Retirees for Justice Presents to the ERISA Advisory Council

Our Executive Director, Edward Stone, recently had the opportunity to testify before the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Advisory Council in Washington DC, on July 18^th, 2023.

He appeared on behalf of retirees from several retiree organizations, including Retirees for Justice Inc., the Association of DuPont Retirees Inc., the Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc., and GE Retiree Solutions (GERBS).

The meeting was held to discuss possible revisions to the regulations governing fiduciary standards applicable to a defined benefit plan sponsor when selecting an annuity provider in a pension de-risking transaction.

Eddie was the second to last speaker, and so was able adjust his comments to address issues that had not been adequately addressed earlier in the day. He testified about the importance of accountability and transparency for retirees when de-risking transactions are undertaken. He also specifically asked the Advisory Council to consider requiring all defined benefit plan sponsors to make a written report available to retirees impacted by pension de-risking that describes how the defined benefit plan sponsor complied with its fiduciary duties under ERISA in choosing the safest available annuity provider.

If you would like to read a longer description where Eddie explains the background and contents of his presentation, you can click here.