03-22126. Advisory Council of Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans; Nominations for Vacancies

Section 512 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 895, 29 U.S.C. 1142, provides for the establishment of an “Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans” (the Council), which is to consist of 15 members to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) as follows: Three representatives of employee organizations (at least one of whom shall be a representative of an organization whose members are participants in a multi employer plan); three representatives of employers (at least one of whom shall be a representative of employers maintaining or contributing to multi employer plans); one representative each from the fields of insurance, corporate trust, actuarial counseling, investment counseling, investment management and accounting; and three representatives from the general public (one of whom shall be a person representing those receiving benefits from a pension plan). No more than eight members of the Council shall be members of the same political party.

Members shall be persons qualified to appraise the programs instituted under ERISA. Appointments are for terms of three years. The prescribed duties of the Council are to advise the Secretary with respect to the carrying out of his or her functions under ERISA, and to submit to the Secretary, or his or her designee, recommendations with respect thereto. The Council will meet at least four times each year, and recommendations of the Council to the Secretary will be included in the Secretary's annual report to the Congress ERISA.

The terms of five members of the Council expire on November 14, 2003. The groups or fields they represented are as follows: (1) Employee organizations (this member must represent an organization whose members participate in a multi employer plan); (2) a person who is an investment counselor or works for or ore presents an investment counseling firm; (3) a person who is an actuary or works for or represents an actuarial firm; (4) a person representing employer groups and interests, and (5) the general public (this member must represent persons actually receiving benefits from a private-sector pension plan). The Department of Labor is committed to equal opportunity in the workplace and seeks a broad-based and diverse ERISA Advisory Council membership.

Accordingly, notice is hereby given that any person or organization desiring to recommend one or more individuals for appointment to the ERISA Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to represent any of the groups or fields specified in the preceding paragraph, may submit recommendations to Sharon Morrissey, Executive Secretary, ERISA Advisory Council, Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Suite N-5677, Washington, DC 20210. Recommendations must be delivered or mailed on or before October 1, 2003. Recommendations may be in the form of a letter, resolution or petition, signed by the person making the recommendation or, in the case of a recommendation by an organization, by an authorized representative of the organization.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 22nd day of August, 2003.

Paul Zurawski,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Employee Benefits Security Administration.