[keithwand]

What's a pension?

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Things will get better in January.

Of what year? 2017 maybe.

Z

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Sandtrap328

First, it was not a surprise. The President said it would be done before the end of the year.

Is the alternative to forcibly round up 11 million people (some with legal citizen children) and deport them - separating the parents from children, since you cannot deport a legally born citizen to a country they were not born in?

Let's show some compassion.

I don't know about others but if people continued to knock on my door for handouts eventually I catch on. America doesn't have to forcibly deport all illegals all they need to do is not issue them drivers licenses, social security and voting cards and benefits. I am sure they catch on. Say look we aren't going to provide any benefits, etc but we will buy you a one week ticket home and we will only do that once. i rather pa for 11 million bus tickets once then continue to finance illegals their whole lives

[Moderator]

This thread is for discussion of a potential effect on pensions. Please return to that topic or the thread will be closed. Thank you.

Moderator

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by fred53

I do care as a federal retiree. Why are you trying to speak for everyone when you don't know everyone? Are you just fanning the flames?

I'm sure you do care. But am I wrong that you are not subject to the ACA. I've worked in health care for 40 years. If I'm wrong I appreciate the education. And I do speak for a large segment of the population.

[justjim]

A trillion dollar plus budget is way above my pay grade. Who knows what the final document will look like. It's a shame that we have such a dysfunctional Congress.

OP, we will just have to "wait and see" what the final budget brings and what Congress does about funds to shore up pensions.

[njbchbum]

The article cited by the OP refers to "multi-employer pension plans " rather than individual employer pension plans.

Does 'multi-employer' refer to plans that cover employees in plans provided by the likes of Teamsters and Auto Workers? If so, it would seem that potential legislation re cutting those pensions would not be applicable to employees who were not in such pension plans.

Those of us in a pension plan provided by our sole, public/private employer only have to fear the actions of our employers rather than legislation! And that has been happening for years!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Sandtrap328

First, it was not a surprise. The President said it would be done before the end of the year.
Is the alternative to forcibly round up 11 million people (some with legal citizen children) and deport them - separating the parents from children, since you cannot deport a legally born citizen to a country they were not born in?

Let's show some compassion.

After the November election, he also said..."I heard you".

Compassion, as if we who have common sense don't have compassion. Charity begins at home. Breaking the law and turning the other way on this immigration issue started with Bush. There is a legal way and an illegal way to immigrate to this country. As a group, I see so much to like about our neighbors from the south, but call a tamale a tamale.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

After the November election, he also said..."I heard you".

Compassion, as if we who have common sense don't have compassion. Charity begins at home. Breaking the law and turning the other way on this immigration issue started with Bush. There is a legal way and an illegal way to immigrate to this country. As a group, I see so much to like about our neighbors from the south, but call a tamale a tamale.

As a group ............ the majority are prepared to do jobs that others in this country will not do, and they are prepared to work like dogs to give their children a better life. We have been fortunate to travel extensively, and I fully understand why people will do anything in their power to give their children a chance in life. A chance they are never, ever, going to get in their corrupt third world countries. Make them legal, give them an opportunity to work and pay taxes, rather than have the thousands we have now who are working under the table and are, therefore, unable to contribute to the economy. As with any situation of this nature, you cannot weed out those who are not good for the country and those who are - it's a crap shoot - you win some, you lose some.

I cannot remember where I read or heard it, but recently I saw that someone had said most of the food produced in this country is worked by these people, and a great deal of the construction in this country is done by these people.

And as for coming to this country legally --- I had work done by Irish stone workers in Boston who were illegal, they would come for six months and leave for six months, so they are not the only nationality slipping in and out of America illegally.

[conn630]

I believe the House passed the bill but it still has to get thru the Senate. It is my understanding the President is lobbying his own party to try to get it passed.

[JourneyOfLife]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

The article cited by the OP refers to "multi-employer pension plans " rather than individual employer pension plans.

Does 'multi-employer' refer to plans that cover employees in plans provided by the likes of Teamsters and Auto Workers? If so, it would seem that potential legislation re cutting those pensions would not be applicable to employees who were not in such pension plans.

Those of us in a pension plan provided by our sole, public/private employer only have to fear the actions of our employers rather than legislation! And that has been happening for years!

