FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
March 3, 1998
No. OV-13
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on oversight of various pension issues. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 10, 1998, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 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 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), experts in the area of pension plan coverage, employers and other business representatives, and association representatives. 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:
PBGC insures the retirement incomes of more than 42 million American workers -- one of every three workers -- in about 50,000 defined benefit pension plans. A defined benefit plan provides a specified benefit at retirement, often based on a combination of salary and years of service. PBGC is financed through premiums collected from plan sponsors, returns on investments, and recoveries from employers responsible for underfunded terminated plans. PBGC currently pays monthly retirement benefits to about 200,000 retirees in over 2,348 terminated plans. The Ways and Means Committee considers legislation concerning PBGC premiums and also exercises jurisdiction over the tax treatment of pension plans.
Half of all American workers, over 50 million people, are without pension coverage. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, 87 percent of workers employed by small businesses with fewer than 20 employees have no retirement coverage, and 62 percent of workers in small businesses with between 20 and 200 employees have no retirement plan coverage, while 72 percent of workers in firms with over 500 employees have some form of retirement plan coverage.
Coverage is most limited in the sector of the economy that provides most of the new jobs in today's workforce: small business. According to the Small Business Administration, 75 percent of the 2.5 million new jobs created in 1995 were created by small businesses. While many small businesses sponsor defined contribution plans, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, between 1987 and 1993, the number of small businesses with defined benefit plans dropped from 108,221 to 41,780 -- a 60 percent decline in seven years.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "It is alarming that half of all American workers are without pension coverage today, and that only 20 percent of workers in small businesses have pension coverage. We know how difficult it is for seniors to live on Social Security benefits alone. As the baby boomers approach their retirement years, the need to broaden pension coverage is greater than ever. We need to determine whether the complexity of pension law is coming between workers and the coverage they need."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on the current availability of pension plans to American workers, incentives for, and obstacles to, expanded pension coverage, the financial status and administration of Federally-insured pension plans monitored by PBGC, and related issues involving retiree health benefits.
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 at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, March 24, 1998, 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, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
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 typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. 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, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. 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.