Retirees in the Wisconsin Retirement System will see a slightly larger drop in pension benefits than originally estimated two months ago. The Department of Employee Trust Funds reported Tuesday that the pension cut will be 1.3 percent starting in May for all 144,000 retirees in the Wisconsin Retirement System. In January, the estimated cut was just 1 percent. Last year benefits were cut 2.1 percent due to steep losses in retirement system investments.

Any gains or losses are spread out over five years, necessitating a cut in benefits this year even though investments in the so-called core fund increased 22 percent in 2009.

Benefits for 35,000 participants in the riskier variable fund will increase 22 percent this year. That follows a 42 percent drop in 2009.  [Read the full article]

Life Technologies Corp. Chairman and CEO Gregory Lucier's compensation fell 60 percent to just over $4.5 million in 2009 on a lack of stock awards, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing.

In 2009, Lucier received a 14 percent boost in salary to just over $1.1 million and a 63 percent boost in performance-related bonus to just over $3.3 million. Other compensation, which includes financial planning services, long-term disability premiums and a 401(k) match, fell 32 percent to $43,469.

The figures were part of a March 5 regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lucier did not receive stock options or restricted stock in 2009, compared with $8.1 million worth in 2008 when the company was formed. Lucier previously served as CEO of Invitrogen Corp. and received most of his regular 2008 compensation with that company. [Read the full article]

Paying for college is a problem that can keep parents awake at night, given the spiraling cost of tuition, dwindling stock market returns and stagnant home values. It's no small task, and like any major expense, there are right and wrong ways to do it.

Avoid these common mistakes, and you might find paying for college is something you can handle without wrecking your budget.Mistake No. 1: Not filling out the Free Application for Federal Student AidThe absolute biggest mistake parents make when paying for college is not filling out the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The FAFSA is the key to grants, work-study programs and gift aid from a college's financial aid office. It's also required for federal student loans, such as subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans, and PLUS loans for parents.

The U.S. [Read the full article]

Rich countries must strengthen financial market regulation and bring down their oversized government deficits, two of the biggest new challenges to have arisen from the global economic crisis, the OECD said Wednesday.

In a 30-nation report, the chief economist of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said restoring public finances to health will be a "daunting task" for most OECD governments.

There was no specific mention of Greece's fiscal crisis in the report entitled "Going for Growth", an annual overview of economic reforms, but the OECD recommended cutting social spending as a general tool to reduce government debt.

Its policy prescriptions for Greece included reducing incentives for early retirement, privatization, and easing employment protection -- measures that could be difficult to swallow for a public already balking at painful spending cuts. [Read the full article]