FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Information Contact:

A.J. (Jim) Norby

760-200-9867

anorbz@

National Retiree Group Cites Urgent Need

For ERISA to Reflect Changing Times

Hardships Result From Corporate ‘Musical Chairs’

(WASHINGTON, June 1, 2005) – The shifting sands that represent today’s corporate pension plans require a major overhaul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), according to officials of National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN).

“ERISA was enacted more than 30 years ago when the universe of corporate pension plans looked much different than it does today. Corporate mergers and the emergence of multiemployer pension plans have completely transformed today’s retirement landscape, so we need to adapt to this new reality,” announced NRLN president Jim Norby.

“Each week we read news reports of underfunded retirement plans from troubled companies and the threat they pose to the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC). That agency reports that single-employer plans have liabilities that exceed assets by $450 billion. Multiemployer retirement plans, representing such industries as trucking, construction and grocery-store chains are underfunded by $150 billion,” Norby noted.

“What we’ve ended up with is a system that’s broken and in need of a legislative fix that assures the integrity of the ERISA funding process and protects retirees from losing the pensions they deserve after loyal years of service to their employers,” Norby said.

Norby cited the hardships faced by retirees when the pensions they earned at one company end up in the hands of another corporation due to mergers or spin-offs, or when companies contract with outside firms to administer their pension plans.

“This game of musical chairs is affecting millions of retirees who are seeing their pensions and health care benefits either reduced or eliminated. In many cases, these benefits represent deferred compensation offered by their former employers in lieu of higher salaries.

“If our corporate leaders will not live up to their commitments for deferred compensation, then the federal government must take steps to protect the interests of retirees,” Norby said.

Norby also criticized the practice by some companies of outsourcing benefits management, which has made it more difficult for retirees to get direct answers about their pension benefits.

“These outside administrators use every loophole they can find to deny pension benefits in order to cut costs, usually at the expense of retirees. Typically, in these cases, the burden of proof required to reinstate the pension falls on the retiree who has limited resources to navigate all the legalese and corporate roadblocks they encounter,” Norby explained.

NRLN officials have waged an ongoing campaign to reform ERISA that includes testifying before the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee in 2003, one-on-one meetings with key legislators on Capitol Hill, and correspondence with congressional leaders and President Bush.

“We strongly believe the current debate over Social Security is only part of the equation on whether retirees will have financial security. America’s retirees, who built the world’s strongest economy, deserve meaningful pension reform legislation and new laws to protect their health care benefits.

“It is time our congressional leaders and President Bush bring about critically needed reforms in ERISA laws to better protect pensions. In addition, legislation such as The Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Act (H.R. 1322) is desperately needed to help retirees receive their promised health care benefits,” Norby added.

Based in Washington, D.C., NRLN is dedicated to securing federal legislation that will guarantee the fair and equitable treatment of retirees in private and public sector health and pension programs. NRLN represents a non-partisan, grassroots coalition of retiree associations with a combined membership of nearly 2 million men and women who are seeking to protect their pension and health care benefits. For more information, visit the NRLN Web site at .

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