BNA's Web Watch - Pension Security Issues

Hearings by Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations April 29, 2004. Hearing on “Examining Long-Term Solutions to Reform and Strengthen the Defined Benefit Pension System” Opening Statement of Chairman Johnson

Panel One
Mr. Kenneth A. Kent Academy Vice President, Pension Issues American Academy of Actuaries Washington, DC

Mr. Greg Heaslip
Vice President, Benefits PepsiCo, Inc. Purchase, NY

Mr. J. Mark Iwry, Esq.
Non-Resident Senior Fellow The Brookings Institution Washington, D.C.

Panel Two
Mr. Timothy Lynch President and CEO Motor Freight Carriers Association Washington, DC

Mr. John S. “Rocky” Miller, Esq. Partner Cox, Castle & Nicholson, L.L.P. Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Monsignor Higgins Labor Research Center University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN

Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employment Cost Index—March 2004

Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration
Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans
Report of the Working Group on Defined Benefit Plan Funding And Discount Rate Issues
(November 2003)

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
PBGC Annual Reports

Pension Insurance Data Book 2003

Department of Treasury
Mark J. Warshawsky Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy U.S. Department Of The Treasury Prepared Remarks National Economists Club

Independent Agencies
General Accounting Office
PRIVATE PENSIONS Multiemployer Plans Face Short- and Long-Term Challenges (March 2004)

Thursday, March 18, 2004 PRIVATE PENSIONS Multiemployer Pensions Face Key Challenges to Their Long-Term Prospects Statement of Barbara D. Bovbjerg, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues (March 18, 2004)

PRIVATE PENSIONS Publicly Available Reports Provide Useful but Limited Information on Plans’ Financial Condition (March 2004)

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Single-
Employer Insurance Program Faces Significant Long-Term Risks, GAO-04-90
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 29, 2003).

Nongovernment Organizations

Brookings Institute
Strengthening Retirement Security
Joint Economic Committee, US Senate, March 10, 2004
Peter R. Orszag, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

Balances in Defined Contribution Plans and IRAs
Tax Notes, February 2, 2004
Peter R. Orszag, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

Deloitte Consulting
Survey of Pension Practices Pension Crisis Survey, March 2004 Deloitte Consulting LLP survey released (April 27, 2004)

Financial Accounting Standards Board
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 132 (revised 2003), Employers’
Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits.
(full text) || (summary)

Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 87, Employers’ Accounting for
Pensions (fulltext) || (summary)

International Standards Accounting Board
Proposed Amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits--Actuarial Gains and Losses, Group Plans and Disclosures (comments due by 31 July 2004)

Segal Benefits, Compensation and HR Consulting, SEGAL Survey, “The Funded Position of Multiemployer Pension Plans Remains Relatively Solid Despite Further Erosion"

August 2003

Federal Government
Congressional Hearings
July 15, 2003
Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Joint Hearing on Examining Pension Security and Defined Benefit Plans: The Bush Administration's Proposal to Replace the 30-Year Treasury Rate Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Witnesses Testify on Bush Administration 30-Year Interest Rate Plan, Strengthening Defined Benefit Pension Plans

July 15, 2003 - Hearing on "Examining Pension Security and Defined Benefit Plans: The Bush Administration’s Proposal to Replace the 30-year Treasury Rate” (Jointly with the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

June 4, 2003
"Strengthening Pension Security: Examining The Health And Future Of Defined Benefit Pension Plans" Hearing Before The Subcommittee On Employer-Employee Relations Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce House Of Representatives One Hundred Eighth Congress First Session Hearing Held In Washington, Dc, June 4, 2003 Serial No. 108-18

Witnesses Cite Burdensome Rules and Regulations as Causes for Decline in Defined Benefit Pension Plans

Defined Benefit Pension Plans
United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations, June 4, 2003 J. Mark Iwry, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Tax Policy Center

June 3, 2003
House Subcommittee on Capital Markets will hold a hearing, entitled "The Accounting Treatment of Employee Stock Options," on June 3, 2003

April 30, 2003
Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Hearing on Challenges Facing Pension Plan Funding Wednesday, April 30, 2003

Present Law And Background Relating To The Funding Rules For Employer-Sponsored Defined Benefit Plans And The Financial Position Of The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) Scheduled for a Public Hearing Before the SUBCOMMITTEE ON SELECT REVENUE MEASURES of the HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS on April 30, 2003 Prepared by the Staff of the JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION April 29, 2003 JCX-39-03

March 11, 2003
The Funding Challenge: Keeping Defined Benefit Pension Plans March 11, 2003
Charles Grassley, IA
Max Baucus, MT

Mr. Steven Kandarian, Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), Washington, DC

Mr. Christopher W. O'Flinn, Chairman, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), Washington, DC

Joint Committee On Taxation
Present Law And Background Relating To Employer-Sponsored Defined Benefit Plans And The Financial Position Of The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“Pbgc”) Scheduled for a Public Hearing Before the SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE on March 11, 2003 Prepared by the Staff of the JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION March 10, 2003 JCX-16-03

February 13, 2003
Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations
Hearing on "The Pension Security Act: New Pension Protections to Safeguard the Retirement Savings of American Workers" February 13, 2003

Department of Labor Urges Congress to Pass the Bipartisan Pension Security Act

Important Legislation
Pension Stability Act (S.1550)
Pension Preservation and Savings Expansion Act of 2003 (Introduced in House) (H.R. 1776)
Pension Security Act of 2003 (Introduced in House) (H.R 1000)

Congressional Budget Office
Defined Benefit Plans

Department of Labor
Lawsuit against ENRON Chao V. Enron Corp, S.D. Texas

Department of Labor - Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Annual Report 2002

Data Book

General Accounting Office
'Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Single-Employer Insurance Program: Long-Term Vulnerabilities Warrant 'High Risk' Designation' July 23, 2003

“Process Needed to Monitor the Mandated Interest Rate for Pension Calculations”

Answers To Key Questions About Private Pension Plans

Judicial Opinions
Berger v. Xerox Corp. Retirement Income Guarantee Plan, 7th Circuit No. 02-3674 (8/1/03)

see also Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner entitled "Richard Posner discusses his position on law, pragmatism and democracy."

Cooper v. IBM Personal Pension Plan, S.D. III., No. 99-829-GPM 7/31/03

Nongovernment Organizations
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Dangerous Minds: The Track Record of Economic and Financial Analysts By Dean Baker December 2, 2002

ERISA Industry Committee
Federal Court Rules on Discrimination Case for IBM Cash Balance Pension Plans

FASB
Project Updates
Disclosures about Pension Plans Last Updated: August 11, 2003

National Taxpayers Union
NTUF Policy Paper 142. “The Next Big Bailout? How Underfunded Pensions Put Taxpayers at Risk.” Alex Pagon -- August 18, 2003

Pension Rights Center
Pension Rights Center Hails Ibm Decision As “Victory For Employees."

Proskauer
Client Alert Cash Balance Plans — The Debate Continues

Seyfarth
Transcript of Seyfarth Shaw Teleconference on Cash Balance Plans August 6, 2003

Watson Wyatt
Pension Plan Sponsors Looking for Funding Relief from “Perfect Storm” Conditions
(July 2003)