Category Advocacy
Q&A: Take Commuted Value or “Pension”? (Laid-off from Nortel in the summer of 2009)
Q&A: Take Commuted Value or “Pension”? (Laid-off from Nortel in the summer of 2009) Q: A friend of mine was in the latest round of (Nortel) lay-offs, and is trying to decide whether to take his pension as a lump sum, or stay in the plan. Of course, in the current mess, there is no […]
Emergency Policy/Legislation Changes to Ease Impact of Pension Crisis and Enable Pension Reform
Emergency Policy/Legislation Changes to Ease Impact of Pension Crisis and Enable Pension Reform
Doomed Nortel Pensioners? Outside-the-box Pension Options and Path to Pension Reform
Doomed Nortel Pensioners? Outside-the-box Pension Options and Path to Pension Reform (Originally posted July 15, 2009 and retargeted to new platform March 2012) In a nutshell The pension system failed Nortel pensioners; it is now time to let pensioners control their own destiny. We are where we are and we need to generate the best […]
Too little, too late- A 50% interim CV payment would be more appropriate than the proposed 69%!
Too little, too late- A 50% interim CV payment would be more appropriate than the proposed 69%! You may have missed the story not mentioned in the title of Bert Hill’s Ottawa Citizen article “Court names Toronto law firm to represent Nortel pensioners” unless you actually read the article itself, is Nortel’s request for permission […]
Systemic Failure in Canada’s Private Pensions: Who could have prevented it? What could be done now?
Systemic Failure in Canada’s Private Pensions: Who could have prevented it? What could be done now? (Originally published April 17, 2009, and re-hosted on WordPress March 5, 2012) There has been much ink spilled already about the destruction of Nortel, Canada’s technology icon. As an almost 30 year employee of Bell-Northern Research/Nortel and now a pensioner, I […]
Florida: April 2009- Property values, property taxes, constitutional challenge, should I buy now?, “Ponzi state”?
Florida: April 2009- Property values, property taxes, constitutional challenge, should I buy now?, “Ponzi state”? 1. Case-Shiller January 2009 Index US property values continue to on their downward path. The January report shows Miami values fell 3.6%, 29.5% and 43.4% since previous month, over past 12 months and since the December 2006 peak, respectively. The […]
Pensions: Relief for companies, but not pensioners
Pensions: Relief for companies, but not pensioners Despite the fact that Canada’s financial institutions appear to be generally in better shape than American ones, some say due to more stringent regulation, even if that was true it sure doesn’t apply to protection of pensioners. Todd Wallack writes in the Boston Globe’s “Pension Plan Choices May […]
Pensions: General and Nortel Specific Topics
Pensions: General and Nortel Specific Topics 1. Pension outcomes in case of bankruptcy/restructuring/asset sales You may have heard of a well-known telecommunications equipment supplier, a global player which prospered for decades and then fell on hard times lost billions of dollars, laid off thousands of workers, had over $1B under-funded pension obligations, had Pavi Binning […]
Florida Update- February 2009
Florida Update- February 2009 In Herald Tribune’s “Crist plan counts on stimulus“ Joe Follick reports that Florida’s governor Crist is proposing four constitutional amendments that lawmakers would have to approve for the 2010 ballot. The four measures would cap annual assessment increases on non-homestead property at 5 percent (reduction from 10%), provide a five-year super-exemption […]
“Pension relief for corporations? Yes, but not without protecting the pensioners!
“Pension relief for corporations? Yes, but not without protecting the pensioners! Past week’s papers were filled with articles on why Ottawa should be considering “pension relief” for corporations with underfunded pension plans. But most commentators missed the real story. This is not about the impact on companies which are contractually responsible for the pensions; it […]
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