Defined Benefits

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, feels its time for Congress to address retirement security.

Without smoothing, it says, pension funding would be subject to volatility that can potentially discourage sponsors from continuing defined benefit plans.

There are a few reasons, after all, that ERISA is sometimes known as Every Rotten Idea Since Adam.

All debate aside about how well prepared people are for retirement, pension funds are racking up some impressive totals.

Brinks Inc. is offering about 9,000 former employees a lump-sum payment in lieu of monthly payments from the companys pension plan when they retire.

If theres one thing plan sponsors want above all else, its a way to avoid legal hassles. And participants want what they've always wanted: a more secure future.

Signed into law 40 years ago, ERISA spawned the PBGC, vesting and more.

The big, scary idea of fiduciary haunts many, as they fear the consequences of not meeting the required standards. But that's wrong.