Congressional Research Service Reports - 167 Matching Results

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Income of Americans Aged 65 and Older, 1968 to 2008

Description: This report presents data collected by the Census Bureau in the Current Population Survey from 1969 through 2009 about the employment status and the sources and amounts of income received by people aged 65 and older.
Date: November 4, 2009
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Summary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Description: Due to the recent economic decline and the desire to enact large-scale health reform, the current federal regulation of pension plans, health plans, and other employee benefit plans has received considerable congressional attention. 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 private-sector employers. ERISA contains various provisions intended to protect the rights… more
Date: May 19, 2009
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), 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 Social Security’s benefit formula is weighted such that workers with low lifetime earnings receive a greater share of their covered earnings in benefits than workers with medium or high lifetime earnings. Opponents con… more
Date: May 11, 2009
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Retirement Savings and Household Wealth in 2007

Description: This report discusses various issues that impact the retirement income of Americans. About half of all workers in the United States participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan of some kind, a proportion that has remained relatively stable over the past thirty years. Because the majority of assets held in retirement accounts are invested in stocks, trends in stock prices have a significant impact on households' retirement account balances.
Date: April 8, 2009
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
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.
Date: March 23, 2009
Creator: Scott, Christine & Davis, Carol D.
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 the pension protection act, as it applies to this issue.
Date: March 9, 2009
Creator: Staman, Jennifer & Lunder, Erika
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: March 4, 2009
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of Filipino Veterans' Benefits

Description: This report defines the four specific groups (Regular Philippine Scouts, Commonwealth Army of the Philippines, Recognized Guerilla Forces, and New Philippine Scouts) of Filipino nationals who served under the command of the United States. It also outlines the Rescission Acts of 1946, benefit changes since 1946, current benefits for Filipino veterans by group, and recent legislative proposals and legislation, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5).
Date: February 20, 2009
Creator: Scott, Christine; Panangala, Sidath Viranga & Davis, Carol D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Retirement Plan Participation and Contributions: Trends from 1998 to 2006

Description: This report discusses worker participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The analysis CRS conducted for this report focused on workers aged 21 and older with a paid job in the private sector.
Date: January 30, 2009
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
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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Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969

Description: Under the terms of the Federal Employees' Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-509), pay for civilian federal employees is adjusted each year to keep the salaries of federal workers competitive with comparable occupations in the private sector. The annual increases in federal employee pay are based on changes in the cash compensation paid to workers in the private sector, as measured by the ECI. Under certain circumstances, the President may limit the annual increase in federal pay by execut… more
Date: January 8, 2009
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pension Issues: Lump-Sum Distributions and Retirement Income Security

Description: This report covers several issues regarding pensions. Forty-seven percent of all workers aged 21 and older participated in employer-sponsored retirement plans in 2006, but not all of these workers will receive a pension or other income from these plans when they retire.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Converting Retirement Savings into Income: Annuities and Periodic Withdrawals

Description: To a worker contemplating retirement, there is perhaps no more important question than "How long will my money last?" Congress has a strong interest in the income security of older Americans because much of their income is either provided directly from public programs like Social Security, or in the case of pensions and retirement accounts, is subsidized through tax deductions and deferrals. This report discusses risks involved with retirement fund disbursement and strategies for dealing with s… more
Date: December 1, 2008
Creator: Mulvey, Janemarie & Purcell, Patrick
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: November 17, 2008
Creator: Henning, Charles A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress

Description: This report discusses the Civil Service Retirement Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-215) that established a pension system for federal employees in the executive branch of government.
Date: October 28, 2008
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Annuities and the Securities and Exchange Commission Proposed Rule 151A

Description: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released a proposed rule that would effectively reclassify equity indexed annuities as a security product in addition to being an insurance product. This report presents the different types of annuities, explains the taxation of annuities, and disentangles the federal and state roles in the regulation of annuities. It outlines the proposed SEC rule and its current status.
Date: October 22, 2008
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Civil Service Annuities

Description: Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). All CSRS retirees and survivors receive COLAs. Under FERS, however, non-disabled retirees under age 62 do not receive COLAs. This report discusses cost-of-living adjustments for government retirees, as well as related legislation.
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2009

Description: The 5.8% COLA payable in January 2009 was triggered by the rise in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008. This COLA triggers identical percentage increases in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' pensions, and railroad retirement benefits, and causes other changes in the Social Security program. Although COLAs under the federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the federal military retirement program are not triggered by the Social Security COLA… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Sidor, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Veterans' Benefits: Issues in the 110th Congress

Description: This report provides a general discussion of veterans' benefits issues that are part of the legislative agenda of the 110th Congress or are likely to be of legislative interest. Among those issues are disability compensation and pensions; education benefits; homelessness; life insurance; the status or eligibility of groups such as U.S. merchant seamen and World War II Filipino veterans for veterans' benefits; Reserve and National Guard eligibility for veterans' benefits; the U.S. Court of Appea… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Davis, Carol D.; Loane, Shannon S.; Scott, Christine; Perl, Libby; Smole, David P. & Weimer, Douglas Reid
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of Filipino Veterans' Benefits

Description: This report defines the four specific groups of Filipino nationals who served under the command of the United States. It also outlines the Rescission Acts of 1946, benefit changes since 1946, current benefits for Filipino veterans by group, and recent legislative proposals and legislation.
Date: October 10, 2008
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga; Scott, Christine & Davis, Carol D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Investment Policy: Issues for Congress

Description: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is a federal corporation established under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. It insures private pension beneficiaries against the complete loss of accrued benefits if their defined benefit pension plan is terminated without adequate funding. It receives no appropriations from general revenue. Its operations are financed by insurance premiums set by Congress and paid by sponsors of defined benefit plans, investment income fr… more
Date: September 8, 2008
Creator: Kinneen, Kelly & Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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