans and benefits.
Date: January 29, 2009
Creator: Staman, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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