Coming for Your Funds: Supremes “Justify Seizure of Pension Funds to PROTECT Pensioners”

by | May 26, 2015 | Commodities, Conspiracy Fact and Theory, Headline News | 97 comments

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    This article was originally published by Paul Joseph Watson at Infowars.com.

    Editor’s Note: Incredibly, and in direct defiance of any sane logic, a recent Supreme Court decision has justified “government seizure of private pension funds to protect pensioners,” according to famed economist Martin Armstrong. This unsettling decision puts 401ks and plenty of other funds in the crosshairs. How that can be considered consumer protection, or government shepherding is unclear, if not unfathomable. Nonetheless, the rationale is in place – so beware.

    It has long since been legalized for Wall Street equity firms to gamble away pensions – including public pensions for states like California – through derivatives, while it has long since been legalized for the Federal Reserve to literally grow paper on trees, hand out free candy to sugar addicts and make money (for those at the top) so cheap its practically free – all driving down the value of money for savers, pensioners, insurance policies and ordinary people to next to nothing. Now, this too shall pass.

    Moreover, numerous financial “experts” have been calling for bans on cash, blaming physical currency for problems born out of a system that has gone bizarre – and produced negative interest rates, as SHTF reported not long ago. Now, those implementing this agenda will seek to ban cash in order to force compliance with its policies, whether they are good for main street or not (and they are most certainly not). Black and grey markets will be outlawed, cash banned and everyone forced onto the digital cashless grid. The future looks bleak… better take cover.

    Economist: Government Preparing to Seize 401(k) Pensions

    by Paul Joseph Watson

    Economist Martin Armstrong warns that a Supreme Court ruling last week has set the stage for the federal government to begin seizing private pension funds.

    According to Armstrong, the outcome of Tibble v. Edison, which found that employers have a duty to protect their workers’ 401(k) plans from mutual funds that perform poorly, will grease the skids for the feds to seize private funds and prosecute companies who manage mutual funds badly.

    “Between the court ruling and the Obama administration’s push for stronger fiduciary rules,” the developments send a, “strong message that government can much easier seize the pension fund management industry of course to “protect the consumer,” writes Armstrong, warning that the ruling, “sets the stage to JUSTIFY government seizure of private pension funds to protect pensioners,” when the economy gets “messy”.

    “This fits perfectly just in time for the Obama administration’s next assault as they prepare a landmark change of its own by issuing rules requiring that financial advisers put the interest of customers ahead of their own,” writes Armstrong. “This creates a very gray area wide enough to justify public seizure of pension funds under management.”

    Following the 2008 financial collapse, reports emerged that the federal government was planning to seize the private 401(k) pensions of millions of Americans while enforcing an additional 5 per cent payroll tax as part of a new bailout program that would empower the Social Security Administration to redistribute pension funds “fairly” amongst citizens.

    Armstrong warns that the development is part of a wider move towards “economic totalitarianism,” which is also characterized by efforts to eliminate physical cash altogether in the name of giving central banks more power.

    Numerous prominent individuals have called for hard currency to be banned in recent months, including former Bank of England economist Jim Leaviss, who wrote a piece for the Telegraph which argued that, “Forcing everyone to spend only by electronic means from an account held at a government-run bank would give the authorities far better tools to deal with recessions and economic booms.”

    Earlier this month, German Council Of Economic expert Peter Bofinger also said that imposing a cashless society would make it easier for central banks to enforce their economic policy.

    As we have covered at length, commercial banks are beginning to impose more draconian controls on the withdrawal and depositing of cash, with the practice being treated as a suspicious activity even for relatively modest sums.

    Armstrong, who correctly predicted the 1987 Black Monday crash as well as the 1998 Russian financial collapse, also warned last year that a coming financial collapse will cause widespread riots to erupt in America by 2016.

