Seniors

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Pensions and Retirement Security

Whether it is shoring up private pensions or ensuring that Social Security continues to remain the cornerstone of retirement, Senator Rockefeller believes that pensions should be protected.

In West Virginia, more than 300,000 workers contribute a portion of their hard-earned pay check into a pension plan, and he believes they should never have to worry about whether those funds will be there when they're ready to enjoy their "golden years."

It is for this reason that Senator Rockefeller strongly supported comprehensive legislation to address retirement security. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 that was signed into law shores up the traditional pension system by requiring employers to make greater investments into their pension plans and to make up for any investment losses in a timely fashion. Following the collapse of Enron, many workers lost not just their jobs, but their life's savings. This legislation makes sure that workers have more rights to diversify the assets held in their 401(k) accounts, and have better access to reliable advice to help them make wise investment decisions for those accounts. Senator Rockefeller is also a strong supporter of the Saver's Tax Credit, which was included as part of the Pension Protection Act. The saver's credit encourages individual savings by offering a tax credit between 10 to 50% of the individual's contribution to a 401(k) or Roth IRA.

Along with financial security, Rockefeller believes that retirees need health care security, too. The Pension Protection Act allows overfunded pension plans to transfer assets to a retiree health plan. This infusion of money will make it possible to deliver on the promise of full pension and health benefits for retirees.

In another effort to protect retiree's health, Rockefeller introduced legislation to protect workers' health insurance from companies in bankruptcy that try to cut payments to health care plans. Rockefeller's legislation would give workers a "priority claim" on the sale of company assets, with the resulting revenue designated for a trust that would maintain health care coverage for workers.