H. R. 3200
To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce
the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes

Takes A Couple Of Minutes To Download

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said today that it will assume responsibility for the pension plans of 70,000 Delphi Corp. workers and retirees, as the troubled auto supplier continues to restructure under bankruptcy protection.

The PBGC will pay pension benefits up to the limits set by law. In 2009, the maximum benefit for a 65-year-old is $54,000 per year, but is lower for those who retire earlier or elect survivor benefits.

California's push for a pension overhaul took on a new urgency when the California Public Employees' Retirement System and a sister agency, the California State Teachers' Retirement System, separately announced that they'd lost about a quarter of the value of their investment portfolios. CalPERS' preliminary losses were $56.2 billion, while the teachers' retirement system lost $43.4 billion.

Schwarzenegger told reporters last week that the big pension funds could face an estimated $300-billion shortfall in covering the cost of pensions to current and future retirees.

I can't believe these staggering numbers, what casino did they go to?....Wise Owl

Annuities come in a variety of styles. They can have fixed or variable payments. Joint Survivor, for a couple, will keep paying until both spouses have died. So-called "period certain" annuities guarantee payments for five or ten years, so if you die one month after buying it your heirs don't lose everything.

Web sites such as immediateannuities.com offer comparison-shopping tools for the curious or the confused.

Here's how they work: Metlife this week said a 67-year-old woman with $1 million could convert that into an income of about $75,500 a year until she dies. For a couple a joint survivor policy would pay about $68,000.

Courtesy of WSJ.com

The retirement fund of Nortel Networks Corp.’s U.S. subsidiary is being taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

The PBGC said it will take responsibility for the underfunded pension plan covering 23,000 employees and retirees of Nashville, Tennessee-based Nortel Networks Inc.

The PBGC is taking action as the company, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, prepares to liquidate. The Nortel Networks Retirement Income Plan is 58 percent funded, with assets of $716 million to cover benefit liabilities of $1.23 billion, according to PBGC estimates.

Looks like the Obama health care plan could be financed by our fridges full of pop and energy drinks.

To pay for an estimated $1.2 trillion price tag on Obama’s health care plan, the Senate Finance Committee will begin hearing proposals to generate funds. One idea being floated is an excise tax on soda, fruit drinks, and energy drinks that could haul in $24 billion over the next four years if a 3-cent tax is imposed on the beverages.

Link to the WSJ.com

Listen to a variety of experts at ElderLaw Radio:

When to Start Drawing Your Social Security

What You Need to Select a Good Nursing Home

When to Use an Elder Law Attorney

How to Safe Guard Your Estate

Can You Afford to Live a Long Life?

Will You Need Long Term Care?

Rock River Bank of Oregon, Ill. became the 48th bank failure of 2009, and the ninth Illinois bank failure of the year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. late Thursday.

Apparently in the last hour, several more banks have closed.....

Regulators shut seven more banks. Closures for 2009 reach 52, more than twice as many as all of last year.

“Whether you save in a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA isn’t nearly as important as whether you save, period,” says Christopher Jones, chief investment officer at Financial Engines, an independent investment adviser specializing in 401(k)s. Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit: Financial Engines took a look at nearly one million 401(k) accounts from 82 plan sponsors and found that about one third of participants don’t contribute enough to get the maximum employer match; thereby passing up free money.

Max out on that match. No excuses. And push yourself to invest more. This year you can stuff $16,500 into your 401(k) ($22,000 if you are over 50). Yet according to Financial Engines less than 10 percent of plan participants get to within $500 of their contribution limit.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)  announced it has assumed responsibility for the pension plan of more than 22,000 workers and retirees of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries. The New York City-based investment bank is liquidating under bankruptcy court protection.

The PBGC stepped in because the underfunded pension plan would be without a sponsor following the liquidation of substantially all the firm's assets. None of the buyers assumed responsibility for the retirement plan.

The PBGC will take over the plan’s assets and use insurance funds to pay guaranteed benefits earned under the plan, which ended as of Dec. 12, 2008. At that time, the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Retirement Plan had a shortfall of $115 million,

One of the world's shrewdest fund managers tells all.

You often hear "You need to own gold!" But how much is the right amount?

You don't want to own too little gold and have the purchasing power of all your savings shrink dramatically. You can't afford that. But you don't want to be an end-of-the-world nutcase either.

Well, one of the world's shrewdest investors – Jean-Marie Eveillard – has 10% to 12% of his extremely successful investment fund allocated to gold and gold plays.

Jean-Marie Eveillard's First Eagle Global Fund beat the stock market every year this decade. What's more, he's done it conservatively. He doesn't take big risks. Over 30 years, he's proven to be one of the most successful mutual fund managers ever.

And, always consult your financial advisor.