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Council commends Senate on passage of pension relief Bush Administration urged to sign bill into law as soon as possible December 11, 2008: "The Senate’s approval of the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act (H.R. 7327) — and passage by the House of Representatives yesterday – is a crucial first step to ensure stability in pension plan funding next year," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein today, upon Senate passage of the measure by unanimous consent. "We urge President Bush to sign this legislation into law as soon as possible." In addition to crucial temporary relief for sponsors of defined benefit plans, the measure also includes a provision to help retirees who have recently seen their retirement savings account balances decline. The Council’s earlier news release detailed the key provisions of H.R. 7327. "This legislation, if signed into law, will help mitigate the artificially inflated funding obligations brought about by unprecedented market volatility and help avoid triggering a requirement for many employers to restrict pension benefits. Instead those funds will be available for job retention, job creation and capital investment," Klein said. "We congratulate the 110th Congress on this action today, and we look forward to working with the new Congress and the new administration in 2009 to pursue further efforts to stabilize pension plan funding during these difficult economic times," Klein said. "The Council is committed to the principles of security and predictability in pension policy, principles that will benefit plan participants, plan sponsors and the economy as a whole." Council letters to Congress and other resources are available on the Council's Pension Reform Web page. To arrange an interview with a member of the Council staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director, communications, at (202) 289-6700. Council's 10-point plan aids retirement savings, promotes economic recovery, protects jobs Market turmoil now straining employer-sponsored pension plans October 29, 2008: "The current economic turmoil is wreaking havoc on a number of fronts: the jobs market, the housing market, the financial market. If swift action is not taken, the employer-sponsored retirement system will be the next front in this economic storm," said American Benefits Council President James A. Klein prior to today's hearing on economic recovery by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee." To address the challenges faced by American businesses, workers and retirees, the Council has proposed a ten-point plan for urgent consideration by Congress." The Council provided a written statement for the hearing record. The ten-point plan provides concrete recommendations for helping individuals weather the financial storm; for preventing unexpected and unintended pension funding mandates that would cost jobs, impede economic recovery and trigger massive benefit "freezes"; and for encouraging future retirement saving. "The defined benefit pension system, in particular, is under tremendous strain. Market volatility and accelerated funding requirements threaten to create enormous pension obligations — in the hundreds of millions of dollars for some individual plan sponsors — when that money could otherwise be spent on infrastructure and job creation," Klein said. The Council's 10-point plan and statement for the record are available on the front page of the Council Web site. The Council was also one of 15 trade groups to sign on to a group letter to Ways and Means Committee leaders urging relief for defined benefit plans. The Council's full news release is available here. Media wishing to arrange interview with a member of the Council staff should contact Jason Hammersla, Council director, communications, at (202) 289-6700. Council outlines 10-point plan to address challenges threatening employer-sponsored retirement plans Urgent attention needed to strengthen employee savings, prevent plan freezes October 22, 2008: “The current economic turmoil has placed a strain on the employer-sponsored retirement system,” said American Benefits Council President James A. Klein at a briefing for the news media today. “To ensure continued retirement security for American workers and retirees, the Council proposes a ten-point plan for immediate consideration by Congress.” The 10-point plan provides concrete recommendations for helping individuals weather the financial storm, for preventing unexpected and unintended pension funding mandates that would cost jobs and trigger massive benefit “freezes,” and for encouraging future retirement saving. The elements of the plan would:
