[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 43 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE PENSION RIGHT TO KNOW ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JERRY WELLER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 1999

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, do we not have a responsibility to help our 
constituents understand their benefits? As a large portion of today's 
population is nearing retirement, employer-sponsored retirement plans 
have increased in importance. And many people do not understand their 
benefits. It is an even greater problem when an employer unilaterally 
changes that plan, and minimal explanation is given.
  I have some real concerns in these situations, and I believe we need 
to help our constituents understand their benefits when they are 
changed. The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted some of the 
information disclosure problems when companies change from a 
traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan.
  One particular situation involved a company who changed their plan 
and merely informed the employees that a change had occurred. One 49-
year-old employee decided to look into this further, because he was 
thinking about his retirement. He discovered that while he was not 
going to lose any benefits, he was also not going to accrue any 
benefits for several years under this new plan. It was only through his 
efforts to learn more about it that he discovered this.
  Now, let me point out that it is not the employer's fault, but the 
law's. That is why I have joined with Senator Moynihan in introducing 
companion legislation to correct this problem.
  The Pension Right to Know Act, H.R. 1176, will require increased 
disclosure of information to employees about their pension plan. It 
would require an explanation to the employee as to how their pension 
plan will be affected by any plan change. It will require an individual 
benefit statement for each employee showing how they, in particular, 
will be affected by this change. For some the change will be 
beneficial, but for others the change could affect how they plan for 
the future.
  My colleagues, I believe we need to protect our constituents who may 
be expecting one thing, and then receive something very different. As 
employers make changes from various retirement plans to cash-balance 
plans, employees are left not understanding what changes have been made 
to their retirement plan.
  We can help our citizens who are nearing retirement and thinking 
about their retirement savings program--and we can help them to 
understand.
  Mr. Speaker, let us do what we can to help employees understand their 
options.
  Let us work together. Let us solve this problem, and let us solve it 
together.

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