Retirement Heist
Overlooked Causes of the Retirement Crisis

The decline in employer-sponsored pension and retiree health plans is a troubling trend that has eroded the retirement security of millions of Americans. Stock market losses and low interest rates have weakened pension funding, and employers say that this -- combined with retiree longevity, rising costs, and the need to compete globally -- is forcing them to freeze pensions and cut retiree benefits.

However, Ellen Schultz, a former investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal, says that employers' practices also played a role. In her new book, Retirement Heist, Schultz contends that large companies, aided by benefits consultants and lawyers, have played a largely overlooked role in the decline of American pensions and benefits. Drawing on her years of research into corporate records while covering pensions and benefits at The Wall Street Journal, Schultz provides numerous examples to argue that companies have used their pension funds and retiree benefit cuts to bolster profits and boost compensation for senior executives at the expense of rank-and-file workers.

The New America Foundation, the Pension Rights Center, and AARP invite you to join us for a timely conversation about Retirement Heist and the policy implications of the issues raised by her book. Beverages and cookies will be provided.

Phyllis Borzi (Invited)
Assistant Secretary of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration

Donald Fuerst
Senior Pension Fellow
American Academy of Actuaries

Karen Ferguson
Director
Pension Rights Center

Michael Calabrese
Senior Research Fellow
New America Foundation

David Certner
Legislative Counsel and Legislative Policy Director
AARP

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at New America at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net or Nancy Hwa at the Pension Rights Center at (202) 296-3776 or nhwa@pensionrights.org.