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NEWS RELEASE
February 4, 2010
Pension funding relief legislation needed nowWASHINGTON, DC — “Congress must enact pension funding relief immediately,” American Benefits Council President James A. Klein told reporters on a conference call media briefing today. “Legislative opportunities like this come along very rarely, in which numerous stakeholders along the ideological spectrum agree on the severity of a crisis and the clarity of the solution. Temporary relief legislation will preserve jobs, promote economic recovery and alleviate the deficit.” Over the past 18 months, an unprecedented “perfect storm” of depressed financial markets, low interest rates and new pension funding rules has artificially inflated defined benefit pension obligations to the point of crisis. “Millions of dollars, normally earmarked for job creation and capital investment, must now be poured into healthy pension funds whose obligations to pay out benefits will stretch over several decades. The resulting immediate job losses, if no action is taken, could severely hamper our tenuous economic recovery,” Klein said. The American Benefits Council supports the swift enactment of relief legislation like the Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act, introduced in the House of Representatives by Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Pat Tiberi (R-OH). This legislation would temporarily allow plan sponsors more time to manage the losses brought about by the economic downturn, and the Council applauds Representatives Pomeroy and Tiberi for their leadership. Similar relief is included in various legislative proposals developed by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller and House Republican Leader John Boehner. “Companies are not looking for a handout or a bailout. They simply need time to manage these unexpected losses in a logical and non-volatile manner. In fact, unlike other economic relief legislation, pension funding relief is actually scored as a revenue raising measure for the federal government. Companies are being forced to take action right now because 2010 obligations are generally locked in and companies are preparing for another round of further increasing obligations locking in January 1, 2011. Every day we wait further hurts workers, companies and communities across the country. Employers, workers, non-profit philanthropic service organizations, Democrats and Republicans agree that temporary relief legislation must be enacted now,” Klein said. Additional materials, including a recording of the briefing, are or will soon be available at: http://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/issues/dbfunding.cfm For more information, or to arrange an interview with Council staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director of communications, at jhammersla@abcstaff.org or by phone at 202-289-6700 (office) or (202) 253-5458 (cell).
The American Benefits Council is the national trade association for companies concerned about federal legislation and regulations affecting all aspects of the employee benefits system. The Council’s members represent the entire spectrum of the private employee benefits community and either sponsor directly or administer retirement and health plans covering more than 100 million Americans.
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