CHAMBER OFFERS VIEWS AT HOUSE HEARING ON PENSION PLAN WITH SOCIAL SECURITY COVERAGE FOR NEW FEDERAL WORKERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89-00066R000300120012-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 28, 2011
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: March 28, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/02/28: CIA-RDP89-000668000300120012-6
Chamber of Commerce
of the United States
1615 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20062
NEWS
RELEASE
FOR AFTERNOON RELEASE
Wednesday, March 28, 1984
Contact: Frank Benson
[phone]
CHAMBER OFFERS VIEWS AT HOUSE HEARING ON PENSION PLAN
WITH SOCIAL SECURITY COVERAGE FOR NEW FEDERAL WORKERS
WASHINGTON, Mar. 28 -- A redesigned pension system for new federal employees,
mandated by a 1983 law, "should be the first step toward bringing order to what
heretofore has been a chaotic pension system," an executive with the U. S. Chamber of
Commerce said at a House of Representatives hearing today.
Appearing at the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee hearing on
federal employee pensions, Michael J. Romig offered the business group's suggestions
on revising the federal retirement system as a result of the law requiring new federal
workers, after Jan. 1, 1984, to participate in the Social Security program.
"Our recommendation to you is to approach your task with the intention to design,
a pension program for new employees recognizing that changes in the existing retirement
programs will also be necessary," he stated. Romig serves as manager of the Employee
Benefits and Human Resources Policy Center of the Chamber.
Presently, .there is a "hodgepodge" of over 100 separate pension programs for
various groups of federal workers, Romig said, which evolved "without any overall policy
guidance. As a result, the federal pension system has and continues to develop on an
independent, piecemeal basis, creating a patchwork of programs providing inconsistent
and different benefits to various groups," he pointed out. This is one practice that
needs correcting, he added, so that all federal retirees receive "comparable and
consistent" benefits."
On the subject of comparability, the Chamber witness added that federal pensions
need also to be comparable to those in the private sector, saying that there is general
agreement "that few private pensions match the generosity of most federal pension plans."
Such comparability may be best achieved, he suggested, "by seeking to match benefit for
benefit and pay for pay" in measuring government employment and benefits with that in
the private sector.
In short, Romig commented, the legislators "must carefully balance the needs and
wishes of two distinct groups of federal employees and weigh this against public
demands for a less costly retirement system. Also to be considered is the government's
need for a pension system that is manageable, nondiscriminatory and complementary to
its employee recruitment and retention policies," and pledged the business community's
cooperation in meeting these goals.
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NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS: A complete copy of the statement is available from the Chamber
News Department, 463-5682
(84-72)
Approved For Release 2011/02/28: CIA-RDP89-000668000300120012-6