Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 8, 2022, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) published its final rule (“Final Rule”) on the Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) Program established under the American Rescue Plan Act...more
In the clamor that surrounded the current administration’s adoption of the American Rescue Act of 2021 (ARPA), quietly tucked in as Subtitle H is the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (Butch Lewis). Butch...more
The American Rescue Plan Act 2021, signed into law by President Joseph Biden on March 11, 2021, provides for significant relief to the most troubled multiemployer pension plans. The extent to which such relief also extends to...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued a final rule on January 7, 2021 that impacts the calculation of withdrawal liability by multiemployer pension plans in endangered or critical status. The final rule...more
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA) on January 21, 2021. EPPRA represents the latest legislative attempt to address the...more
On January 7, 2021, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued final regulations updating its guidance under sections 4211 and 4219 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which govern...more
The Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act of 2019 (MPRA), also referred to as the "Butch-Lewis Act" proposes to establish a Pension Rehabilitation Administration (PRA) within the Department of Treasury that would...more
On November 20, Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Lamar Alexander – chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over pensions – jointly released the Multiemployer Pension Recapitalization and Reformation Plan (the...more
On February 6, 2019, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") issued a proposed rule that impacts how multiemployer pension plans in endangered or critical status calculate withdrawal liability. The rule is not yet...more
The New York Teamsters Road Carriers Local 707 Pension Fund (the “Local 707 Pension Fund”) is dead, reportedly having run out of money in early March 2017. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) the federal...more
For many months, we have been speculating about how the results of the 2016 presidential election would impact employee benefits policy going forward. Now that Donald Trump has won the election and Republicans have secured a...more
This is another in our series addressing the continuing deterioration of multi-employer defined benefit pension plans. Regardless of the identity of the next tenant of the White House, a major item on the new...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) recently released a proposed rule amending the agency’s regulations on mergers and transfers between multiemployer plans. The proposed rule would implement a section of the...more
As we discussed in a prior alert, in September 2015 the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund submitted a proposed “rescue plan” to the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury). The Central States Pension Fund is severely...more
On September 25, the Central States Pension Fund (one of the largest multiemployer/union pension funds in the country) submitted to the U.S. Department of Treasury a proposed “rescue plan,” which would allow the fund to...more
On Sept. 25, 2015, the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan (Central States), submitted to the Department of the Treasury a plan for reducing benefits under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) recently released its annual projections report showing that its insurance programs, which back both multiemployer pension plans and single-employer pension plans, have...more
Retirement Plans - IRS Issues Guidance on Benefit Suspension Voting under MPRA - As we have written in prior alerts, the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) permits trustees of financially troubled...more
In this Update Series, we provide continuing updates on the key developments relating to multiemployer pension plans, as well as practical considerations for the companies that participate in them. These union benefit funds...more
In June, the Department of Treasury and the PBGC issued guidance that clarifies how multiemployer pension plans at risk of insolvency can implement the various provisions of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014...more
Supreme Court - As explained in more detail in separate alerts we issued over the past several days, the Supreme Court decided two major cases involving the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage. First, as described...more
On June 17, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released several regulatory measures implementing the multiemployer pension plan amendments that were enacted in...more