August Working Group Meetings Scheduled For ERISA Advisory Council

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

The three working groups of the Advisory Committee on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefits will hold open public meetings at the U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. 14 and 15. All working group meetings will take place in Conference Room N-5437 A-D at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Frances Perkins Building at 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210.

The working group studying benefit continuity after organizational restructuring will hear from employers regarding their experiences in maintaining benefit programs during their companies’ mergers, acquisitions and other kinds of organizational changes. The Aug. 14 session will begin at 9:30 a.m. and run until approximately noon.

From 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Aug. 14, the long-term care (LTC) working group members will hear testimony from a variety of witnesses, including the LTC provider industry and the federal government.

The working group assigned to study the issue of phased retirement will meet on Aug. 15 to hear testimony about legal and regulatory barriers to establishing such programs. The committee also will gather “both sides” of the phased retirement picture by soliciting testimony from plan participants who have entered into such programs. Contact Sharon Morrissey, executive secretary of the Advisory Council, at 202-219-8921, if you are willing to speak before the group about personal experiences with phased retirement.

Persons wishing to appear before this or any of the study groups on either Aug. 14 or 15 or wishing to submit written statements on this year’s topics may contact Ms. Morrissey in Room N- 5656, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210. If written statements are to be provided, 20 copies must be sent to Ms. Morrissey before Aug. 7. Persons with disabilities wishing to attend the session and needing special accommodations can also contact Ms. Morrissey by Aug. 7.

The ERISA Advisory Council is comprised of 15 members from statutorily-specified subject areas in employee benefits and related fields. Members, who serve staggered three-year terms, must provide the Labor Secretary with policy recommendations and reports relating to private pension and other employee benefit issues. The advisory committee to the Secretary of Labor, was established by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

This year’s working groups expect to have their studies and subsequent reports and/or recommendations completed by the scheduled final meeting of the year on Nov. 14, 2000.

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7775.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.