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aspa.org

May 10, 2006

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley  The Honorable Max S. Baucus
 The Honorable William M. Thomas  The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
 The Honorable John D. Rockefeller  The Honorable Dave Camp
 The Honorable Trent Lott  The Honorable Kent Conrad
 The Honorable John Kline  The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe
 The Honorable Jeff Bingaman  The Honorable Sam Johnson
 The Honorable Rick Santorum  The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
 The Honorable Patrick J. Tiberi  The Honorable Michael B. Enzi
 The Honorable Tom Harkin  The Honorable Charles B. Rangel
 The Honorable Judd Gregg  The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski
 The Honorable George Miller  The Honorable Mike DeWine
 The Honorable John A. Boehner  The Honorable Robert E. Andrews
 The Honorable Johnny Isakson  The Honorable Howard P. McKeon
 The Honorable Donald M. Payne

Dear Pension Conferees:

On behalf of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), we urge the conference on pension reform legislation to work through the differences between the House and Senate versions and enact a meaningful, comprehensive final bill containing provisions that increase the retirement security of millions of Americans.

ASPPA is a national society of retirement plan professionals dedicated to a strong national retirement plan system. Its membership consists of over 6,000 actuaries, plan administrators, attorneys, CPAs and other retirement plan experts who design, implement and maintain qualified retirement plans covering tens of millions of American workers.

The employer-sponsored retirement plan system has allowed employers to establish and maintain retirement plans for tens of millions of American workers.  These plans have consistently proven to be the most efficient and effective means for many Americans to save for retirement.

The pension reform legislation should further strengthen the employer-sponsored retirement plan system. In particular, we urge you to:

  • Clarify the legality of the cash balance design, which will allow employers, many of whom are currently reluctant to provide such plans because of legal uncertainties, to provide such guaranteed benefits to their workers; 
  • Make permanent the retirement plan provisions included in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), which is critically important to the continued growth of the employer-sponsored retirement plan system; and 
  • Incorporate the DB(k) plan provision from the Senate bill into the final legislation, which will provide a new, revitalizing hybrid retirement plan solution for small to medium-sized employers.

We ask that Congress continue to support the retirement plan system by passing this legislation as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

/s/
Brian H. Graff, Esq., APM
Executive Director/CEO