Wayne Allard: “today, I come to the floor of the Senate to briefly state my thoughts about a component of the bill under consideration…”

“today, I come to the floor of the Senate to briefly state my thoughts about a component of the bill under consideration, the Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005. I commend both the Senate Finance and HELP Committees for their hard work, and tireless efforts to work towards a bill that we all can support. A variety of Colorado companies, including Arch Coal, IBM, Gates Rubber, and Qwest Communications, have been carefully following the debate on pension reform. These companies are significant employers in Colorado, and they contribute to the State's economy in countless measures. Many companies, including these, have been affected by the recent court decision Cooper v. IBM, and in turn I have been paying particular attention to the development and treatment of so-called hybrid pension plans. Hybrid pension plans, a combination of a defined benefit and defined contribution, were ruled illegal by one judge, saying that they were discriminatory based on age, since younger workers had more time to accrue more value in their pension than older workers. Since the court decision, IBM and many other companies with similar hybrid plans have been trying to interpret the court's ruling, and the future direction of their pension plans. These companies are trying to do the right thing for their workers. Currently, they are caught in a situation that does not give them any clear guidance or direction on how to help their employees.…”