    *********************

    Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

    Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71
    FOLLOW Paul Joseph Watson @ https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet

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      97 Comments

      1. The M.I.B, the last chance for Americans to turn the tide of tyranny again betray the U.S. Constitution.

        • The Supreme Kangaroo Court ramrodded
          by the Supreme Court Injustices under
          the jurisdiction of the High Potentate
          seated at the Royal Palace of the Moated
          Castle on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

          • According to Revelation someones retirement will be:

            “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

            Soon to follow 25% of Earth’s population crossing over into eternity.

            Working for dollars is great, just make sure we exchange them for something of value. Hint: if you see it on tv don’t buy it.

            • The US Department Of Commerce Officially Jumps The Shark, Will “Double Seasonally Adjust” GDP Data

              “It’s official: after seeing it work so well for years in China, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Statistics has officially replaced all of its excel models with just one function.”

              “As Steve Liemsan hinted a few days ago, in what we thought was a very belated April fools joke, th eBEA has finally thrown in the towel on weak seasonally-adjusted US GDP data, and as a result has decided to officially proceed with a second seasonal adjustment: one which will take all the bad data, and replaced it with nice and sparkly, if totally fake and goalseeked, GDP numbers.

              As Bloomberg reports, “the way some parts of U.S. gross domestic product are calculated are about to change in the wake of the debate over persistently depressed first-quarter growth.

              In a blog post published Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis listed a series of alterations it will make in seasonally adjusting data used to calculate economic growth. The changes will be implemented with the release of the initial second-quarter GDP estimate on July 30, the BEA said.”

              In other words, as of July 30, the Q1 GDP which will have seen its final print at -1% or worse, will be revised to roughly +1.8%, just to give the Fed the “credibility” to proceed with a September rate hike which means we can now safely assume not even the Fed will launch a “hiking cycle” at a time when the first half GDP will print negative (assuming the Atlanta Fed’s 0.7% Q2 GDP estimate is even modestly accurate).”

              Zerohedge

      2. The govt. is broke. They exist on funding by the taxpayer. The taxes are no longer enough. Where do they get more money?

        • Actually your taxes go to paying interest on the fiat virtual dollars created by a keystroke. The keystrokes will be pounded until the dollar goes Zimbabwe.

        • “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered…”

          -Thomas Jefferson

          • And so it has come to pass.

            • Hamilton’s Curse.

        • They exist by exerting authority over the people “taxpayer”, by force, intimidation, and violence. It’s not just the taxes they take out of our incomes. Look at all the other monies they steal everytime you get a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, or through all these arbitrary fines and laws, the war on drugs, asset forfeiture, so on and so on. And we just keep letting them tack more and more hidden charges and fine print onto our contract because they tell us it’s all for our own good. Well I got news for people, when your bill is due, you better hope you’ve got the money to pay up

        • Most taxpayers have work to eat, right? The government won’t let you work for your food unless they get a portion in the form of tax payments.

          Most taxpayers have to work to have a home, right? The government won’t let you stay in your home unless they get a portion in the form of tax payments.

          Taxpayers are effectively share-croppers relative to the government or surfs relative to the government “lord”.

      3. Cash out your 401k, or lose it.
        I would take the penalty, and use the funds to buy food, ammo, guns, silver & gold.

        • I can’t blame anyone for that advice. We are getting more warnings about Gov’t and Banking theft regarding pensions and retirement funds as well as a cashless society.

          We are at the end game when this stuff starts to happen. The whole world is Greece except no one wants to admit it.

        • I cashed out my wife’s 401k a few years ago. She thought I was an idiot. I told her to wait. They will come to confiscate them. As far as cashing mine out, I will not be able to do that as I still work for my current employer. Wish I was able to follow that advice for myself.

          • At least you won’t lose them both.

            • Six pack,

              Yes, I at least got that going for me. I wish I would have see this coming sooner. I never would have contributed to a 401k. My monthly retirement contributions would have been for junk silver, beans, bullets, ammo, and other survival gear. I don’t have a massive 401k, but it is still an accumulation of my labor and time that will be stolen. My time is not replaceable. I am currently getting hosed by the elites. We will see about that when the gloves drop. Lloyd Blankenstein, Jamie Dimon, Janet Yellon and your fellow sociopaths beware. I know who you are, and I know the crimes you have committed against humanity.

