Cash-balance foes score a victory (Pension Issues)

Cash-balance foes score a victory
Amendment forces Congress to tackle pension issue
By Andrea Coombes, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:43 PM ET Nov. 13, 2003


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Cash-balance plans were dealt a setback as Congressional negotiators late Wednesday moved to scuttle Bush administration rules that would have legitimized the retirement benefit.

While haggling over the final draft of an annual appropriations bill, lawmakers secured an amendment preventing the administration from moving forward on rules it proposed last year legalizing the plans.

The appropriations bill is likely to pass in its current form, with the final vote possibly coming as early as next week, experts on both sides of the issue said.

House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill with similar amendments passed earlier this year, but it was unclear until now whether either would survive negotiations leading to the final bill.

Along with preventing enactment of the regulations, the amendment requires the administration to propose legislation addressing how relief can be provided to older workers who often lose a significant portion of their retirement benefits during transition to cash-balance plans.

Employers generally switch to cash-balance plans from traditional defined-benefit plans to save money. About one-third of companies with defined-benefit plans offer them as cash-balance plans.

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http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/print_story.asp?print=1&guid={C1462CAB-2D4C-4F4D-B8E8-CC65B46FB712}&siteid=mktw

perhaps good news for workers....