Pension Action E-Newsletter

April 6, 2007

Spring Brings Daffodils and Shareholder Meetings
PRC staff met with Bill Freeda, Vice-President of the CWA Retired Members Council, to discuss strategies GE retirees can use to advocate for cost of living adjustments from their overfunded pension plan. Bill shared a number of resolutions GE retirees are proposing at the April 25th shareholders meeting in Greenville, South Carolina. The three below have been proposed by Pension Action subscribers.  To read more about shareholder resolutions, visit our web site.

  • Independent Board Chairman. To prevent conflicts of interest, long-time activist Helen Quirini proposes that the positions of company CEO and Board Chairman be held by different people.
  • One Director from the Ranks of Retirees. Kevin Mahar, President of CWA Local 201 Retirees Council, is proposing that the Board of Directors be required to nominate a GE non-executive retiree as a Board candidate.
  • Report on Pay Differential. Bill Freeda is proposing that the Board establish an independent committee to prepare a report on the cost and benefits of the difference in pay for GE’s senior executives and the lowest-paid 10% of current employees.

NOTE: If you hold GE stock and do not vote your proxy, the brokerage firm, investment company or retirement plan holding your stock is likely to vote against these proposals.

House Committee Passes Bill Allowing Shareholders to Vote on Executive Compensation
The House Committee on Financial Services recently passed H.R. 1257, the Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act. The bill requires companies to allow shareholders to have an advisory, nonbinding vote on executive compensation. Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), sponsor of the legislation, called the legislation “an important step in giving shareholders the ability to express their approval or disapproval of pay packages for executives to run the corporations that they own.”

Aflac recently announced that it will become the first major U.S. company to allow shareholders have a nonbinding vote on the company’s executive compensation packages.

Cox News Looking for 401(k) Plan Participants to Interview
Cox Television is preparing a news story about 401(k) plan fees. They would like to interview someone in the Washington, D.C. area (D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia) who is currently working, has a 401(k) plan, and is concerned about the fees being charged to their 401(k) account. You don't have to be an expert -- you simply have to be aware of the issue and be concerned about it. The interview will last no more than 10 minutes and they would come to your office or home to interview you. If interested, please contact Catherine Reynolds at 202-777-7000 or catherine.reynolds@coxtv.com.

Department of Energy Again Seeks to Stop Funding Contractor Pensions.
Last year, the Department of Energy announced that it would no longer reimburse contractors for costs associated with defined benefit pension plans but had to reverse the decision under pressure from lawmakers and pension experts who felt the retirement security of government contractors would be undermined by such a change. Now DOE is asking for public comments on this issue. More than 100,000 Department of Energy contractors would be affected by this change. If you would like to make your voice heard, you can submit comments to the Department of Energy by sending an e-mail to contractorpensions@hq.doe.gov by May 11th.

Articles of Interest
PRC Staff Attorney Rebecca Davis was quoted in an article in this month’s Kiplinger’s Retirement Report about pensions for widows and widowers. For other articles of interest, visit Pensions in the News on our website.