December 10, 2014
By John W. Schoen
...Last year, the PBGC (click here) reported that its program backing multiemployer plans was $5 billion in the red. It projected that—unless Congress acted—there was "about a 35 percent probability" its assets would be exhausted by 2022 and "about a 90 percent probability" by 2032.
By John W. Schoen
...Last year, the PBGC (click here) reported that its program backing multiemployer plans was $5 billion in the red. It projected that—unless Congress acted—there was "about a 35 percent probability" its assets would be exhausted by 2022 and "about a 90 percent probability" by 2032.
Single-employer pension plans are covered by a separate PBGC program that is on a much more solid financial footing.
Proponents of the proposed PBGC reforms argue that they will help prevent more multiemployer plans from going under and that retirees are better off with smaller monthly payments than none at all.
"We have a plan here that first and foremost works for the members of the unions, the workers in these companies, and it works for the companies," said George Miller, D-Calif., who was involved in talks with Republicans over the pensions provisions.
But critics contend that the issue is too complex to be resolved with a last-minute rider to a $1.1 trillion spending bill....
