Legal

Cheryl and Jim Friedman, retirees in St. Louis, had two-thirds of their retirement money in the stock market in 2008. When the financial crisis struck that fall and stocks lurched up and down with nauseating speed, Cheryl, a former accountant, pulled the money out.

Better coordination between the DOL, IRS and Small Business Administration could help small employers better address the challenges of sponsoring a retirement plan.

The union, representing 195,000 working and retired school employees, topped the list of lobbyist spending by special interest groups, for the second straight year.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has filed a bill that would prevent retiredpublic employees from receiving both a pension check and unemployment benefits.

Chalk one up for American Airlines' employees. And strike one down for the ongoing decay of defined benefit plans and an era of pension protection.

American Airlines' parent company told its employees Wednesday that it does not plan to end its pension plans as part of its bankruptcy restructuring, but instead hopes to freeze them.