In 2005, Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 Pension Fund in Chicago discovered that it had overpaid 589 retirees – some of them for decades. In 2013, with the approval of the Internal Revenue Service, the Fund demanded that the retirees pay the money back plus interest. In addition to having their pensions reduced, most of the retirees are being asked to also make very large one-time payments. Chicago’s CBS2 interviewed some of the people facing these recoupment demands and PRC Executive Vice President and Policy Director Karen Friedman, who pointed out that some retirees have been asked to pay back upwards of $150,000 and commented that the Sheet Metal Workers situation is “the worst example of this problem we’ve seen.”

The Pension Counseling and Information Program provides free legal assistance to people facing recoupment and other problems with their retirement plans, and the Illinois Pension Assistance Project is helping a number of the sheet metal worker retirees.

More: CBS2: Pension Fund Demands Overpayments Back, With Interest | PRC fact sheet: What is Recoupment? | List of pension counseling projects

An in-depth Associated Press article sheds light on the practice of converting pension plans, covered by the federal pension law for decades, to church plans. Such conversions wipe out all federal protections for participants in the plan, including federal insurance of their benefits. The Pension Rights Center has taken the lead in documenting that this practice is based on a misreading of the law by government agencies. The article discusses several church plan conversions, including the recent announcement by Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, NJ, that it has received IRS approval to treat its pension plan as a church plan, despite the fact that, for more than 30 years, the plan had complied with all aspects of federal pension law.

More: Associated Press: Law shields churches, leaves pensions unprotected | Pension Rights Center Statement on Saint Peter's Healthcare System "Church Plan" Ruling from the IRS | PRC fact sheets on church plans 

Washington newsmakers, journalists, and celebrities gathered for a night of stand-up comedy to benefit two good causes – the Pension Rights Center and the Foundation for the Education and the Rebirth of Haiti – at the 19th Annual Funniest Celebrity Contest. The evening featured noted policymakers like Grover Norquist and Ralph Nader competing against NPR’s Jamie McIntyre, National Journal’s Elahe Izadi, the Chicago Tribune’s Clarence Page, and others. If you weren’t able to attend the contest but would still like to support the Pension Rights Center, you can do so here: www.pensionrights.org/support.

More: Video of Karen Friedman’s remarks | Video of Ralph Nader’s routine | Event photos