September 13, 2005
JS-2715

Statement by the U.S. Treasury Regarding Requests to Postpone Pension Payments Due on September 15

We are deeply concerned about the victims of Hurricane Katrina and have taken numerous steps to provide relief to them in this difficult time.   One of the steps taken by the Treasury Department, the IRS, Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation immediately after the hurricane was to extend the deadline for meeting minimum funding requirements under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA for employers and plans located in the devastated area.  This relief was granted in recognition of the administrative problems faced by employers and their service providers in the affected areas due to lost records, and personnel and communications problems, resulting from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.  Such relief is not normally granted in other situations.  

In addition to this previously announced benefit relief, we have received requests to permit the delay of pension payments due on September 15 for certain employers located outside the devastated area.  We have concluded, however, that the best approach is to limit the relief to those employers located within the geographical region of the hurricane.  We have reached this conclusion because we believe our primary focus in all of our relief efforts should be to assist those directly in the path of the hurricane's destruction.   While targeted relief is appropriate in these extraordinary circumstances, we remain equally committed to the necessary discipline of the funding requirements to protect the interests of workers and retirees, responsible plan sponsors, and ultimately taxpayers by targeting that relief to those directly affected by Katrina. 

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