          • Borrow the bulk of your money out of your 401K if you have that option. You can pay it back to yourself over time, and possibly keep borrowing from it every time it accumulates to a certain amount. If they steal it, there would be a lot less in there since you already borrowed from it. Just a thought; hopefully someone with more understanding of this process will chime in.

            • Sold 1/4 of my holdings.
              payed off my mortgage.
              took a 25% hit plus penalty.
              glad I did. Now my 3 fam home pays.
              the market could take that much on a whim.

            • Sorry to be the wet blanket, but you can only borrow a smallish percentage of the full value of your 401K. Check with your 401K broker for the details.

      4. You mean they are coming for digits in a computer. The brain dead dumbed down chemically altered COWARD fascist boot licking Zombie trash in the collapsing Corporatist Fascist shithole of the world actually believe they have something of value in those pension and 401K accounts stored in a computer. The Corporatist Fascist GENOCIDAL evil filth controlling the fascist shithole of the world are laughing their asses off everyday at the dumbed down ignorance of the boot licking COWARD pussy Zombies of collapsing Murica. They are screaming in laughter as the COWARD PUSSY ZOMBIE fascist boot licking trash shove more chemical filled GMO poisonous toxic shit in their toxic waste dump bodies, so they stay braind dead, dumbed down, disease ridden, and of course dead at an early age, so they never get to collect any of those worthless digits in a computer. The COWARD PUSSY ZOMBIE fascist boot licking trash in the collapsing shithole of the world deserve EVERYTHING coming the COWARD ZOMBIE PUSSIES way.

        • lol. Thanks, Ron Ahrens…

          I get a chuckle when I read your posts. You use the best adjectives on the board.

          • Acid on steroids.

            • RON FOR PRESIDENT!

              • They will never elect someone like me brave enough to tell the TRUTH. Anyone who does tell the TRUTH, like Aaron Russo, John Kennedy, and many others-the Corporatist Fascist filth just have them murdered by other psychopathic fascist evil filth in the CIA and other fascist government boot licking alphabet agencies in the collapsing fascist shithole of the world.

          • I only wish what is happening in the Orwellian Fascist Police State nightmare of Murica was something to laugh at.

        • “The brain dead dumbed down chemically altered COWARD fascist boot licking Zombie trash”

          Hold on boy !

          We are all as far as i can see being feed/drinking something to dumb us all down and thats why the USA seems to be so full of cowards.

          I don’t want this “chemically altered” $hit but i am not sure what they are using or putting it in but will be all ears if you know.

      5. Anti-gun idiots, I wonder if this is why the government wants the people disarmed. I mean this will be the ultimate heist in the history of the world, and they don’t want anyone to be able to stop them.

        • Kfilly

          A street thug will put up more violence over $5 than a middle class person will over $500,000 in their pension investments. In the end I suspect they have more in store than just taking your pension.

          They deregulate the Financial Sector abandoning Glass Steagall setting forth the groundwork for theft by deception on an unimaginable scale. The inJustice Department doesn’t prosecute using what remains of the former laws. It gives no choice to “We The People” but to surrender your wealth for safekeeping. Might as well put John Dillinger as bank President. Regarding all of this its a choice of ENRON or Uncle Sam. Take your pick, flip a coin with Uncle as heads and Corzine as tails. If it lands on edge and stays there you win.

          • I agree for the most part. The dumbed down slaves of Amerika could care less. However, there are quite a few that would care. Count me in that group. My caveat is that when it gets bad enough for people, they will riot. Desperate people do desperate things.

            • That tipping point is hunger.

              Poland suffered under the de-facto rule of the USSR, Stalin and all. It wasn’t until the subsidies were cut for food in response to the arms race with the west and prices rose too high and availability declined that the masses said, “Here I drawl the line”.

              Food and Circus. Its been the game plan for 2000 + years.

