We define ECI to be adjusted gross income (AGI) plus: above - the - line
adjustments (e.g., IRA deductions, student loan interest, self - employed health insurance deduction, etc.), employer paid health insurance and other nontaxable fringe benefits, employee and employer contributions to tax deferred retirement savings plans, tax - exempt interest, nontaxable Social Security benefits, nontaxable
pension and retirement income, accruals within defined benefit
pension plans, inside buildup within defined contribution retirement accounts, cash and cash -
like (e.g., SNAP) transfer income, employer's share of payroll taxes, and imputed corporate income tax liability.
Some have expressed reservations that, in transitioning from
pensions to annuity payouts, they stand to lose the security of their payments because annuities are not secured by a federal authority
like the FDIC, and will have to forgo cost - of - living
adjustments.
[Reminder: A lifetime immediate fixed annuity with inflation
adjustments functions very much
like a
pension — the annuity provider (an insurance company) pays you a predictable amount of money every year until you die, at which point the money disappears.]
Many believe that England and Wales should follow suit and there is currently a Private Member's Bill before the House of Lords, the Cohabitation Rights Bill, with the objective of achieving just this which, if passed, would see the possibility of the
likes of lump sum, property
adjustment and
pension sharing orders being made within the context of disputes between former cohabitants.