President Signs Order to Focus On Pension Fund Concerns

The President signed a memorandum on October 22, directing the Treasury, Commerce, and Labor Departments’ leaders to review the legislative and administrative options available to address lost pension benefits related to the termination of Delphi auto workers’ retirement plan over a decade ago.

The memo also directs the officials to tackle financially distressed multiemployer plans in general, giving agency heads 180 days to craft a rescue plan for the struggling Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which is is projected to be insolvent by 2026.

IWLA took part in a stakeholder outreach call with the White House following the memo’s publication, along with other members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Multiemployer Task Force. Unfortunately, the general assessment of the memorandum is that it does not offer a near term solution to the multiemployer pension funding crisis, and will likely prevent multiemployer legislation from being included in any forthcoming stimulus package.

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