MEDIA ADVISORY:

WITH ECONOMY IN DECLINE AND WORKERS INCREASINGLY ON EDGE, JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC WORKERS' PENSION PLANS

Experts Suggest that Defined Benefit Plans Offer a Variety of Advantages to Workers Given Decline in Pensions
 
Sen. Casey to Invite Experts from Public and Private Sector to Evaluate The Unrecognized Value of Pensions and Their Impact on Economic Growth

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA) will convene a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) to examine the public and private sector impacts of defined benefit pension plans in the public sector.  The hearing entitled, “Your Money, Your Future: Public Pension Plans and the Need to Strengthen Retirement Security and Economic Growth” will be held Thursday, July 10 at 10:00am in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.  The panel of experts will discuss the recent changeover from defined benefits to defined contributions plans and its effect on employees’ retirement income and the U.S. economy.  Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Rep. Carolyn Maloney are Chairman and Vice Chair of the JEC.

WHAT:      Joint Economic Committee Hearing: “Your Money, Your Future: Public Pension Plans and the Need to Strengthen Retirement Security and Economic Growth”
WHEN:      Thursday, July 10, 2008 – 10:00am
WHERE:    106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
WHO:     Dr. Christian Weller, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
     Mr. Will Pryor, Chairman of the Board of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
     Mr. Sherrill Neff, Partner, Quaker BioVentures
     Barbara Bovjberg, Director, Education Workforce, and Income Security, US GAO

The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
www.jec.senate.gov
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