Retirement Heist: how companies plunder and profit from the nest eggs of American workers

206 Many excellent books have been written: Among them: Teresa Ghilarducci, When I’m Sixty-four: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008); Karen Ferguson and Kate Blackwell, Pensions in Crisis: Why the System Is Failing America and How You Can Protect Your Future (New York: Arcade Publishing, 1995). This lucid and readable book focuses on pensions, but it has an excellent discussion of the problems with 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans, and it clearly explains “discrimination” rules. Recent reports on 401(k)s include The Failure of the 401(k), a report by Robert Hiltonsmith, a policy analyst at Demos, November 2010: http://www.demos.org/pubs/thefailureofthe401(k).pdf. See also Private Pensions: Some Key Features Lead to an Uneven Distribution of Benefits, GAO-11-333, March 2011, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11333.pdf. The Congressional Research Service has done a number of studies on 401(k)s, including 401(k) Plans and Retirement Savings: Issues for Congress, July 2009. Its reports can be found on the CRS Web site: http://www.pensionrights.org/report-topic-areas/defined-contribution-plans-such-401ks-and-iras.

209 reducing borrowing costs by as much as 40 percent: Analysis by Theo Francis; Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis, “Companies’ Hot Tax Break: 401(k)s—Why Firms Stuff Plans with Stock,” The Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2002.

210 fifty million workers lost a total of at least $1 trillion in their 401(k)s: Center on Retirement Research, Boston College.

210 D’Andrea, forty-eight, cashed out her account: Author interview.

210 one-quarter of top executives at major U.S. companies had gains: Analysis by Tom McGinty, based on Compustat data; Ellen E. Schultz and Tom McGinty, “Executives Enjoy ‘Sure Thing’ Retirement Plans, The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2009.

211 “executives in fixed plans were happier than hogs”: Bob Nienaber, director, benefit RFP, Sacramento, California, telephone conversation with author.

214 In the public plan sector: For a history and analysis of how public plans can become seriously underfunded, see Roger Lowenstein, While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis (New York: Penguin Press, 2008). See also Mary Williams Walsh’s extensive coverage of public pensions in The New York Times.

INDEX

AARP

accounting issues

health plans and

investing pension assets and

pension income and

see also Financial Accounting Standards Board

ACF Industries

Ackerman, Chuck

Actuarial Sciences Associates (ASA)

Advantage Medical Services (AMS)

Aetna

Aging Diagnostic

Air Transportation Stabilization Board

Alcatel SA

Allied-Signal

Alltel Corp.

Amara, Janice

Amegy Bank

American Benefits Council

American Council of Life Insurers

American Electric Power

American Greetings

American National Can

American Society of Pension Actuaries

Amoco Corp.

Aon Corp.

Archer, Bill

Asarco

AT&T

excess pension assets of

health care reform and

Lucent and

pension cutting at

prescription drug benefits at

Automatic enrollment

Bankers Life and Casualty

Bank of America

BOLI at

bank-owned life insurance (BOLI)

banks

Beisler, Randy

Bell Atlantic Corp.

benefits test

Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan

Black, Conrad

black lung disease plans

Blankenship, Don

Boeing

BP

Brown, Kyle

Bruggeman, Jim

Buffett, Warren

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Burke, Stephen

Bush, George W.

Byrne, Robert S.

California Public Utilities Commission

Carlson, Gretchen

cash-balance plans

comparisons between 401(k)s and

lump-sum feature of

in pension cutting

CAST Management Consultants

Caterpillar Inc.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Central and South West (CSW)

CenturyTel

Certner, David

Chapman, Basil

Chesapeake Energy

Ciesielski, Jack

Cigna:

pension cutting at

Supreme Court case involving

Citigroup Inc.

Clark, Richard T.

Clark/Bardes

Clausen, Norman

CM Holdings

Comcast

Congress, U.S.

COLI in

ERISA in

executive compensation in

health care reform in

pension assets in

pension cutting in

pension disclosure in

prescription drug benefits in

ConocoPhillips

Conseco

Consol Energy

Consolidated Freightways Corp. (CFC)