Administration November 11, 2008

Yellow Pages Publisher Announces Pension Freeze

November 11, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - R.H. Donnelley, the Cary, North Carolina-based publisher of the Yellow Pages, will freeze its pension plans as of January 1, the company says.
Reported by

The Triangle Business Journal reports the company announced it is replacing its pension benefits with 401(k) enhancements. Instead of matching 50% of employee deferrals up to 6% of pay, R.H. Donnelley will match 100% of employee deferrals up to 6% of pay.

“We feel that this approach provides employees with a solid foundation for retirement while being financially prudent for the company,” said company spokesman Pete Larmey, in the news report. Larney told the Triangle Business Journal the company does not have an estimate of how much it will save from the change.

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report indicated that more than one fifth of active defined benefit plan participants have had their plans frozen as part of the continuing trend for employers to redirect new employees to a defined contribution program (See One Fifth of DB Participants Had Plans Frozen ) – a number U.S. Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota) called “disturbing.”

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