          • I only keep enough in the bank to pay 2 particular bills and for some occasional online shopping. The rest I keep in a safe at home [private banking]. Use a safe with the old combination dial lock. Memorize your combination and hide your written copy of that combination the best you can. Never give the combination to anyone.

          • The 401K monies will be given to all our newly minted citizens from the third world. Americans will not need them as a new final solution is in our future. Who would have believed that it would be so easy for a Muslim half breed to totally disassemble the US in eight years. That no one would even resist.

            • Yes, all very “Book Of Revelation”, don’t you think?!!!!

      6. The end game is not so far off now Cashing out your 401K – tax liability is upwards to 40%. Think that sucks, there’s more to come. The avian virus that poultry farms were forced to slaughter almost 100% of their flocks-eggs and products that use eggs is going to go up – possibly as high as 200%.

        Side note: was experimenting with a power inverter the other day-took my riding lawnmower and attached the power feed to the battery terminals-had 120VAC production without having to purchase a gen-set. Just some shade tree McGyverism hints.
        Be well
        Cat

        • Cat, A riding mower battery is around 20ah capacity and probably charges at about 1-2 amps. Thats enough to power a small device but anything larger will drain the battery asap and shut the inverter down. Just so you know 🙂

          • The reason I have an old VW diesel car.

            The things run forever, produce a huge amperage at low speeds using very little fuel, and serve as viable transportation or a high powered self portable generator with a pretty hefty battery capacity and no modifications.

            You can pretty much run them on any oil thin enough to pump easily through the injectors, the absolutely love automatic transmission fluid which is readily available at any transmission shop that does fluid changes (better than veggie oil by far).

            • You know your stuff dude. Well done.

              • Answer your own post lol. But it is a good one!

                • Anyone can use Anonymous, multiple posters do. Same as anyone can use Genius.

      7. My cross bow has a special drawing right. The Banker broadhead can hit a cigar in a top pocket at 100 yards.

        • I give you two up thumbs.

        • “GS”
          I’m planning on using mine for around 40 yards so that they don’t know where I’m at.
          Remember to.
          AIM SMALL MISS SMALL!
          Sgt.

          • My union pension is off limits so I suppose I will have to sell the house, move to the alternate location, use my wheel and deal skills (work very well and in demand) and just do it that way. We will be fine without pension and besides, I like to buy and sell more than I like working 😛

            • Just friggin great Genius!You say will have a party at your home(end of world and all)but did put it out there maybe a cook out at Warchilds!You are not trying to save moniey/your investments ect.,your passing the buck on the end of world bash!

              • Noooooo, We have 2 homes lol. We will have the bash at location #2. Sell #1 and move to #2. No worries, we can sit and watch the mushroom clouds from far away! Open bar and goldfish crackers galore 🙂

      8. I hope Greece goes down the drain and takes Europe with it. Of course the WEST is going to have problems in the USA, but I’m sick of it. What happens next is collateral damage.

        Remember your Congress Critter when it all goes down.

        • My list of names is longer than that. We need to create “dossiers” on all of them. Thankfully, some of them won’t be around much longer, for example, David Rockefeller, who will be 100 in a couple of weeks. Find names, research them, and create paper files. Trade backup CDs with friends.

          Information on the internet may disappear. The “Wayback Machine” at ht tp://archive.org can find pages that have “disappeared” for one reason or another.

          A good starting place is Wikipedia, so download a backup copy of it occasionally. Check out this link: ht tp://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/all-of-wikipedia-can-be-installed-to-your-desktop-in-just-30-hours/

          • Make a list. Check it twice. Know who has been naughty and who has been nice …. in your neck of the woods. Santa Claus is coming to town!

            Create a Freedom Cell where you live. Organize your family, friends, and neighbors. Its your Republic if you can keep it. 🙂

            • I’m working on it. I know some people who have asked me about some of the things they’ve started hearing. They seem to value my knowledge. So I tell them about the things that they probably don’t have to worry about. Then, when I tell them about the things they do need to consider, they’re more open to listen.

              So far, everyone, black or white, has an intense distrust and dislike for our dear leader and everyone else in DC.

