The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that pension plans using consultants considered by federal regulators to have undisclosed conflicts had annual investment returns 1.3 percentage points lower than those whose consultants did not have significant conflicts, the wire services reported.

The GAO said its findings were "consistent with the views of the experts we interviewed concerning the adverse effect that complex service-provider-related conflicts of interest can have on pension plans." It cautioned that its findings, "while suggestive, should not be considered as proof of causality between consultants and lower rates of return," the wire services reported.

The office provided its report to two Democratic lawmakers who have long been concerned about threats to the American pension system. Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and George Miller, a California Democrat who is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, seized on the findings as evidence that the government needed to do a better job overseeing pensions, the wire services reported.-New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants