It's Time For Pension Reform Legislation To Provide Real Protections  issued 5/30/06

 

With the continued delay in action by the U.S. House and Senate Pension Reform Conference Committee, the NRLN believes it is time to remind the conferees and other members of Congress about our positions on cash balance conversions and Section 420 transfers. It appears that some conferees' predictions that the joint committee would produce a bill by Memorial Day were overly optimistic. Therefore, the Memorial Day Congressional Recess, which runs until June 5, presents an excellent opportunity for you to contact your Senators and Representative with a personal meeting, phone call or letter from the NRLN website.

On March 11, 2006 when I asked the NRLN grassroots members to write to Pension Reform Conferees and other members of Congress about the need for improvements in the pending pension legislation, there was a tremendous response with more than 12,000 letters sent. I hope we can count on a similar-or even better-response this time.

Therefore, I want to urge you to go to the ACTION ALERT page on the NRLN website at http://capwiz.com/abtr/home and use the sample letters provided to send clear messages to members of Congress. On the ACTION ALERT page you will see the following headline: IT'S TIME FOR PENSION REFORM LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE REAL PROTECTIONS. After you Click on the "CLICK HERE" below the headline you will be requested to type in your zip code. Your zip code will identify whether any of your legislators are conferees. If so, you'll be presented a "targeted" letter for conferees. A "general" letter will also be available for all other members of the House and Senate.

If you have a problem accessing the ACTION ALERT through the link above, go to http://www.nrln.org . In the "Take Action Now" paragraph near the top of the NRLN Home Page click on the "Click Here" link to take you to the ACTION ALERT.

To increase the likelihood that a Congressional staff member will pass your letter along to the Senator or Representative to read, edit it to include a personal comment. Add your own subject line and a personal comment, such as stating you voted for the Senator or Representative or you have lived in his/her state for "x" number of years.

For personal contact, you may obtain the phone numbers of in-state offices for your Senators and Representative by going to the NRLN Website at http://www.nrln.org and type your zip code in the "Write To Congress" box near the top of the page on the right. After you click "GO," the names and photos of your Senators and Representative will be available. Click on the "info" link under each photo to obtain office contact information.

Once this pension legislation passes it will impact retirees for years to come. Therefore, we must make every effort to gain the improvements that the NRLN has identified as critical. Please go now to the NRLN website at http://capwiz.com/abtr/home and send your letters to Congress. Also, please share this email with a friend who is not a member of the NRLN Grassroots Network.

Jim Norby, NRLN President