Congressional Research Service Reports - 318 Matching Results

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Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet. Congress's decisions on this issue could affect Coast Guard funding requirements, the Coast Guard's ability to perform its polar missions, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: April 4, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Veterans' Benefits: Burial Benefits and National Cemeteries

Description: This report provides a descriptive analysis of both nonmonetary and monetary burial benefits and national cemeteries. It addresses congressional and constituent issues.
Date: March 11, 2016
Creator: Szymendera, Scott D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Retirement: Background and Recent Developments

Description: This report discusses the military retirement system. The system currently includes monthly compensation for qualified active and reserve retirees, disability benefits for those deemed medically unfit to serve, and a survivor annuity program for the eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
Date: April 6, 2016
Creator: Kamarck, Kristy N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Government Pension Offset (GPO)

Description: This report discusses the social security benefits and the spousal benefits of individuals who are not financially dependent on their spouses because they receive benefits based on their own work records.
Date: July 6, 2004
Creator: Haltzel, Laura
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Former Presidents: Pensions, Office Allowances, and Other Federal Benefits

Description: This report provides a legislative and cultural history of the Former Presidents Act. It considers the potential effects of maintaining the FPA or amending the FPA in ways that might reduce or otherwise modify a former President's benefits.
Date: March 16, 2016
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses various proposed changes to the military retirement system, which includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees. Major issues include whether some or all military retirees should be allowed to receive both military retired pay and any VA disability compensation to which they are otherwise entitled -- referred to as "concurrent receipt" -- whether some mil… more
Date: October 21, 2003
Creator: Goldich, Robert L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet

Description: This report discusses the saver's tax credit, under which eligible individuals receive a non-refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for contributing to a traditional IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan that is qualified under §401, §403 or §457 of the Internal Revenue Code. The credit was first available in 2002 but will expire after 2006 unless extended by Congress.
Date: April 1, 2004
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automatic Enrollment in Section 401(k) Plans

Description: This report discusses enrollment practices for 401k retirement plans. Historically, most employers that have sponsored retirement savings plans under §401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) have required employees to decide whether to enroll in the plan. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued rulings to inform employers that current law allows them to enroll employees automatically, provided that the employee is notified in advance and is permitted to leave the plan.
Date: October 14, 2004
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Retirement Savings and Household Wealth in 2000: Analysis of Census Bureau Data

Description: This report examines recent trends in retirement saving and the policy implications. The aging of the American population and the impending retirement of the "baby boom" will place significant strains over the next several decades on both Social Security and on retirees' own financial resources. With continued increases in average life expectancies, retirees in the 21st century will have to stretch their savings and other assets over longer periods of retirement than were experienced by their p… more
Date: December 12, 2002
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Veterans' Pensions: Fact Sheet

Description: This report discusses veterans' pensions, which are monthly cash payments made to qualified veterans or survivors so that their total income from all countable sources reach specified annual levels and are administered by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).
Date: February 26, 2001
Creator: Snook, Dennis W. & Butler, Alice D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Budget and Trust Fund Issues

Description: Retirement annuities for civilian federal employees are provided mainly through two programs: the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). These annuities are financed through a combination of employee contributions and payments made by the federal government to the civil service retirement trust fund. This report discusses the two programs, how they work, and how they are financed.
Date: September 27, 2012
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
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 these workers would otherwise receive because of Social Security’s benefit formula that favors workers with smaller amounts of Social Security-covered career earnings. Opponents contend that the provision is basically imprecise and often unfair.
Date: January 14, 2008
Creator: Haltzel, Laura
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) 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 small portion of their careers in Social Security-covered employment.
Date: June 30, 2015
Creator: Sidor, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Retirement Earnings Test: How Earnings Affect Benefits

Description: Social Security benefits received before a person attains full retirement age (FRA) are subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement and also may be reduced by the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) if the beneficiary has earnings that exceed an annual threshold. This report explains how the RET is applied under current law and provides detailed benefit examples to show how the RET affects both the worker beneficiary and any family members (auxiliary beneficiaries) who rec… more
Date: January 14, 2011
Creator: Nuschler, Dawn & Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Summary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Description: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) provides a comprehensive federal scheme for the regulation of employee pension and welfare benefit plans offered by employers. ERISA contains various provisions intended to protect the rights of plan participants and beneficiaries in employee benefit plans. These protections include requirements relating to reporting and disclosure, participation, vesting, and benefit accrual, as well as plan funding. ERISA also regulates the responsib… more
Date: April 10, 2008
Creator: Purcell, Patrick & Staman, Jennifer
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) 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 imprecise and… more
Date: January 30, 2012
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Retirement Earnings Test: How Earnings Affect Benefits

Description: Social Security benefits received before a person attains full retirement age (FRA) are subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement and also may be reduced by the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) if the beneficiary has earnings that exceed an annual threshold. This report explains how the RET is applied under current law and provides detailed benefit examples to show how the RET affects both the worker beneficiary and any family members (auxiliary beneficiaries) who rec… more
Date: January 4, 2012
Creator: Nuschler, Dawn & Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Market for Retirement Annuities

Description: A retirement annuity allows an individual to purchase a regular payment stream from an insurance company to last his lifetime. Despite the ability of the product to eliminate the risk that a retiree will outlive his assets, few retirement annuities have been sold in the individual market. In addition, the number of individuals who annuitize their defined contribution retirement plan balances remains small. New products are emerging that would offer alternate annuity designs and make annuity pri… more
Date: May 18, 2006
Creator: Ranade, Neela K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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ERISA’s Impact on Medical Malpractice and Negligence Claims Against Managed Care Plans

Description: This report examines the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which provides a comprehensive federal scheme for the regulation of employee pension and welfare benefit plans offered by employers. While ERISA does not require an employer to offer pension and welfare benefits, it does mandate compliance with its provisions if such benefits are offered. Congress enacted ERISA to eliminate the conflicting and inconsistent regulation of pension and employee welfare benefit plans b… more
Date: February 21, 2008
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Age Dependency Ratios and Social Security Solvency

Description: As highlighted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the aging of the (United States) population, hastened by the impending retirement of the huge baby-boom generation, has caused policy-makers to question whether the U.S. Social Security system can meet the demands for retirement benefits in the future. Because the current system largely pays benefits through taxes paid by current workers, the financial health of the system is sensitive to the ratio of dependents to workers—sometimes ca… more
Date: October 27, 2006
Creator: Shrestha, Laura B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cash Balance Pension Plans: Selected Legal Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of these issues and a discussion of how the pension protection act (P.L. 109-280), as well as IRS guidance, affect them.
Date: May 16, 2008
Creator: Staman, Jennifer & Lunder, Erika
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cash Balance Pension Plans and Claims of Age Discrimination

Description: This report describes cash balance plans, discusses the claims that cash balance plans do and do not violate the pre-Act age discrimination provisions, and provides an overview of P.L. 109-280, as it applies to this issue.
Date: January 30, 2008
Creator: Staman, Jennifer & Lunder, Erika
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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