              It may not be PC, but I’m concentrating on people who seem to have some means to prepare. The other people can’t seem to find the money to do anything but buy junk food and plastic crap from “Walmarks.”

              Jade Helm seems to have a high Q score in this area.

            • @DK

              You never answered my question: Who gets your vote for Der Fuhrer in 2016?

              C’mon… Tell me!!!

        • ISIS will be brought to this country. People better get a clue as to the end game here. Doubt that there is anything that can be done about it. They believe fanatically and we believe in nothing. Guess who will win that match up.

      9. It’s coming and for those who don’t get their heads out of the sand will be buried in it. This can still be a great country but the blood of patriots will need to be shed!

      10. Thank God I took all of my 401K money 10 years ago took the penalty and bought land, 100 acres. Yes I pay taxes on it. But my taxes are under $50.00 a year that is not a miss print 50 bucks.
        If I had a 401K I would get rid of it and use it for other things. I don’t have to tell you folks, you know what to do with it.
        These thieving bastards are going to stop at nothing.
        Maybe the up coming attack from two articles back as bad as it is, would be the start of something good. Just maybe we could get rid of the thieving bastards and start all over again!
        They are going to take from Peter and give to Paul. Peter being the middle class tax payers and Paul being the Zombies and Leaches. It is time to let them starve! I’m sorry the have taxed me to a point where I have a hard time helping my family!
        See where, I believe it was Arizona has set a ONE YEAR limit on food stamps to anyone that can work. GOOD for them!!!
        Rant is over.
        Sgt.

        • And if you think your pension for being a city employee wont come under attack soon.. just wait

          that is if it aint already

        • If you can work, you don’t need food stamps for more than the time it takes you to get on your feet again.

        • If they can take 201k plans what makes you think they cannot take your land> I see a couple of thousand new immigrants taking over your land. Just like Zimbabwe.

      11. 401K’s. Cash them out and take the loss. You folks know what to do with the T.P. you will get for it. so go and buy some Food, Guns, Ammo, and what ever you need.

        This damn thing is B.S. Thank God I don’t have a 401K. These thieving bastards in D.C. are going to tax, and or steal our money right into a Civil war. WHY? We never need this before 1960’s Why now? Makes no frigging scene to me.

        The frigging Zombies and Leaches have taken over and they are not going to stop until we are fighting over crumbs of bread. God Help Us.
        Sgt.

        • It’s not just 401K’s Sgt. Dale, State and Federal Pensions will be looted too. Even if a person was to cash out their retirement funds, and lets say this person is holding 300K in a bag at home. Does anyone here think the Government is going to grant this person a fair and even 300k in a digital currency?

          No, but they will get a lesser amount in return than what they are holding in their bag. This will act out no differently than when they (gov.) outlawed Gold. They lowered the price of gold, and when they (gov.) felt they had all they needed from the people, they raised the price of gold to the point you couldn’t buy it back.

          Currencies, whether it be gold/silver or other precious metals and stones are only worth what they (gov.) says it is. These people manipulate everything and it is a direct slap in the face to the person who is holding such valuables. It’s wise to have these items, but it still leaves an individual stuck in the rut to play their manipulative financial game.

          Only way people can prosper and be financially secure is for the Global Enslavement of Finance be destroyed and be replaced with an honest system. Yes, I know the last part is a complete fantasy because there is literally no more honor in our society anymore.

          THE SLAVE GAME:

          To survive, you must play by their rules and regulations.
          Do not undermine your authority figure(s) or there will be dire consequences.
          Do what you are told, and shut the fuck up.
          Pay your Taxes and be happy about it.
          If the System needs more money from you, smile and be grateful that you are able to help them out.
          Do your duty, and report those to the authority who will not comply with the System.

          If this game is not to your liking, then you are automatically a “Freedom Fighter”.
          It’s in your duty to rebel, revolt, and become disobedient to your Authority figures, and this can all be done with a big smile on your face – enjoy 🙂

        • @Sgt Dale:

          Good Day Sir.

