Today, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee (“NESTEG”) Act introduced by Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa. You can access the Press Release from the U.S. Senate Committee herewhich states:
The committee pasesd Grassley’s legislation, the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee (NESTEG) Act, which tightens protections for retirement plan participants in the future in light of the collapse of the Enron Corp., WorldCom, Global Crossing and other similarly situated companies. The committee passed the bill last year, but the then-Democratic Senate leadership never allowed the full Senate to vote on the legislation. . . The NESTEG Act includes new diversification rights for company stock in plans; new disclosure requirements for transaction suspension periods, or black-outs; and new disclosure through periodic benefit statement and retirement savings information. . . .Grassley’s legislation also includes a series of reforms to rein in executives’ ability to defer payment of tax on their compensation. . . [and] includes his proposal to replace the 30-year Treasury bond rate formerly used in calculating pension plan contributions.
You can read the Description of the Senate Finance Committee Chairman’s Mark of the “National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act” here and the Blue Book here.
Also, this from the House Education and the Workforce Committee: “Boehner Introduces Bill to Address 30-Year Treasury Interest Rate, Enhance Retirement Security for Workers in Defined Benefit Pension Plans.” Ways & Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Education & the Workforce Committee ranking Democrat George Miller (D-CA), Ways & Means Committee ranking Democrat Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX), and Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) are original cosponsors of the bill.
More on the bills from these articles:
- Reuters: “U.S. Senate panel backs temporary pension relief”
- The New York Times: “House, Senate Work on Pension Plan Relief”
- FT.com: “Senators try to square pensions circle”
The Securities Industry Association issued this statement today opposing certain provisions of NESTEG.
CCH also reports: “Grassley Unveils Pension Reform Mark.”