New federal laws and regulations, particularly non-discrimination rules, concerning welfare plans, fringe benefits, and tax-sheltered annuities are examined, and new law and regulatory developments concerning pensions are highlighted. (MSE)

Older women, who comprise two-thirds of the retired U.S. population, share substantially less of the $1.3 trillion worth of over 800,000 private and public pension plans by every way of measurement. Of the one-in-five women receiving pension income, some obtain it from their own paid work history, while others are widows and divorced women who…