          All pension programs are in jeopardy, 401k’s are currently the low hanging fruit. The prime example is Detroit and how the pensioners are fighting just to keep their retirement.

          All city, county, and state pension programs are up to their eyeballs in unfunded (future) liabilities. There is nothing left in the kitty to pay.

          My pension is private and is also in jeopardy. Because of ZIRP (zero interest rate protocols), pension programs are suffering from limited growth, therefore falling short of funding to pay future obligations. My current pension is capped lower than what I have accrued through time.

          IMHO, our earned pension money will be replaced with negative interest and worthless U.S. bonds, and bank accounts will be given a sizable haircut to pay off gambling banker debt in the derivatives market. Those injuries are first blood and time for us to act in concert. Brutally I might add, brutally.

          Illinois’s unfunded liabilities are to the moon Alice, to the moon. I wish you luck, and get your ass out of there, ASAP.

          Pension theft MIGHT actually wake the masses —–pffffftt.

          And It’s Gone:

          ht tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DT7bX-B1Mg

          I will not go quietly…

          Be safe….stay the course….BA.

          • “B.A.” & “T.M.”
            I know but I don’t have any control over it to be able to cash it out.
            The nice thing is that I have gotten 10 years of them paying me. I just started getting my pension from the factory I worked at before I became a cop.
            Right now I’m in good shape. But tomorrow just might be an different story. That is why I’m a Prepper!
            Just added More food from Honeyville, Picked up some more silver, Brass and bullets, and a new AR15 pistol.
            Hunting & Fishing gear is ready. I hope and pray that I have all my ducks in a roll.
            Sgt.

          • “Those injuries are first blood and time for us to act in concert.”

            word!

            you signed a contract,, now they are wanting to rescind that contract … not one inch should be given you paid your end of the contract , now comes your turn and they want to F- you up the backside .. no ..noway

            those people were made to understand that this is what they were working for ..a guarantee of sorts .. a contract

            there needs to be some people hanging for this

      12. My money disappeared 20 years ago when my ex-wife took off. I wonder now if she was a secret government agent? Boy are they sneaky!

      13. We cashed out everything and spent it over 10 years ago.

      14. i just lost my job and have been thinking of cashing out my 401k, im not sure what its gonna cost me to do so but i would rather have the loss and be able to pay my bills then to give it away to the gooberment…. so the retirement funds are gonna go the way of social security, wow what a surprise

        • Deano, probably a 10% penalty plus income tax.

          • i was told one time that it was a 20% early withdrawal and 10% tax for our not so legal IRS… if that has changed i dont know

            • I believe that is pretty accurate Deano360 (20%). It’s their way of saying “if you don’t want to play the game anymore, it’s going to cost you”.

        • You can start drawing on your 401k at 59 1/2 with no penalty.

          You can take a hardship withdrawal if you lost your job. No repayment needed if you qualify.

          Make some calls, deano and best of luck to you.

        • You shouldn’t get your tax advise here. Most the comments are not totally accurate. If you take a 401K or 403b lump sum they withhold 20% for taxes. At tax time you figure out how much of that 20% you get back as your distribution is generally considered income. Find out what the outfit that has your 401k or 403b is going to put in your 1099R box 7. A “1” is bad, it means Early distribution, no known exception (in most cases, under age 59 ½) and you will owe the penalty. The rest of the other possible codes generally mean you don’t have to pay a 10% penalty.

          • Rellik offers good advice, especially when it comes to taxes. I would also point out that self-directed IRAs are an option for some. (Plenty of information on them available). And, if your wife would kill you for cashing out your 401k, look to see if you can take out a loan against it. I did the latter and invested the proceeds in PMs. I pay myself back at 2.25% interest, which will look great after the stock market goes belly up and ‘corrects’.

            Have a great day!
            Mal

        • i havent decided what im going to do, it may turn out that i wont have to cash it out and then again i dont want to loose it either… i do have some ideas as to what to do… i do agree that this isnt the best place to get advice, but it gets me thinking

      15. I say…

        “Eat the Rich!”

