20190124-Bailout for Sears Pension Plan

The Money GPS (Bailout For Sears Pension Plan):

Wendy:  On a recent video Dick was talking about 401K

There is a HUGE problem with the pension plans for the employees of public and private workers.   Sears is just an example of what is happening with people’s pension plans.  They are bankrupt and there is no money to pay for people’s retirement.

-Sears Pension plans are bankrupt and is taken over by The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, a federal agency.   The agency covers individuals’ pensions, up to certain limits, if an insured pension plan shuts down without enough money to pay all benefits.

-Sears Pension plans cover more than 90,000 people.

-Sears’ two pension plans are under-funded by about $1.4 billion.

-Sears blamed the pension bankruptcy on low interest rates since the 2008 financial crisis, increases in Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation fees and required changes in people living longer.

Crypto Viewing (Scary News about your 401K):

-In WWII, the US government was selling war bonds to raise money to pay for the war.  People were encouraged to make deductions on their pay checks to buy these war bonds.

-After the war, the government paid the people back with some little interests but the money was worth much less because of inflation that followed after the war.  The last war bonds (E-Series) were sold in 1980.

-Interesting enough, at the same time, 401K was introduced.

-Dick thinks that maybe it is the new scheme to take our money and fund the military-industrial complex. 

Wendy:  I am not sure about 401K.  But I think pension plans and social security funds were taken and were used to fund the military-industrial complex.  And we know for a fact they were bankrupt.