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Retirement plan expert Jim Lange says that, despite its name, the only “protection” workers have is a fierce determination to provide for their own futures.
America faces a pension crisis of epic proportions. Some 30,000 “defined benefit plans” are underfunded to the tune of $450 billion. And most financial experts believe the law Congress just passed—the Pension Protection Act of 2006—is at best a band-aid on the problem. Indeed, many of them feel the new law, which requires most pension plans to become fully funded over a seven-year period, is the legislative equivalent of “destroying the village in order to save it.” When cash-strapped companies are forced to comply, they will almost certainly abandon or freeze their existing plans.
According to CPA and attorney Jim Lange, the law sounds an ear-splitting clarion call to the 44 million Americans covered by traditional pension plans. Warning, warning! The alarm bell is shrieking. You’re on your own!
“Here’s the bottom line,” said Lange, author of the bestselling book, Retire Secure! Pay Taxes Later: The Key to Making Your Money Last as Long as You Do “You, and only you, are responsible for funding your retirement. You can no longer depend on your employer and it’s hardly worth mentioning that Social Security isn’t going to get you very far. As corporate icons like GM, Verizon, IBM, Sears, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Circuit City and Hewlett Packard declare pension freezes, Americans need to reevaluate their retirement plans.”
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