 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 33, No. 9 * May 7, 2001 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story Pension reform gets House OK By Neil Bomberg
By a vote of 407 to 24, the House of Representatives adopted H.R. 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001. The bill, which was introduced by Reps. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) earlier this year, would reform the nation’s public and private pension systems. NACo is one of the major national organizations supporting this legislation. If adopted by the Senate (a companion bill has been introduced by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and signed into law by the president, the bill should prove a boon to county employees. Portman-Cardin would increase the amount county workers could contribute to their 457 Deferred Compensation retirement plans from $8,500 per year to $15,000. It would increase pension portability by easing the rollover process between defined-contribution and defined-benefit retirement plans. It would allow county workers to purchase service credits so they could have more years of service at retirement. It would also allow workers to contribute substantially more money to their retirement plans during their final three years of employment preceding retirement. NACo Executive Director Larry Naake wrote to the members of Congress urging them “to vote in favor of this bill. It would ensure that county workers of all incomes all over the United States would be able to better plan and prepare for their retirements.” “Representatives Portman and Cardin’s efforts are extremely important to county workers,” said Cook County (Ill.) Commissioner Deborah Sims, who is also chair of NACo’s Labor and Employment Steering Committee. “As more and more of the nation’s population approaches retirement age, this legislation will provide them with additional resources as they plan their golden years.” State and local governments administer more than 2,300 pension plans covering over 15 million employees. These savings plans cover 90 percent of the state and local government workforce compared with only 60 percent coverage in the private sector. Assets in state and local government savings plans now total approximately $3 trillion. “Comprehensive federal pension reform is long overdue,” added Sims. “County governments have been struggling to administer pension plans according to rules that limit employee savings options at a time when the national savings rate is at an all-time low. Portman-Cardin is a common-sense approach that will have a positive impact on the nation’s workforce.” |