Defined Benefits

On Tuesday, the House Committee on Financial Services advanced the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025, which provides a “level playing field” between participants of 401(k)s and 403(b)s, said Rep. Frank Lucas.

After the House Budget Committee advanced the One Big Beautiful Bill on Sunday, lawmakers met Monday to lessen some cuts to federal workers’ retirement benefits, by delaying and grandfathering in implementation of some new proposals.

Under current law, employers may only use surplus pension assets for other benefits if they terminate the pension plan, but the American Benefits Council said their proposals would raise billions of dollars of revenue and be beneficial for employees, employers and taxpayers.

The House probe of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation last year over $127 million that was “improperly” paid to dead participants in the Teamsters pension bailout was a key topic of discussion at Janet Dhillon’s hearing to be the next PBGC head.

While President Trump promises to “always protect” Social Security, the Schwarz Center for Economic Policy Analysis has tactical recommendations for President Trump, as well as legislative action Congress should take, to restore trust in the federal agency.

With the steep plunge in Tesla shares this year, the Lehigh County Pension Board, which oversees $500 million in retirement funds, passed a resolution last week to pause new investment in Tesla and will seek to completely divest its holdings.

Last week, Representative Andrew Garbarino reintroduced the Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act in the House that would allow IRS officers, Pentagon Police, Veteran Affairs police officers and others to retire after 20 years of service.

The ongoing battle over the use of environmental, social and governance factors when making investing decisions for retirement plans continues, as Representative Rick Allen reintroduces new anti-ESG legislation.