Retirement Heist: how companies plunder and profit from the nest eggs of American workers

116 Just before Christmas 2008, Irma Johnson: Irma Johnson v. Amegy Bank, No. 4:2009cv01424 (Southern District of Texas, 2009).

117 “dead peasants insurance”: The memos were exhibits in a lawsuit in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that Winn-Dixie’s COLI policies were a sham transaction for federal income tax purposes. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, No. 00-11828 (U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2001).

121 “Without these suicides, NCC would be running at 33%”: Exhibits provided by Mike Myers, of McClanahan, Myers, and Espey, a Houston law firm that has handled numerous COLI cases.

121 To keep track of when employees and retirees die: Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis, “Companies Tap Pension Plans to Fund Executive Benefits—Little-Known Move Uses Tax Break Meant for Rank and File,” The Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2008.

122 His mother died in 1998 at age sixty-two. Her family received a $21,000 benefit: Author interview with John Reynolds.

123 a brown envelope was left on the desk of Ken Kies: Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis, “Death Benefit: How Corporations Built Finance Tool Out of Life Insurance,” The Wall Street Journal, December 20, 2002.

124 Ways and Means chairman Bill Archer, who had criticized janitors insurance: Clark/Bardes Inc. proxy statement.

127 The mass death of heavily insured executives: Society of Actuaries meeting, Washington, D.C., 2003.

128 The twenty-year-old was working at a Stop N Go: Schultz and Francis, “Death Benefit.”

130 Banks took out billions of dollars’ worth of this life insurance: Bank “call reports” filed with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

131 Insurance regulators, who often accommodate the wishes of the industry: Disclosure information based on interviews with regulators and industry representatives.

CHAPTER 8: UNFAIR SHARES

135 The company’s effective guaranteed return on the contribution in the first year: Schultz and Francis, “Companies Tap Pension Plans”; calculation by Theo Francis.

141 Lorenzo Walker, one of the warehouse workers at Hugo Boss: Author interview.

143 One employee got a pension increase: Gromala v. Royal & Sun Alliance.

CHAPTER 9: PROJECT SUNSHINE

148 “The Company is not committed to maintenance of a retiree’s standard of living”: Internal company memos, Ellen E. Schultz, “Retirees Found Varity Untruthful,” The Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2000.

148 “death of all existing retirees”: Company memo.

CHAPTER 10: TWILIGHT ZONE

160 He thought the job was pretty decent: Author interviews with GenCorp retirees, including Ed Peksa, Kenneth Bottolfs, Mabel Kramer, and John Van Dyke; court records in Wotus v. Gencorp, 5:00 cv 2604 (N.D. Ohio).

170 Asarco, was suing him and other retirees in federal court: Asarco v. United Steelworkers of America, 03-CV-1297-PHX-FJM, 2005 U.S. Dist. Lexis 20873 (D. Ariz. 2005); Author interview with Edward C. Yarter et al.

172 Rexam, a maker of cans for beverages: Rexam, Inc. v. United Steelworkers of America, No. 03-2998, 31 E.B.C. 2562 (D. Minn. 2003), later proceedings, 2005 WL 2318957 (D. Minn. 2005).

174 “They shopped more than we did, Judge”: Crown Cork & Seal v. United Steelworkers of America, 03-CV-1381, 32 E.B.C 1950, 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 760 (W. D. Pa. 2004), related to Lawhorn v. Crown, No. 1:03-CV-461 (S.D. Ohio 2003).