(WASHINGTON, December 8, 2008) -- Independent Sector and 77 other nonprofit organizations today submitted a letter to the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Honorable John Boehner, minority leader of the House, urging Congress to provide transition relief for charities and foundations that offer defined benefit pension plans for their employees to ensure resources are not diverted away from vital programs and services.

New funding rules enacted under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 require employers that sponsor these plans to make large catch-up payments when the value of plan's assets falls below certain levels. Last month leaders of the Senate tax and pension committees proposed the “Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008”, which would provide partial relief to nonprofits and other sponsors of defined benefit plans that are facing significant increases in funding obligations due to the market downturn and the new funding rules.

Independent Sector President and CEO, Diana Aviv, issued a statement explaining the importance of pension plan relief:

“Nonprofit organizations that provide defined benefit pension plans to their employees are being hard hit by the market downturn and new funding obligations enacted under the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Without immediate relief, nonprofits that sponsor defined benefit plans may be forced to satisfy the new funding rules by diverting substantial financial resources away from vital programs at the time when they are needed most. Congress must act now to allow sufficient time for nonprofits to transition to the Pension Protection Act's 100 percent funded target.”

Click here to read the letter.

Learn more about the importance of pension plan funding relief.

###

Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 550 charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.