$4 Trillion and Counting: The Pension System in America

Grant Award: $25,000

$4 Trillion and Counting will be organized in three major parts of about equal proportion. The story will be advanced through the informative commentary of pension experts, policymakers, and off-screen narration. State-of-the-art graphics, archival movie and television footage, photographs, etc., will enhance the program's visual appeal. Music and sound will be added as appropriate.

Part One: The First Hundred Years (1874-1974)

The program will open up with archival footage of the scene in the Rose Garden on September 2, 1974, with President Gerald Ford, surrounded by congressional leaders who forged the way for pension reform, signing this monumental piece of legislation.

The early development of the private pension system will then be chronicled starting with the Grand Trunk railroad in 1874 and Railway Express in 1875. It will provide a ride through time leading us through the Great Depression and other significant events leading up to the enactment of Social Security in 1935. This part will then outline the events fostering the rapid growth of pensionsBthe post-World War II environment with wage and price controls and the Inland Steel case, that paved the way for collective bargaining over pensions.

Part One will discuss the selection of a defined benefit plan as the pension plan of choice adopted by the auto, steel, and rubber industry, setting the pattern for the rest of the Nation. It will also educate the viewer on the important distinctions between a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan and the retirement income implications.

Part One will conclude with the abuses and misfortunes that led to the enactment of ERISA: stringent age and service requirements before eligibility for a pension was established; inadequate funding by employers; termination of plans without sufficient funds to pay promised pensions; and the diversion of funds for the private purposes of the union or employer involved. This part will include a sampling of the "horror stories" generated during public hearings and the publicity generated by NBC's white paper on "The Broken Promise."

Part Two: A Quarter Century of ERISA (1974-1999)

Part Two will contain candid interviews with the key players, policymakers, and pension experts who forged the alliance leading up to the successful enactment of ERISA. It will inform the viewer of the intricate political maneuvering, tactical decision-making, and delicate negotiations necessary to bring the unprecedented legislation to the floor of the House and Senate.

This part will also graphically demonstrate the rapid growth and change of the private pension system over the past 25 years and its colossal role in retirement security, financial markets, and national savings. It will highlight major policy issues that arose during the post-ERISA era: pension plan terminations that threatened the very solvency of the government's insurance program; "pension asset raiding;" the push for economically targeted investments; and the effects on pension benefits caused by corporate mergers, acquisitions, and downsizing. It will also show the shift away from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans and the implications of this turn around. The program will illustrate why many workers and firms prefer plans that offer simplicity and portability, even if investment risk (and rewards) are shifted from employers to employees. Contributing to the changing landscape has been the scaling back of tax benefits to the highly compensated and federal laws that have been repeatedly altered and made exceedingly complex.

Part Three: Challenges for the 21st Century

Part Three will describe where we are today and what the retirement income security challenges are for the future. $4 Trillion and Counting will show that elusive goals remain: increased pension coverage and portability. It will also show that the nation's ability to maintain our current Social Security system is now at risk because of changing demographics: too few workers to support the growing numbers of elderly. The program will point out that employer-provided pensions and individual savings through IRAs, Roth IRAs, and 401-k plans may make the difference between living in poverty or comfort.

This part will demonstrate that more risk will be placed on individuals as they save for their own retirement in the increasingly popular 401-k plan. With that comes a growing need for financial education and products for diversifying investment risk and providing lifetime retirement income. The conclusion of Part Three would include comments from top government officials, industry leaders, and financial planners to advance the public's understanding of the importance of retirement savings. People need to be made aware of how much they will need to retire on; how close they are to their retirement saving goal; and how much they will need to save. The role that pensionsBboth defined benefit and defined contribution—will play and the importance of personal savings will be made clear.

Production Team

Ray Schmitt—Producer/Director

Ray Schmitt has been producing, directing and editing film and video productions since 1975. Schmitt also worked 25 years as a pension specialist at the Library of Congress. His video programs have been shown on public television and have been distributed to colleges, universities, libraries, and special interest groups. Ray has won many national and international awards and has produced over 30 productions ranging from original dramas to documentaries. Awards include first place in the Canadian International Film Festival in 1987 and a "CINE Gold Eagle" award for his documentary "When Sound is Silent." His documentary dealing with disability issues, "Coming to Terms," was a finalist in the Outstanding Educational/Documentary film category in the 13th Annual Media Access Awards, in Los Angeles, and received a blue ribbon in the 1992 American Film and Video Festival. In 1993, Ray produced "A Conversation with Poet Laureate Rita Dove" hosted by National Public Radio special correspondent Susan Stamberg. In 1997, he produced a documentary "Adriana: Shadows on Yellow Silk" on acclaimed Middle Eastern dancer Adriana Miller.

William C. Powell—Director of Videography

Bill Powell has a distinguished career in network news gathering. In 1961 he worked for CBS and a year later joined NBC Network News staff. Bill worked a number of years with David Brinkley and the "Nightly News" and on many documentaries during the great age of network documentaries. He became a member of the White House Press Corps, traveled with the president, and covered major stories of the day. In 1988, after 26 years with the NBC Network, covering presidents from John F. Kennedy to George Bush, Bill Powell retired from NBC to become an independent videographer working for NBC, CBS, and ABC and independent companies. He has served as videographer on television ads, corporate training films, documentaries and nationally distributed videos. Bill is well known in the business for his skill in lighting and camera work.

Richard T. Slade—Technical Director/Editor

Richard T. Slade is President and Technical Director of Audio Visual Artists' Productions (AVA) in Silver Spring, MD. AVA is a full-service production company offering state-of-the-art digital recording equipment and an in-house component, A/B on-line editing facility, narration booth, sound effects and music library, and Grass Valley, Dubner and Tascam support equipment. AVA's clients have included corporations, associations, colleges, government agencies, retailers, and other production companies. Richard has 23 years of network (NBC) experience in film and videotape documentary editing in addition to 17 years of freelance directing, editing and overall post-production supervision. He is also an award-winning still photographer.

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