When President Obama delivers the State of the Union address this week, a major focus likely will be jobs.  Although the unemployment rate seems to have stabilized in recent months, roughly one in ten Americans who are actively looking for a job cannot find one. 

Unemployment is impacting Americans in all regions of the country and from all walks of life.  And although in past recessions older Americans seemed spared from the hardship of unemployment, this no longer seems to be true.  Read more here.

NEW Pension Resource Guide Now Available

How often have you wanted to quickly put your hands on basic facts, data and information about retirement and pensions? 

The new Pension Resource Guide is an easy-to-read compilation of educational materials developed by NIRS.  The materials explain the basics of pensions, why pensions matter, and how to ensure strong pensions for today and tomorrow. 

Key elements of the Guide include:

• A Primer
• Three "Modules" and supporting Fact Sheets
• Key Statistics
• Frequently Asked Questions

Download The Pension Resource Guide here.

In the News

The Washington Post publishes a NIRS letter to the editor.  "In light of the intense economic insecurity that Americans are feeling after this lost decade, we must restore the ability of all members of the middle class to achieve a modest, secure retirement," NIRS writes.  Read the published letter here.

The Youngstown Vindicator cites NIRS research in a recent letter to the editor.  Read the letter here.

A letter to the editor in The Toledo Blade cites NIRS research.  Read the letter here.

The Providence Journal cites NIRS Pensionomics report.  Read the article here.

A Society for Human Resources Management article reports that experts including NIRS are warning that preservation of pensions paramount.  Read the article here.

Member Spotlight

WELCOME to NIRS' newest members:

• AFL-CIO 
• Acadian Asset Management
• Berman De Valerio
• EFI Actuaries
• EnnisKnupp
• Duluth Teachers' Retirement Fund Association
• Ice Miller, LLP
• Illinois Public Pension Fund Association
• Independent Fiduciary Services, Inc.
• Ohio Education Association
• Pension Consulting Alliance, Inc
• Prudential Financial
• UBS Global Asset Management
• Ullico
• Wolf Popper, LLP
• Wyoming Retirement System

These organizations join nearly 100 organizations supporting NIRS.

Next Week...The Most Important Retirement Conference of 2010

Next week NIRS hosts its inaugural policy conference, Raising the Bar: Policy Solutions for Improving Retirement Security, in Washington, D.C. 

Retirement thought leaders will explore proposals designed to improve Americans' retirement prospects - retooling pensions, automatic IRAs, promoting annuities, multi-employer approaches, and public-private initiatives.  Speakers include:

• Phyllis Borzi, Department of Labor Assistant Secretary
• Greg Dean, Senate HELP Committee General Counsel
• Michael Ettlinger, Center for American Progress VP
• Roger Ferguson, TIAA-CREF CEO 
• David John, Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow
• Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President
• Robert Reynolds, Putman Investments CEO
• Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President
• Mark Ugoretz, ERISA Industry Committee President
• Anne Wagner, Michigan MERS CEO
• Elizabeth Warren, TARP Congressional Oversight Committee and Harvard Law Professor
• Debra Whitman, Senate Special Committee on Aging Staff Director

We've reached capacity and registration is closed.  But, you can read more about the conference here.

NOTE TO ATTENDEES:  Check your email for final conference information and registration confirmation.  Please email or call us 202.457.8190 if you have questions or comments. 

NIRS Fact Checks Recent Pension Report

In the interest of promoting the highest standards of retirement research, NIRS routinely reviews emerging work.  NIRS has released a Fact Check on a recent study by the American Legislative Exchange Council. 

The ALEC report contains serious factual errors and omits relevant contextual information. Read the NIRS fact check here for a review of the most serious misstatements along with research citations that set the record straight.