The Senate’s amendments to the Pension Protection Technical Correction Bill of 2008 (H.R. 6382) include modifications to pension distribution requirements and expansion of some earlier tax breaks for small businesses. Industry trade groups continue to push for the bill, which has bipartisan congressional support, but the bill has been met with opposition from the administration. A summary of the bill can be accessed by clicking here.
The administration opposes relaxing the funding requirements claiming that most plans would not be affected until 2010 and estimating that delaying the funding could translate into $3 billion in new claims placed on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) over the next decade.
Trade organizations continue to lobby the administration, urging them to reconsider and suggesting that failure to act would result in harsh consequences in 2009. Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), an AALU Endorsed Candidate, expressed his concern over the administration’s position stating “PBGC and the administration have no plan to help workers and employers except to suggest that Congress should wait and see what happens to pensions over the next few years.”
AALU is hearing from lobbyists and Hill staff that congressional leadership across the aisles will work to push the bill through this week. If the bill is not signed into law, however, it would be pushed again in the January stimulus. AALU continues to work with other pension-minded organizations to support passing the relief provisions. If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to the AALU online forum. Also, if you have not yet signed up for the webinar, Impact of the Financial Crisis on an Upscale Life Insurance Practice, you can do so here.
Kind Regards,
David J. Stertzer, FLMI
AALU CEO
David……I am one of your fellow El Pasoans. We talked briefly at the AALU meeting last year. You have been kind enough to ask for “comments” so I will offer some below. Please know that I greatly respect you and the AALU. The AALU is one of the best things that ever happened to me in my insurance career! My comments are “from my heart” as well as from my “brain”. I mean them respectfully.
1. I will not attend this year’s meeting. PART OF THE REASON is the list of main platform speakers. It looks to me like the AALU has caved in to the liberals. From my perspective, I can’t think of a less attractive list of speakers. Does the AALU no longer stand for conservative principals of government?
2. I can’t understand the push from the AALU for any type of Federal Regualtion! All of the major errors which have been made in our financial secctor have been made by the big companies which are Federally regulated. Is that not a fact? Very few institutions which are presently regulated by the 50 states have been shown to have such financiial distress that they must be “balied out”. Once something becomes Federally regulated, it is regulated by too few bureaucarts and they are all in Washington. Contrast this with regulation which is in the hands of the 50 states. Yes, regulation by 50 states is cumbersome for the licensing process and policy approval process….but seemingly much more successful in protecting the interests of the policholders than the Feds have been….or ever will be. The further we get away from the State level, the less “access” the local insurance man/financiol planner will have. That is one of the founding principles of this great country!
Best wishes,
Leo
I’m reading up on this whole thing at moment. Need to read up on it big time!