To speak a member of the Council staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director, communications, at (202) 289-6700. Council: employer-sponsored retirement system designed to weather economic challenges October 7, 2008: In conjunction with today’s House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee hearing on the economy’s implications for Americans’ retirement security, the American Benefits Council submitted a statement for the record asserting the strength and resilience of the voluntary employer-sponsored benefits system. "This successful system facilitates employer sponsorship of plans, encourages employee participation in pension programs, promotes prudent investing, insists on transparency, operates at reasonable cost and is subject to strict fiduciary obligations and sound regulatory oversight. This is a system that is built to serve the long-term retirement interests of workers and that is designed to weather changes in market, financial and economic conditions, even conditions as anxiety-provoking as the ones we are experiencing today," the Council stated. The Council’s testimony specifically addresses the long-term focus of defined benefit plans, recent enhancements to defined contribution plans and the importance of financial literacy. American Benefits Council, Miller & Chevalier Announce Results of Corporate Health Care Policy Survey Respondents Express Concerns About Health Care Reform Proposals of Both Presidential Candidates, Call for More Attention to Cost and Quality Issues and Maintenance of ERISA Standards September 16, 2008: The American Benefits Council and Miller & Chevalier Chartered today announced the results of their 2008 Corporate Health Care Policy Forecast Survey, measuring the current perspectives and attitudes of leading corporate benefit professionals on the direction of health care policy in the coming year. By wide margins – and regardless of their personal political affiliation – the people who design and administer employer health plans expressed concerns with both Presidential candidates’ health care proposals, saying that Senator John McCain’s proposal to repeal the tax exclusion for employer-provided health coverage and Senator Barack Obama’s proposal to compel employers to “pay or play” would have strong negative impacts on American workers. "This feedback should be a wake-up call to our political leaders that the people responsible for structuring and managing employer-sponsored health plans, which cover more than 130 million Americans, are deeply skeptical about key elements of both Presidential candidates' reform proposals. Rather than taxing workers' health benefits and compelling employers to provide coverage they can’t afford, candidates should focus on initiatives to control costs and promote top quality care," said James A. Klein, president of the American Benefits Council. The corporate benefits executives also urged Presidential and Congressional candidates to pay more attention to issues that affect the cost of health coverage and the quality of health services. Employers are actively working to address rising health care costs and have implemented programs designed to improve health care quality, with 92% of respondents saying their companies have adopted wellness or chronic care programs. Other programs and policies in wide use include (1) offering a consumer-directed health plan with a health savings account or health reimbursement arrangement, (2) requesting public reporting of provider quality and (3) participating in regional or national public-private collaboratives to establish and support uniform standards for measuring and reporting cost or quality information. The survey results also confirm that nearly unanimously, business leaders believe maintaining the federal preemption framework of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), is vital to continuing employer-sponsored coverage. Regardless of their company’s size, geography, industry or even the respondent’s own political affiliation, respondents overwhelmingly support maintaining ERISA standards and oppose individual regulation at the state level. Full survey results are available here. For more information or to schedule an interview with Council policy staff, please contact Jason Hammersla at (202) 289-6700. ‘Safe and Sound’ retirement goals include raising financial literacy, expanding coverage November 8:"The current voluntary employer-sponsored retirement system has been an enormous success," said Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council vice president, retirement policy, at a hearing before the House of Representatives Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee. "The magnitude of America’s demographic challenges now dictates that individuals, employers and the government all need to do more to continue this success and ensure widespread retirement security." Dudley’s testimony was drawn from the Council’s 2004 report Safe and Sound: A Ten-Year Plan for Promoting Personal Financial Security, which contains specific goals for improving retirement coverage and savings and discusses the responsibilities of the key stakeholders. "The fact that individuals will be called upon to play a greater role in achieving personal financial security does not mean that employers or the government will be doing less," Dudley said. "As individuals play a more prominent role in achieving their own personal financial security, employers and the government will be expected to help provide the tools to more simply and successfully play this larger role." The full text of the Council's media release is available in the Newsroom. |
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Benefits Byte (01/05/09)
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Pension Plan Funding Relief The Council's Pension Reform Issue Page The recent market volatility has created enormous, unprecedented defined benefit plan funding obligations. These funding obligations are of such a magnitude that they will almost certainly trigger job loss and significantly slow down our economic recovery. The Council is currently engaged in a campaign for immediate legislative action to mitigate the effects of this market volatility on defined benefit plans. The following resources are now available:
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