They go for the lessons, not the waters

RE THE March 14 editorial "When investing, bigger is better," about public pension representatives traveling to Hawaii for the annual conference of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, I would like to make a couple of points.

NCPERS, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to advocacy, research, and education, represents the nation's 2,659 public sector retirement systems, which collectively oversee more than $3 trillion.

Plan trustees, administrators, and other public officials who act as stewards of public pension plans will be traveling to Hawaii to participate in educational sessions related to their duties. In addition to sessions on investing, we have panels and speakers on such diverse subjects as fiduciary responsibility, tax qualifications and Pension Protection Act issues, the cost of healthcare for retirees, and bringing retirees back into the workforce. Sessions at our conferences are an integral part of education for our members.

Trustees of public pension plans put in an extraordinary amount of work on behalf of plan participants -- work for which they are not paid. Suggesting that attendees to our annual conference are going only for the location is condescending and dishonors their years of service as dedicated public employees.

HANK H. KIM Executive director and counsel NCPERS Washington