Thomas P. DiNapoli, comptroller of the state of New York and sole trustee of the $147 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, on Tuesday suggested creating a national commission “to talk about ways to maintain existing defined benefit plans.”
The commission also would “seek creative solutions to address the retirement security challenge facing those with inadequate retirement resources,” he said, speaking at the conference of the Council of Institutional Investors in Boston.
Mr. DiNapoli said among the questions such a commission should examine are:
• “Should we encourage consortiums of smaller pension plans with the goal of achieving the economies of larger-scale pension plans?
• “Should federal law be amended so that public plans would be allowed to be open to private individuals and employers?
• “Should Social Security withholding be used to boost savings for Americans through voluntary individual accounts in addition to the existing benefit?
“The growing problem of retirement security is too important an issue to kick down the road,” Mr. DiNapoli said. “We need to discuss and debate these and other critical questions and come up with solutions that will shore up retirement security across this country.“