Press Releases

On Tuesday, June 14 at 11:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN), will hold a hearing entitled Retirement Security: Challenges Confronting Pension Plan Sponsors, Workers, and Retirees. The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Since 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has governed the pension plans of private-sector workers. Both defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans offer retirement income to workers, yet vary in how they are administered, regulated and funded. In 2009, approximately 60 million workers participated in some form of employment-based retirement plan, including 20 percent of private-sector workers with access to a defined benefit pension. Today, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation insures the defined benefit plans of 44 million workers and pays $5.6 billion in annual benefits.

A number of challenges face pension plans, including the continued effects of the recent recession, unfunded liabilities, and regulatory changes. In 2009, defined benefit plans were underfunded by $504 billion, and the administration has proposed a number of regulatory changes that will impact plan sponsors, workers, and retirees.

Tuesdays hearing will give members an opportunity to examine the history, challenges, and regulatory proposals affecting private pension plans. To learn more about this hearing, visit www.republicans-edlabor.house.gov/hearings.

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WITNESS LIST

 

Alex Brill
Research Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
Washington, D.C.

Dennis Delaney
Executive Vice President
Ingram Industries, Inc.
Nashville, TN

James A. Klein
President
American Benefits Council
Washington, D.C.

Max Richtman
Executive Vice President and Acting CEO
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Washington, D.C.