“This bill is an important step in the right direction for retirees”

Lawmakers in Connecticut have passed de-risking legislation that has been sent on to Governor Dannel Malloy for signature. Stone is quoted as saying “This bill is an important step in the right direction for retirees.” See “De-Risking Bill Sent to Connecticut Governor; N.Y. Measure Stalled in Insurance Committee”, by Sean Forbes. Reproduced with permission from BNA Pension & […]

CT Senate Passes H.B. 6772 – Pension De-Risking

On Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015 the Connecticut Senate unanimously voted to pass H.B. 6772, providing creditor protections to retirees in pension de-risking transactions.  The bill will now be presented to Governor Malloy for signature.  ProtectSeniors.org, a non-profit group advocating for retirees in Connecticut and across the nation led the charge in passing this legislation. As special […]

Stone testifies before ERISA Advisory Council

Edward Stone testified before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (ERISA Advisory Council) on May 28, 2015.  Stone testified on the need for disclosures to retirees both pre and post pension risk transfers. Recommended disclosures prior to pension risk transfer included: A detailed disclosure statement that contains […]

Once Again, “Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket”

These issues keep coming up again, and again.  Are annuities safe?  Should you lock up all your money in one single annuity? As Dennis Beaver, columnist for the Hanford Sentinel, and a Bakersfield, California attorney told his readers in a recent column “determining if an annuity is right for you requires a careful financial analysis conducted […]

Pension Plan De-Risking Causes Concern for Unions and Retirees with Defined Benefit Plans

Defined benefit plan sponsors have been quietly working to reduce corporate liabilities by moving retirees out of defined benefit plans and into group annuity contracts.  This practice, known to retirees as “pension stripping” takes away the uniform protections intended by Congress under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and dumps the retirees into the […]

ProtectSeniors.Org is Leading Grass Roots Campaign Supporting Protections for Retirees in Pension Stripping Transfers

ProtectSeniors.Org is leading a grass roots campaign advocating for the enactment of state legislation to protect retirees who have been moved out of their ERISA protected defined benefit pension plans and into group annuity contracts.  As Special Counsel to ProtectSeniors.Org, Edward Stone Law has assisted the organization in their efforts to educate their membership on […]

Pension De-Risking Debated at NCOIL Meeting

On behalf of ProtectSeniors.org, a retiree advocacy group, Edward Stone debated the issue of pension de-risking at the Spring 2014 National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) meeting in Savannah, Georgia on March 9th with Prudential Insurance’s pension expert, Dylan Tyson.  Moderated by Rep. George Keiser (ND), former NCOIL President, the debate addressed questions such as […]

NCOIL to Host Debate on Pension De-Risking Model Law

Edward Stone will participate in a point-counterpoint debate on pension de-risking at  the NCOIL (National Conference of Insurance Legislators) spring meeting held in Savannah, Georgia March 7-9, 2014.  The proposed Pension De-Risking Model Act, sponsored by Rep. George Keiser (ND) would establish protections at the state level for retirees whose pension benefits were transferred from […]

Model Pension De-risking Act on NCOIL’s Spring Agenda

As more companies seek to reduce their pension obligations by transferring their obligations to insurance companies via annuity buy-outs, regulation of these risk transfers, including disclosures and protections for retirees will be paramount. Retirees often refer to annuity buy-outs as “pension stripping” transactions because the offloading of pension obligations to an insurance company or other […]

Eddie Stone Talks about Pension Stripping on Labor Lines Radio

In this radio interview on Long Island’s original labor radio show, Labor Lines, Vic Fusco discusses concerns over pension de-risking, or pension stripping as retirees refer to it, with  New York State Senator Tony Avella and Eddie Stone.   Pension stripping is the latest tool used by corporations to remove pension liabilities from their balance […]