Barbara Boxer: “we need to ensure that the retirement benefits Americans have been promised are secure. The bipartisan Pension Funding…”

“we need to ensure that the retirement benefits Americans have been promised are secure. The bipartisan Pension Funding Equity Act of 2003 is a first step toward improving retirement security for Americans, and I support it. As you know, the legislation will help stabilize the traditional pension plans known as defined benefit plans that cover almost 45 million Americans. These plans are in trouble because historically low interest rates and the last few years of decline in the stock market have combined to leave them underfunded. To help stabilize these plans, the Pension Funding Equity Act provides temporary contribution relief for both single-employer plans and multi-employer plans. Of the 45 million working Americans participating in defined benefit pension plans, 35 million of them are covered by single-employer plans and 9.7 million are covered by multi-employer plans. Defined benefit plans promise workers a monthly retirement benefit that these 45 million workers are counting on. It would be tragic if these funds went bankrupt--or if employers gave them up. Of the millions of workers participating in defined benefit pension plans, 40 percent are in construction, 30 percent are in retail and service industries, and 10 percent are in trucking services. These workers are the backbone of our labor force, and the first step toward ensuring their retirement security depends on passage of this legislation.”