The Pension Book: What You Need to Know to Prepare for Retirement

Front Cover
Arcade Publishing, 1996 - Old age pensions - 273 pages
Every pension plan has its fine print. Using case studies from the Pension Rights Center, Ferguson and Blackwell show what everyone in a private plan needs to know: how and when their pension will vest; how much their benefit will be; and whether it is adjusted for inflation. Is the plan overfunded or underfunded? Will it survive should the company change hands or go bankrupt? And what happens in the event of death or divorce? Each chapter tackling these subjects is followed by a "What to Do" section in which the authors demonstrate, point by point, how we can take charge of our retirement future. No retirement plan? You're not alone. Half of all Americans have no plan other than social security, and this venerable system - never intended to cover all retirement needs - typically pays people 40 percent of what they were earning when they worked. Or maybe you're in a do-it-yourself savings plan. Increasingly, employers are substituting these plans for traditional pensions. Again, Ferguson and Blackwell provide practical suggestions and reliable advice about the pros and cons of IRAs, 401(k)s, and the other tax-sheltered savings arrangements.
 

Contents

Eaten Alive Inflation and pensions
63
The Pension Piggy Bank Rules for
83
The Pension Safety Net Underfunded
107
The Largest Lump of Money in the World
137
An American Dream Pensions
219
The Pension Players How pension rules
237
Foreword by Teresa Heinz ix ཙ ཋ བྷྲ
An American Dream Pensions
3
Do It Yourself 167
167
Pots of Gold? The new savings plans 171
171
Stranded in Buckeye Rules for getting
177
A FourLetter Word No plan at all 183
183
No More Fiddling 195
195
Making the Old Way Work Reform
199
New Directions Reform proposals for
208
Afterword 217
217

Pension Tension Pensions
11
Winners and Losers 21
21
It Just Isnt Fair Rules for getting
34
The Pension Safety Net Underfunded
107
The Largest Lump of Money in the World 137
137
The Pension Players How pension rules
155
Stranded in Buckeye Rules for getting
224
Change for a Cup of Coffee Rules
225
Appendix 247
247
Index 263
263
Copyright

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