Benefitsblog

Pension Funding In the News

I was in meetings all day yesterday and unable to post here, but will try to catch up today.

On Monday, in a hearing entitled "Safeguarding America's Retirement Security: An Examination of Defined Benefit Pension Plans and the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation," the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security and the Committee on Governmental Affairs received testimony from various groups on the pension funding crisis:

• The Honorable Peter R. Fisher, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, Department of Treasury
• Testimony of John P. Parks, Vice President of Pension Practice Council, American Academy of Actuaries
• Testimony of Kathy Anne Cissna, Director of Retirement Plans for R.J. Reynolds, for the American Benefits Council
• Statement of Steven A. Kandarian, Executive Director of the PBGC Testimony of Christopher W. O'Flinn, Chairman of ERISA Industry Committee
• Testimony of Norman Stein, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, on behalf of the Pension Rights Center
• Testimony of J. Mark Iwry, a lawyer and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute

You can view the hearing at this link.

Also on Monday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reconsider this earlier decision holding that Xerox Corp. had paid out too-small lump sums to participants in its cash-balance plan. A Wall Street Journal article reports: "Treasury to Issue Guides On Cash-Balance Payouts." The article reports a Xerox spokeswoman as saying that the company is "disappointed" by Monday's appeals court's decision and is considering a further appeal.

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal carried these articles on pensions:

• "Push for Broad Pension Change Is Losing Steam in Congress: Employers Won't See Any Major Relief o Help Ease Burden of Nest-Egg Funds." The article reported: "Concern has been growing among lawmakers about pensions and retirement security in recent months, as corporate scandals and a slow economy have exposed weaknesses in the current system. But with time running out to clear legislation this year, lobbyists and some Capitol Hill aides predict lawmakers won't have time to pass more than a few provisions. Those measures likely would focus on giving businesses relief, possibly on a temporary basis."
• "Some Pension Plans Shed Conservative Mien." The article reports that some pension plans are achieving better returns by "timing the market." According to the article:

  During the nine months ended June 30, Siemens' pension plans earned an annualized 6.9% on its German plan and 14% for its main foreign plans, and its pension deficit shrunk. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose an annualized 5.6% and Merrill Lynch global broad bond-market index fell an annualized 5.8% during the same period. . . To achieve those results, simians' pension plan changed the weighting of stocks in its portfolio from 21% at the end of last year, to 8% at the end of March, and back to 23% at the end of June. Those moves followed a cut to 33% as of Sept. 30, 2002, from a weighting of 61% Sept. 30, 2001.

Today's Wall Street Journal reports: "Streamlined Pension Legislation Is to Be Introduced in the House." The article discusses two bills in Congress which are the most likely candidates for addressing the pension crisis. The New York Times also reports: "Senate Panel Expected to Vote on Bill to Aid Pension Plans."

In preparation for the Senate Finance Committee’s mark-up today of Chairman Charles Grassley’s (R.) latest revision of the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act, the American Benefits Council released the following statement concerning the legislation’s use of the Bush Administration’s yield curve proposal to replace the current 30-year Treasury rate for making calculations for funding defined benefit pension plans: "Senate yield curve proposal could drive more companies from the pension system."

Posted by B. Janell Grenier at September 17, 2003 01:04 PM