FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
March 16, 1999
No. OV-4
Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on pension issues. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 23, 1999, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and representatives from organizations knowledgeable about pension issues. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The importance of the private pension system stems from its role in the traditional model of retirement income security, often visualized as a three-legged stool, supported by Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and personal savings. For example, in 1993, 67 million workers (57 percent of all workers) worked for an employer that sponsored a retirement plan, but at the same time, over 50 million workers did not participate in a retirement plan.
The Federal Government historically has sought to encourage the growth of private pension plans by providing favorable tax treatment to them. As early as 1921, the tax law exempted from taxation the interest earned by profit-sharing pension plans. Since then, the tax law has evolved into a complex array of provisions designed both to encourage employers to establish private retirement plans, as well as to influence their contents and features. The structure of the current pension tax law attempts to balance competing objectives. The policy of encouraging the establishment of pension plans often is tempered by provisions to limit plan designs that might unduly benefit a few highly-paid employee.
The cumulative effect of including numerous policy objectives in the pension tax law has been to make it more complex. The pension tax law places limits on contribution amounts, benefits levels, and funding amounts. It imposes special rules for treating "key" employees earning $65,000 or more annually, as well as "highly compensated employees" earning $80,000 or more annually. The tax law also imposes requirements regarding pension plan coverage and nondiscrimination rules. The nondiscrimination rules apply a set of mechanical rules to curb the operation of a plan which might otherwise unduly benefit a small number of well-paid executives.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Houghton stated: "The private pension system is the cornerstone of a secure retirement for most people. Congress should explore how it can improve the features of existing pension plans as well as encourage more employers to sponsor retirement plans for their employees. The objective is to make a good pension system even better by having more workers participating in retirement plans with even better features."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will examine employer coverage and employee participation issues, particularly for low-income and part-time workers, women and others who may not be adequately served by current law. The Subcommittee will also explore ways to remove burdensome regulatory requirements, improve the level of benefits that workers may accrue towards their retirement, and improve the portability of pension benefits by removing artificial barriers which prevent workers from rolling over their benefits among pension plans.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, April 6, 1999, to
A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch
diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.