Читать книгу Personal Finance After 50 For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 69

Many people don’t realize how safe their pension benefits actually are. Even if the company goes under, pension assets are held separately and are backed up by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The PBGC is a federal agency created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (also known as ERISA) to protect pension benefits in private-sector pension plans, also known as defined benefit plans. PBGC guarantees basic pension benefits earned, subject to limits, including

 Pension benefits at normal retirement age

 Most early retirement benefits

 Disability benefits

 Annuity benefits for survivors of plan participants

PBGC doesn’t guarantee health and welfare benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. The maximum benefit amount that PBGC guarantees is quite substantial. According to the PBGC:

  PBGC’s maximum benefit guarantee is set each year under provisions of ERISA … PBGC guarantees the “basic benefits” you earned before your pension plan’s termination date (or the date your employer’s bankruptcy proceeding began, if applicable) up to legal limits set by Congress.

  The 2021 maximum monthly guarantee for a 65-year-old retiree is $6,034.09 for a straight-life annuity and $5,430.68 for a joint and 50% survivor annuity.

  The maximum guarantee is lower if you begin receiving payments from PBGC before age 65 or if your pension includes benefits for a survivor or other beneficiary. The maximum guarantee is higher if you are over age 65 when you begin receiving benefits from PBGC.

If you’re pretty certain you’d like to tap your home’s equity to help with retirement, consider how much equity you would use.