Defined Benefits

President Obama has proposed a number of tax and other reforms that would mean big changes in how retirement is financed.

But Gov. Quinn said he planned to appeal to a higher court, and his attorneys were due in court Friday on the issue.

According to Pew, the states bipartisan reform effort this year resulted in a fair and effective retirement system for both employees and taxpayers.

The council plans to recommend to the DOL that if plan participants do not respond to notices or retirement distribution checks from a retirement plan, the plan sponsor should be able to put those funds in a forfeiture account.

A state auditor's reprot found that the major reasons that the CalSTRS fund is in trouble include the boards inability to set employee contribution rates and poor investments returns caused by the Great Recession.

The federal fingerprint in efforts to fix Detroit is growing larger as the Obama administration has found millions of dollars in grant money to help the bankrupt city hire more police and firefighters, and clear out blighted neighborhoods.

The General Accounting Office released a report Thursday endorsing the U.S. Postal Service's idea to withdraw its retirees and current employees from the federal health plan and start its own.

Four of President Obama's top advisers will converge on Detroit Friday to meet privately with state and local leaders about ways the federal government can help the bankrupt city short of a bailout.