WASHINGTON, D.C. The House passage of H.R. 2830, the Pension Protection Act of 2005, protects America’s retirees without a federal bailout, according to Representative Adam H. Putnam (R-FL 12).

“The legislation we passed today contains long overdue reforms of our pension laws,” Putnam stated. “The bill will protect the pensions of employees and retirees and prevent taxpayers from having to bail out the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation because some companies have failed to adequately fund their pension plans. 

High-profile corporate bankruptcies and pension plan terminations over the past several months and years by such businesses as United Airlines, US Airways and Bethlehem Steel are part of a larger problem stemming from pension laws and regulations that have not been updated for the 21st Century Worker.

The Pension Protection Act, which passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 294-132, takes a balanced approach to comprehensive pension reform. Specifically, the act will:

•           Ensure that employers properly and adequately fund their worker pension plans;

•           Protect taxpayers from costly bailouts of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation;

•           Require companies to provide more information to workers about the status of their pension plans; and

•           Make commonsense modifications to defined contribution laws to encourage greater personal savings for retirement and other needs.

“Our current pension system is broken, and it is vital that we reform these outdated laws that are putting critical worker and retiree pension benefits at risk,” Putnam concluded. “This legislation takes a major step in making our pensions laws solvent and relevant for today’s workers and retirees.”