Enron Savings Plan Begins Distribution from Newby Settlement

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- When Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, thousands of employees lost not only their jobs but also the retirement savings they had invested in Enron stock through the Enron Corp. Savings Plan (Savings Plan) and the Enron Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Today, many of those people are recovering at least a portion of what they lost as the Savings Plan begins to distribute more than $70 million in proceeds of the plan's claims in the settlement of the class action law suit, Newby v. Enron Corp. (Newby), in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

More than 16,500 participants and beneficiaries who acquired Enron stock through the Savings Plan and ESOP are eligible for a distribution from the Savings Plan as a result of the Newby settlement. Notices were mailed from the Savings Plan on February 12, 2010, to more than 14,000 people informing them that they can elect to take their settlement in cash or roll it over to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or another employer's qualified retirement plan. In addition, more than 2,500 people will have money transferred to their accounts in successor plans sponsored by companies including Portland General Electric Company in Portland, Oregon.

When Carole Blanton of Orlando, Florida, received notification of her distribution from the Savings Plan this week she said, "It may not be much, but it was more than we expected. The Enron settlement money is so appreciated."  

Under an agreement between Enron and the U.S. Department of Labor, Fiduciary Counselors Inc. was appointed as the independent fiduciary to act for the Savings Plan and ESOP in connection with Newby. Fiduciary Counselors filed the Newby claims on behalf of the plans. Fiduciary Counselors also has filed claims on behalf of the Savings Plan and ESOP with the Enron Victim Trust, which is responsible for processing claims related to money recovered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of Enron investors. It is anticipated that additional amounts will be distributed in the future from both the Newby settlement and the Enron Victim Trust, and former Enron employees who acquired stock through the plans should keep their addresses up to date at http://www.enronsavingsplan.com. Fiduciary Counselors periodically posts updates at http://www.enron.planfiduciary.com.  

Fiduciary Counselors Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that primarily acts as an independent fiduciary for employee benefit plans and other institutional investors. Fiduciary Counselors currently has more than $5 billion in assets under management. Fiduciary Counselors acts as independent fiduciary for employer stock in 401(k) and other retirement plans, for plans sponsored by employers in bankruptcy, for litigation settlements involving the employer or in-house fiduciaries and in other situations where in-house or institutional fiduciaries have potential conflicts of interest.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Fiduciary Counselors Inc.