Timothy Sumer

If you company has recently frozen or ended its pension plan, you have some important decisions to make with your retirement. First of all, know that the money you have contributed to the plan is safe. If you have received notice of changes to your employer’s pension plan, it usually just means that no further contributions will be made to the plan. However, you are still entitled for what you have earned so far. What this means is that going forward, how you plan for retirement and manage your money in retirement, will change significantly. Instead of working to further increase your pension benefit, you will now need to save and invest in a retirement account such as a 401(k), or Roth IRA. You’ll need to plan to save enough in these accounts and invest it appropriately to create a portfolio that can sustain steady withdrawals over your retirement that replace the reduction in pension income you would have received. You may also receive a lump sum offer to cash ou