        When it does go down, The Corrupt 1% and their Zog Minions will have no where to hide, especially in my A.O.!

      16. This article is poorly written. It references 401(k) pensions… then social security… without really describing how they govt would go about seizing these funds. I’m a pension specialist for one of the biggest record keepers in the financial industry. We calculate pensions and initiate payments for thousands of pensioners on a regular basis. 401(k)’s and pensions are completely different. Maybe not in terms of how the govt could seize those funds but certainly in how they work. Pensions are guaranteed annuities paid out by these big corporations to plan participants. The money is held in a trust and all we do is write checks from it. Should govt decide to seize all the funds in the trust then they would need to decide which companies trust to go after and which ones to leave alone. Its highly unlikely they would just seize everything in all of these trusts all at once. People would be in an uproar. 401(k)s on the other hand fluctuate constantly and have been wiped out before due to market conditions. Social security is a completely different animal. Its structure as a pension but your fooling yourself if you thing that money just sitting there. The govt took that money long ago. The money we pay into it today is getting paid out tomorrow to people currently receiving those checks.

        • Think in terms of those trust funds being required to be reinvested in government bonds.

          Maybe the Postal service could issue bonds that pension fund trusts were, by law, required to have a certain percentage of their assets invested in. (actually, that might not be a bad idea. It could rescue the Post Office without costing the taxpayer anything.)

      17. My pension is in critical condition and who knows how long Social Security will last. Not looking good…..

        • Jim
          Do what you can. Plant a garden can your food or dehydrate it. If you can put as much as you can into your prepps. The most important things is put yourself into the Hands of God.
          I believe you are one of those that one day I will meet and find that you did just what you needed to and made it through the coming Hell.
          Sgt.

      18. Focus – look around you and pay attention. We live in a World where there is no such thing as “guarantee’s” anymore. It has been replaced with fantasy lies, and failed promises which seems to work pretty well with the clueless society.
        Just because something is written in black and white and is called a “contract”, means very little to them. Unions can and have changed/altered such documents and will continue to do so if need to be.

        I can recall the days of when a person’s word actually meant something, now most people renege and don’t follow through.
        I can recall a day when “paper contract” was not necessary, but a handshake to finalize the deal was as good as gold.

        401k’s and Pensions get played and pooled in the Stock Market, problem is. Wall Street does not reflect to what is happening on Main Street. Record setting stock numbers, yet we live in a country that does not produce or manufacture a damn thing anymore – how can the stock market be doing so well?

        It’s a complete fabricated illusion, and it’s a very dangerous game for anybody to be playing in it right now. The house of cards that has been created will eventually come down. The insider trading, market manipulation / corruption will reveal itself soon enough.

        When the SHTF finally arrives, currency or any form relevant to financial stability is the least of my concerns. Survival is all that will matter, and preparing the best way I can is the best asset for me.

        • @Tony

          I completely agree with you. Im not saying that pensions are guaranteed. In fact we regularly laugh at the word guarantee in finance because of how despicable things have gotten. Things never used to be like that. In principle pensions were guaranteed upon their creation. The company issuing it was on the hook for the money regardless of how well the invested funds did. If they defaulted on those payments then they would liquidize the company and the pension benefit guaranty corporation would continue paying the participant. Companies of course didnt like that they were responsible so they created the 401(k) where the individual is now responsible for looking after and investing those funds appropriately. Employees are now also responsible for any gains and losses as well and are expected to be able to retire off that. Its a joke. I get fed this crap from my employer daily and I know its all smoke and mirrors. I just think its a little more complicated to disappear every pension, 401(k) and social security benefit in America than the article portrays.

      19. wait until the city workers , fire and cops realize their pensions are involved this way too

        will there really be any incentive to be a part of that thin blue line than ?

        always warned that being Unionized was not always a good thing , especially while your BA has more bling on and drives a better car and lives in a better home then those he is supposedly “representing”

        boy doesn’t that sound and look familiar ? just look at who is supposedly “representing ” us in government

        yep you got it ,, better bling, better home, better car ..hell someone to drive their better car for them

        sound familiar? it should

      20. UPDATE 2-Poland reduces public debt through pension funds overhaul

        ht tp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/04/poland-pensions-idUSL6N0H02UV20130904

        pension funds are the last low hanging fruit for governments to seize in one way or the other

        I like how they call this theft an “overhaul”

        kinda like ketchup being called a vegetable ?

