PRC Celebrates Our 48th Anniversary
The Pension Rights Center, along with more than 125 friends and colleagues, celebrated both its 48th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the landmark federal pension law, ERISA, during a fun-filled evening at the Planet Word museum in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 2024.
The celebration included jazz music, pension-centric songs, and speeches and toasts, including an address from Lisa Gomez, Assistant Secretary of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. She told attendees that:
“As we look back on 50 years of ERISA and 48 years of the Pension Rights Center, I’m grateful for the work that the Employee Benefits Security Administration, our sister agencies, and all of the stakeholders in the employee benefit plan community have done to contribute to making the law meaningful for America’s workers and their families. Without all of you, ERISA would be just words on pages. Because of you, ERISA comes to life every day in ways that are significant and often lifesaving for so many.”
Additional toasts were made by officials from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; PRC board members Nancy Altman, Regina Jefferson and Tom Reeder; PRC’s Executive Director Karen Friedman and Senior Policy Counsel Norman Stein; and by retiree leaders of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions Kenneth Stribling, Davey Grubbs and Dale Hanner, who all thanked the Pension Rights Center for working with them to help pass the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act.
In addition to reflecting upon PRC’s storied past, Friedman’s remarks looked forward to PRC’s future, highlighting the Center’s goals of promoting consumer protections and working on creative ways to expand the availability of secure and adequate retirement income benefits for all American workers.
Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and long-time friend of PRC, recorded a virtual toast in honor of PRC’s long-time work to improve the lives of workers and retirees.
The event also featured two songs, “ERISA,” (sung to the tune of “Maria” from West Side Story) and “All the Loyal Donors,” a tribute to the sponsors (sung to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”) performed by Lauren Bullock and Iris Hunts, accompanied by the Glen Pearson Trio.
It was a night to be remembered and cherished.
View images from the event here.
