Urgent Action Alert
Tell Congressman Levin to Protect Pensions
On Thursday evening, the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) sent an Action Alert asking Grassroots Network members to contact U.S. Representative Sander Levin, the Acting Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
It is important to General Motors and other retirees that this bill includes pension asset protection. Earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office reported that GM will need to add $12.3 billion to its pension fund by 2014. We cannot afford for GM to use assets from the pension plan for non-pension expenses while the plan is already underfunded.
If you have not already contacted Congressman Levin, we hope you will get involved and send your letter immediately to help influence the decision on the U.S. House bill H.R. 4213, a bill that gives companies temporary pension funding relief. It is expected the bill will move through the House within the next week.
The NRLN has proposed adding language to the bill that will stop employers who get funding relief from using assets in their pension plans to pay for non-pension expenses during the period they may benefit from pension funding relief.
I cosigned a letter with the NRLN, the National Chrysler Retirement Organization (NCRO) and the Detroit Edison Alliance of Retirees (DEAR) that was sent on Thursday to Congressman Levin and other House and Senate leaders supporting the addition of the new language. But we need you, as a constituent of Congressman Levin, to add your voice for protecting pension plan assets.
I urge you to go to http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ to access the NRLN Action Alert. Look for the Action Alert headline: CONGRESSMAN LEVIN SHOULD PROTECT PENSIONS. Click on the "Take Action" button. On the next screen, type in your zip code and click "GO" to identify Congressman Levin and access the sample letter. Be sure to personalize the letter with your own comments. If you have a problem accessing the Action Alert with the above link, go to www.nrln.org and click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of the NRLN website's home page. Send your email today.
Also call the Congressman Levin's Washington, DC office at (202) 225-4961 or his Roseville, Mich. district office at (586) 498-7122. Use the NRLN "talking points" below to express the importance of protecting pension plan assets. Better yet, request a meeting with Congressman Levin or a senior staff member.
Please take action on this very important issue!
John Christie, President
General Motors Retirees Association
Talking Points
Protection of Defined Pension Plan Assets
Corporations are allowed to take pension assets from defined pension plan trusts and use these funds to pay for corporate restructuring. An increasing number of companies have tapped pension assets to pay for lump sum severance payments and/or provide retirement incentives up to twelve months pay to employees who agree to retire within a specific time window or by a specific date.
A growing number of companies are using defined benefit pension assets to pay the cost of supplemental pensions for senior executives whose benefits exceed IRS-defined pension payment limits for tax-qualified plans. The excess over the limit should be paid from operating expenses and not from pension assets.
The NRLN wants l1gislation passed to protect pension plan assets from being used for non-pension purposes. Assets need to be protected so plans can generate surplus assets that can be used to offset corporate health care costs for retirees or be available for Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) pension increases.
Plan assets must:
- Not be used to pay for corporate restructuring lump sum severance or buyouts.
- Not be used to pay for executive management non-qualified pensions or other deferred compensation.
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