News Release

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Release Date: June 27, 2008
Release Number: 08-866-NAT
Contact Name: Gloria Della/Richard Manning
Phone Number: 202.693.8664/202.639.4676

U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council schedules meetings for July 2008

Washington – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Council) and its three working groups will meet July 15 to17 in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room C5515-4.

The full council will meet July 16 at 8:30 a.m. EDT to receive an update on the activities of the working groups and the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

On July 15, the Working Group on Hard to Value Assets/Target Date Funds will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT to hear the testimony of witnesses on the potential risks and roles of plan fiduciaries, service providers and participants relative to plan investments in hard to value assets. The group also will review regulatory policy relating to assets that lack a generally recognized market, and challenges and risk associated with the use of target date funds.

The Working Group on Spend Down of Defined Contribution Assets at Retirement – known as decumulation of assets – will meet July 16 following the conclusion of the full council meeting, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT.

The Working Group on Phased Retirement will meet July 17, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, to hear testimony about the issues facing employers and employees with regard to phased retirement programs and legal impediments to individuals continuing to work during their retirement years.

The full council and working group meetings are open to the public. Descriptions of the working group topics are available on EBSA’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa. Questions on working group topics should be addressed to the council’s executive secretary, Larry Good, at 202.693.8668. Written comments on working group topics should be submitted by July 9 to Good’s attention via regular mail to ERISA Advisory Council, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room N5623, Washington, D.C. 20210, or electronically to good.larry@dol.gov.

The ERISA Advisory Council consists of 15 members appointed to staggered three-year terms by the secretary of labor. The members represent the general public, employers, employee organizations and the fields of insurance, corporate trust, investment management, investment counseling, accounting and actuarial counseling.

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