Media Release

Release Date: 11/30/2000
Release Number: USDL: 01-06
Contact Name: Gloria Della
Phone Number: 202.219.8921

LABOR DEPARTMENT SEEKS COMMENTS ON RETIREMENT SAVER SUMMIT FOR 2001

The U. S. Department of Labor’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration today announced it is publishing a request for public comments on the agenda for the National Summit on Retirement Savings scheduled to take place in the Fall of 2001.

The 2001 summit is the second of three national summits mandated by the Savings Are Vital To Everyone’s Retirement (SAVER) Act and will be convened by the President and co- hosted by Congressional leadership. Under the SAVER Act, the Secretary of Labor has authority to direct the planning of the summits and must submit to the President and Congress a report describing activities of the summits.

The summits focus on, among other things, increasing public awareness about the need to save for retirement, identifying problems faced by workers and employers in saving, examining the government’s effectiveness in educating the public about retirement savings, and developing comprehensive recommendations that promote pension and individual retirement savings.

The first summit was held June 4-5, 1998 in Washington, D.C. The report on the 1998 summit is available on PWBA’s website at www.dol.gov/dol/pwba.

"We want to encourage the broadest possible participation in shaping the agenda of the next summit on retirement savings," said Acting Assistant Secretary Leslie B. Kramerich. "This is our opportunity to hear from the American people and groups reaching out to them regarding retirement education and what is still needed. This is their summit."

The request for information (RFI), scheduled to be published in the Dec. 1 Federal Register, is designed to solicit comments which will assist the department in shaping the agenda for the 2001 summit. The RFI seeks suggestions for the agenda of the 2001 summit, including:

• suggested topics on the current state of retirement savings education in the United States and its effect on the national savings rate;
• ideas for programs and activities to reach the general public, particularly lower- income workers, women, minorities, small business owners, youth and older workers;
• success stories and model programs that use effective communication techniques to reach these target populations on the need to save and steps to take in saving for retirement;
• techniques for measuring effectiveness of public outreach and media efforts on retirement savings; and
• ideas for creating new partnerships with public and private sector organizations in order to enhance existing programs designed to promote retirement savings.

Written suggestions and comments should be provided to the department on or before Jan. 31, 2001. The comments should be addressed to the Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, U. S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-5669, Washington, D. C., Attention: “2001 National Summit on Retirement Savings”.

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7775.