A joint congressional conference committee named to decide issues in the controversial pension reform bill began March 8 with Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) appointed committee chair. Minnesota's own John Kline (R) has been named to the committee.

Issues from the House and Senate bills passed late last year, which must be reconciled in the final bill, are complex and as varied as access to plan information, actuarial and accounting standards, protecting early retirement benefits in multi-employer plans and protecting plan participants when plan amendments attempt to drastically cut promised benefits. A recent comparison of the final House and Senate bills, prepared by the joint committee on taxation, is 125 pages long. The comparison is available at http://www.house.gov/jct/x-13-06.pdf.

Those already receiving a retirement benefit will probably be minimally affected by work of the committee and eventual outcome of legislation. Many Minnesota workers, however, particularly those nearing retirement age (i.e. boomers), could see changes in their retirement benefits as an eventual result of the bill. Whether those changes are detrimental for workers or result in increased pension security remains to be seen as negotiations progress. One issue currently making news concerns reports that the current bills actually decrease the overall amount of funds companies are required to put into their pension plans. The original purpose of the bills is to insure adequate pension plan and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation funding.

The committee is comprised of nine Republicans and seven Democrats. Senate leaders Max Baucus (D-MT), Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) join House leaders Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), George Miller (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) are on the committee.

For a statement by Kennedy at the first pension conference meeting (HR2830): go to http://help.senate.gov/Min_press/2006_03_08_c.pdf. For a statement by Enzi regarding the committee, go to http://help.senate.gov/Maj_press/2006_03_08_b.pdf