Employers may be bound by multiemployer pension plans’ trust agreements and collections policies, but the force of these governing documents may have its limits. In Nevada Resorts Ass’n–Int’l All. of Theatrical Stage Emps....more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned the decades-old Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. (See “Go Fish! U.S. Supreme Court Overturns ‘Chevron Deference’...more
The Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1974 (MPPAA) was enacted purposefully by Congress to seize moneys from contributing employers to fund multiemployer defined benefit pension funds regardless of the employers’...more
Withdrawal liability is a major concern for many employers with collectively bargained operations. While special rules applicable to the construction industry can limit the circumstances under which liability can be imposed,...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is now allowing multiemployer pension plans that are applying for special financial assistance (SFA) to request relief from the standard withdrawal liability calculation...more
POTUS Re-ups Labor Nominees. This week, President Biden renominated Jessica Looman to serve as administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division and José Javier Rodriguez to serve as assistant...more
On October 14, 2022 the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) published a proposed regulation regarding the interest rates that multiemployer pension plan actuaries use when calculating the present value of plans’...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 14, 2022, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) published its proposed rule under ERISA Section 4213 (the “Proposed Rule”), which sets forth for the first time the agency’s guidance...more
In an apparent effort to resolve uncertainty caused by court rulings, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has proposed that actuaries of multiemployer pension plans should be allowed to use any interest rate for...more
A hotly debated (and litigated) issue for multiemployer pension plans in recent years has been the appropriate interest rate to determine a multiemployer pension plan’s liabilities when calculating the plan’s underfunding for...more
On October 14, 2022, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures and regulates private-sector defined benefit pension plans under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...more
In a prior alert, we detailed how the Interim Final Rule (IFR) from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) regarding the special financial assistance (SFA) provided under American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) would...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Contributing employers to multiemployer pension plans have seen some big developments in July. The PBGC released its new Final Rule on Special Financial Assistance on July 8, 2022, which will help...more
On July 6, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued the Final Rules (Final Rules) implementing the Special Financial Assistance Program (SFA) enacted by Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021...more
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
The recently published final regulation implementing last year’s massive multiemployer pension plan bailout contains a very thin silver lining, but overall, more bad news for already overburdened employers....more
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), a company incurs withdrawal liability when it withdraws from a multiemployer pension plan....more
In a highly anticipated and thorough opinion, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that use of the Segal Blend by a multiemployer pension plan (MEPP) in calculating an employer’s withdrawal liability violated ERISA. ...more
The use of the “Segal Blend” to calculate a company’s withdrawal liability when it withdrew from a multiemployer pension plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as amended by the Multiemployer...more
In a rare victory for employers that participate in multiemployer pension plans, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the interest rate memorialized in the Segal Blend actuarial assumption was inappropriate to use in...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides “special financial assistance” (SFA) for certain troubled multiemployer defined benefit pension plans (MEPPs). Although ARPA outlined the big picture of how these troubled...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has issued an interim final rule implementing the special financial assistance provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act to assist financially troubled multiemployer pension plans....more
As we previously reported, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) created a special financial assistance program that is administered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) and intended to extend the...more
The federal agency overseeing voluntary private defined benefit pension plans just issued its Interim Final Rule on how withdrawal liability will be impacted by the billions of dollars that will be paid to failing...more
Multiemployer pension plans are collectively bargained defined-benefit employee benefit plans that are funded by several unrelated employers for the benefit of unionized employees. In recent years, the crisis of significantly...more