May 8th, 2024

The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing in February on the retirement security crisis and how defined benefit (DB) pensions can be part of the solution to that crisis. Following the hearing, the committee issued a request for information (RFI) on policy actions Congress could take to make it easier for private companies to offer DB pension plans. The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), along with four of its member organizations, recently submitted a report to the HELP Committee in response to the RFI. The report outlines six policy actions Congress could pursue that could bolster the availability of pension plans in the private sector.

NIRS and its coauthors discussed the report and the policy options it recommends during a webinar on Wednesday, May 8th. The webinar highlighted the critical role of pensions in providing retirement security to working Americans, as well as the role of Congress in setting policy that impacts the decisions of plan sponsors.

Webinar speakers included Dan Doonan, Executive Director at the National Institute on Retirement Security; Michael Kreps, Principal at Groom Law Group; John Lowell, Partner at October Three; Jonathan Price, Senior Vice President and National Retirement Practice Leader at Segal; and Zorast Wadia, Principal & Consulting Actuary at Milliman.