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Release Date: August 19, 2008
Release Number: 08-1150-NAT
Contact Name: Gloria Della/Rick Manning
Phone Number: 202.693.8664/202.693.4676

U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council sets September 2008 meetings

Washington – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Advisory Council) and its three working groups will meet September 9-11 at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-3215 A-B in Washington, D.C.

The full council will meet September 10 at 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. EDT to receive progress reports on the activities of the working groups and the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.

On September 9-11, the working groups dealing with issues of phased retirement, spend-down of retirement assets, and hard to value assets/target date funds will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT to hear the testimony of witnesses and discuss possible recommendations for each topic.

The Working Group on Phased Retirement, scheduled for September 9, will examine issues facing employers and employees relating to these plans and legal impediments that discourage workers from continuing to work during their retired years.

The Working Group on Spending Down Retirement Assets will meet September 10 to discuss issues and barriers facing plan fiduciaries, plan sponsors and participants in evaluating the various approaches that guarantee income levels at retirement.

The Working Group on Hard to Value Assets and Target Date Funds will meet on September 11 and will focus on the potential risks and the roles of plan officials, service providers and participants when plans invest in such assets, regulatory policy involving assets without a generally recognized market, and the challenges and risk associated with target date funds.

The full council and working group meetings are open to the public. Questions and written comments (due September 2) on working group topics should be addressed to the council’s executive secretary, Larry Good, via mail to ERISA Advisory Council, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N5623, Washington, D.C. 20210, or electronically to good.larry@dol.gov. He can be contacted by phone at 202.693.8668.

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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