        • They hauling it over and over….’til its gone.

          • They keep hauling it over and over….’til its gone.

        • Satori

          Keep up the info flow buddy. Thanks.

      21. Hmmm.. Do I cash it in and pay the penalty of 30% or take my chances, that is the #1 question…

      22. Withdrawal limits …

        Just remember to read up on the withdrawal limits on any account from financial institutions.

        S.A.R.s can have some very unexpected results for those not realizing that someone is watching the (your) money.

        Given the time constraints for all this to happen, cash withdrawals should be done with strategy in mind …

        Good Luck …

      23. Problem is there isn’t enough working taxpayers to cover the gov so they have to steal more from those that work. Pensions are finished my company is funding mine at 25 percent I’m gonna get nothing when I’m old what $1000 a month that’s nothing compared to the guys retiring now getting $4000 a month. Working long hours with no promise of a decent retirement it’s a joke folks. I have retired guys working still 40 hrs a month just to get free union medical. Old guys that should be playing golf with the few years they have left. They are getting screwed still. We are not talking about guys sleeping in a fire house and getting paid we are talking about guys that busted their ass 50 to 60 hrs a week for over 30 years. They have earned it and deserve it for their commitment to the trade. But the media and politicians attack the guy that is getting a pension. They talk about elder fraud but they are the ones doing it. When the gov robs people it has to be done but if someone defrauds an elder they are a criminal.

        • Man you are wrong and buying into a cock and ball story about having to keep borrwing more money to meet demands.

          70% of what you spend goes back in taxes and it starts as soon as sunlight hits the ground to grow grass to feed the cows that end up on your dinner plate.

          The farmer pays tax on the land and then tax on profit and it’s all past up the chain to you so would you like your stake well done sir !

          Question :
          If every country in the world is in debt then who do we owe all this money too or is that a secret.

      24. Didn’t they say if its in the bank its theirs not yours.
        Most people just laugh at you when you say that. Wonder who will have the last laugh.
        That rainy day may never come. Get what you need with it now.

      25. I work in financial services. I highly recommend to invest in food, lead and brass..they hold value ore shtf and post shtf..

      26. Banking news from Greece…

        With Greece “Nowhere Close” To Deal, Depositors Pull €300 Million From Banks In Single Day

        “Greece is “nowhere close” to a deal with its creditors and will miss a May deadline to strike a compromise ahead of an IMF payment due on June 5. Meanwhile, the ECB tightens the screws on the country’s banking sector by refusing to lift the ceiling on the emergency liquidity that until now has helped to offset deposit flight.”

        “On Tuesday, Greece postponed a scheduled Eurogroup meeting in Brussels without offering a reason as officials conducted “preparatory” discussions and held an evening teleconference with creditors.

        Face-to-face meetings will take place today with just 9 days to go until June 5 when Athens will miss a payment to the IMF, triggering an unprecedented default the repercussions of which no one can accurately predict.”

        Zerohedge

      27. Geez, you guys can’t see a good thing when it slaps you in the face. The seizing of the pensions is FOR your protection..OTHERWISE, these corporations holding and investing your money can go under, declare bankruptcy, pay everyone BUT you….that is till now. Now, your money will be seized BEFORE the shysters get a chance to squander it making it go poof.

      28. If the US government paid half as much attention to enforcing the law on bankers as they have on FIFA then we would not be in this mess.

        What upset the USA was they wanted to tax the kick-backs from the FIFA bribes but got nothing and they now want to use it as an excuse to ban the world cup in Russia.

        Football has become a joke ever since the bankers moved in twenty years ago and fans are being taken for twats because most games have been fixed before the ball is even kicked on the field.

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