Real estate investment trust Ventas Inc. said Monday it has completed a $186 million buyout of 58 senior housing communities from affiliates of Sunrise Senior Living Inc.
Filed under: Retirement
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Moody’s: Illinois pension system still in trouble
From Bloomberg | Moody’s issued a report Monday saying that Illinois, which has the worst-funded pension system among U.S. states, may see it deteriorate more even if it sells bonds to close the gap.
Illinois passes pension fix for cities
From Bloomberg News | The Illinois General Assembly recessed until early January without acting on a $3.7 billion bond proposal to make payments into state employee pension funds, saying it didn’t have enough votes to pass the bond plan.
GM injects $4 billion cash into pension funds
General Motors said on Thursday that it made a $4 billion cash contribution to pension plans for its U.S.-based hourly and salaried workers. Get the full story »
Labor Dept. wants more target date disclosure
The Department of Labor on Monday proposed a rule that will require employers to provide more information to their employees about the role of “target date” mutual funds in retirement plans.
Target date funds are often included in employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, as a default option if employees fail to actively pick their own investments. Get the full story »
Northern Trust to run non-profit’s pension
Chicago-based Northern Trust Corp. has been hired to provide custody services for more than $800 million in pension, endowment and operating funds of John Muir Health of Walnut Creek, Calif.
It’ll also provide benefit payment services for the organization’s pension plan. Get the full story »
State warned on more borrowing to fund pensions
If Illinois borrows to make its annual contribution to state retirement systems for a second year running, the back-loaded payment plan on those bonds will cause interest costs to skyrocket, a Civic Federation analysis found.
Interest costs would total an estimated $1 billion if the state issues about $3.7 billion in bonds to make its required contribution to the state’s five pension funds in fiscal 2011, which began July 1. The bonds would be paid off over eight years. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 1:48 p.m.
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Filed under: Economy, Government, Jobs/employment, Labor, Retirement France moves closer to raising retirement age
France’s Senate has approved a contested pension reform raising the retirement age to 62 despite months of nationwide protests and strikes.
After 140 hours of debate, the Senate approved the reform Friday with a vote of 177-153. Get the full story »
Labor Department proposes new 401k adviser rules
The Department of Labor says it wants to expand the number of consultants and advisers it can hold legally responsible for the advice they give retirement plan providers. Get the full story »
French youth riot, block airport over retirement vote
Striking rail workers burn tracks, protesting a move to delay retirement until age 62. (Reuters)
Protesters blockaded Marseille’s airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon on Thursday ahead of a tense Senate vote on raising the retirement age.
A quarter of the nation’s gas stations were out of fuel despite President Nicolas Sarkozy’s orders to force open depots barricaded by striking workers.
SEC delays Rattner case, NY probe ongoing
A proposed settlement between Steven Rattner, the former head of the U.S. auto task force, and the Securities and Exchange Commission over a pension corruption scheme was unexpectedly pulled from Thursday’s calendar, one source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. Get the full story »
Cities, counties struggle to cover pensions
The pension benefits that U.S. cities and counties are unable to cover could total as much as $574 billion, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The study, conducted by academics at Northwestern University and the University of Rochester, looked at how long the assets for 77 defined pension plans sponsored by 50 major U.S. cities and counties will last.
It found that six major cities — Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville and St. Paul — can only cover promised benefits through 2020. Get the full story »
French up ante in fight over later retirement
Arcelor Mittal steel workers protest pension reforms that would delay retirement until age 62, in Marseille, France. (Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)
French trade unions began a fresh wave of strikes against pension reform on Tuesday, testing the resolve of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government as the unpopular bill edges closer to becoming law.
Rail services, flights and sea ports ran below capacity as the unions kept up their battle against a plan to make people work longer for their pensions, including raising the minimum retirement age to 62 from 60. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart to end profit-sharing in benefits switch
Wal-Mart employees Robert Dion, left, and Jean-Philippe Barrere collect shopping carts in front of a store in Brossard, Quebec. (AP Photo/Ryan Remiorz)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions it has given employees for 39 years as part of a benefits overhaul that the world’s largest retailer says will let employees get more cash up front.
Starting in February, the company will end the profit-sharing contributions, which had equaled up to 4 percent of pay. It will instead offer more funds for bonuses, a 401(k) retirement plan contribution match and cash for medical expenses, according to a memo to Wal-Mart employees that was obtained by Reuters.
The profit-sharing, which has been in place since 1971, went into a program that let employees access the funds only at retirement, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said. Get the full story »
