Retirement planning could be given a whole new angle with the Obama Administration's endorsement of the use of annuities in defined benefit plans.

The Obama administration's decision requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control was bound to cause an uproar among Roman Catholics and members of other faiths, no matter their beliefs on contraception.

In the most impressive surge for the job market since early last year, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.

PBGC director Josh Gotbaum addressed the agency's $26 billion coverage gap, asking for changes to set premiums based on the risk of the insured.