I have not read the legislation. But the article and other things I have read do say the provision was related to Multi-Employer plans which are Unions, but also can be smaller companies that joined a pool because they are too small for their own pension fund... and need to spread the risk (mortality/longevity).


There actually is more to that legislation that is loosely connect to the pension part... these other things are a bit disconcerting too!

1) There is a measure to remove or relax rules that limit investment banks from holding and trading to many derivatives (i.e., too big to fail/systematic impact).

2) A bit of irony on the investment banks measure. The Investement banks are the ones that created those toxic CDOs (Derivatives) that were labeled at AAA grade. Guess who the investment banks sold scads of those Junk CDOs to??? You guessed it; Pension Plans! As those CDOs collapsed along with the general markets, it caused many pensions to have financial problems... many have not recovered from it!

Here is the one that takes the cake...

3) So the lobbyist show up and influence both Bank and Pension legislation (probably other provisions in the bill too). So what else ended up in the Omnibus spending bill... a provision to allow larger political donations.


Something about those three issues being jammed in a bill which.... "Has to be passed by midnight"... that stinks.

Many, probably most voters, consider those 3 items to be fairly important. Why wouldn't those be separate bills and debated on each of their merits.... IOW in the LIGHT OF DAY!

I find the investment bank legislation to be outside of the pail... we aren't totally out of the woods yet from the financial crisis.... much less the country's financial overhang from it!

[Sandtrap328]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

Madelaine Amee - Have you thought about and considered the other side of the coin? Are you aware that teens who want to babysit now have a hard time doing so because families are hiring third world nannies who can introduce a new cuisine to the kitchen and teach the kiddos a new language? Did you know that the teens who used to count on the $ made from planting and harvesting the potato crop in Idaho and Maine have been replaced by foreign born planters/pickers who get the $ that used to help local families survive? Do you agree with the President's intent to increase the # of Visas for foreign professionals so they can be hired in the U.S. despite the numbers of American professionals who are currently on unemployment? How many illegals do you think will come out of the shadows and voluntarily pay taxes rather than stay back and continue to send those $ back home so more family members will have the funds to pay another coyote to bring them here? The illegals come to this country fully aware of the conditions they will face and they take the chance anyway. Why should we provide for them before we provide for our own? Hiring an illegal is tantamount to taking money away from an American worker and family.

I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said Idaho was having to use convict laborers to harvest potatoes because there were not enough migrant workers. I could not find anything about Maine's potatoes but saw that the Maine blueberry crop is dependent on migrant workers. These are usually illegals and are paid in cash under the table. Under the table means cheap labor for the corporations that hire them.

Do you honestly think that all the construction workers who built our homes in The Villages were legal? How about our maintenance workers?

[l2ridehd]

This is just another step in the wealth redistribution plan. Every aspect of retirement income is being attack by those in Washington looking for more power. They want a higher tax on Social Security or limit benefits to those with other income. They want to now lower pensions that those same people receive. There are so many plans to figure out how to get at your 401K money that it difficult to follow where that stands on any given day. They will keep up these attacks as they need more and more money to fund the vote buying they continue to do to get re-elected.

This is one bill that got passed that starts us down the road. Now they can modify it every time they need more money. All seniors and those with a DBP should unite and vote against every person who voted for this bill.

[JRichm369]

The budget bill that has been passed had quite a few additions as they were quite sure it would pass. The most comical of these being the addition of a probation of any legislation that would govern or limit bovine flatulence, which appears to be the prevailing atmosphere inside of the beltway.

[rubicon]

Here is my understanding of the OP's comments ( post#1).

It is a congressional bipartisan effort under the omnibus budget designed to mitigate a pension crisis before it requires a taxpayer bailout.

The plans afected are those wherein employees could transfer their pension from one employer to another ( construction, etc) The plans were set up decades ago and are viewed as an anachronism today because it the rapidly changing business climate of today companies go broke or break off certain lines.

The Teamsters tried to push through a taxpayer bailout in 2010. However if the plans do fail then they fall to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) which is essentially underfunded

The compromise included both political parties and the union leaders calls for those pension plans deemed critical or declining (fail within 15 years or less than 80% funded) could petition the Treasury to cut benefits up to 110% of the PBGC limit The PBGC's annual max is $12,870. The reform also makes permanent 2006 Pension Protection Act that allow insolvent plans to reduce adjustable benefits that is early and disability payouts.

Wall Street Journal 12/12/2014