Teamsters President Local 707 Kevin McCaffrey who is also a Suffolk County Legislator.
At teach general meeting of Teamsters Local 707 members ask when the Local's pension plan is going to be taken over by the PBGC. The next General Meeting is likely to be Sunday July 27. Submit your questions here and send along a video recorder for your mail order answers. Nassau OTB employees are members of Teamsters Local 707. It is great to collect cash and ...... Nassau OTB employees who work one or two shifts a week pay the same dues as workers who work 40 hours a week? Fair is fare?
U.S. News
Federal Pension-Plan Safety Net Faces Severe Funds Squeeze
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Estimates the Program Could Collapse Within 10 Years
June 30, 2014 7:07 p.m. ET
The federal safety net for a type of
private-sector pension plan common in the transportation, construction
and other industries is at risk of collapse in coming years, according
to a report released Monday.
Such an outcome has the potential to affect more than a million people.
The
federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. program that covers
multi-employer pensions "is more likely than not to run out of funds in
eight years, and highly likely to do so within 10 years," the agency
said in releasing new projections. The PBGC collects insurance premiums
from employers that offer the pensions and helps retirees in insolvent
plans by paying them reduced pensions.
But
the likely failure of several big plans means that the PBGC's limited
resources for helping retirees in failed multi-employer plans likely
will be tapped out in coming years. This year's report estimates that
the $8.3 billion long-term deficit the federal backup plan for
multi-employer plans faced in fiscal year 2013 will widen to $49.6
billion by fiscal year 2023. The deficits don't mean that the backup
plan can't pay now.
The PBGC's new
projections "show that insolvencies affecting more than a million of the
10.4 million people in multi-employer plans are now both more likely
and more imminent," the PBGC said.
This
year's PBGC projections rely on a new methodology that the agency
regards as more realistic about what troubled pension funds can and
can't do to shore themselves up—for instance, plans could raise
employer-contribution requirements, but that would tend to drive off
remaining participants, accelerating the downward spiral.
The
report underscores growing pressure on Congress to take action. But the
options for lawmakers are politically difficult. Bailouts of troubled
plans or of the safety-net program itself could spark a backlash among
voters, while forcing benefit cuts on beneficiaries—particularly current
retirees—would be painful and unpopular.
Republican
and Democratic leaders of the House Education and the Workforce
Committee Chairman took the unusual step of issuing a joint statement
Monday. They have been negotiating a solution but so far without
success.
"The latest PBGC report
confirms in stark detail the significant challenges confronting the
multi-employer pension system," said the statement from Chairman
John Kline
(R., Minn.) and ranking Democrat
George Miller
of California, along with other members. "The systemic crisis we
face threatens countless workers, employers, and retirees, and could
ultimately harm American taxpayers, as well. We have an obligation to
advance reforms that will modernize the system, encourage employer
participation, protect taxpayers, and offer new tools to help rescue
troubled plans. We continue to work together to find common ground and a
responsible legislative solution."
Senate Finance Committee Chairman
Ron Wyden
(D., Ore.) also expressed new worry.
"I'm
very concerned by the findings…issued today by the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation," Mr. Wyden said in a statement Monday. "The report
confirms what we already know—the multiemployer pension plan system is
in big trouble and putting a significant strain on the PBGC. As I've
stated previously, the Finance Committee is taking a hard look at the
issues surrounding multiemployer pension plans, and I will work with my
colleagues to address these issues in order to protect Americans' earned
retirement benefits."
Problems with
multi-employer pension plans—in which numerous employers in the same
industry typically contribute to a single pension fund—have been
recognized for years. Many of the funds were established through union
contracts in industries that have undergone significant upheaval in
recent decades, such as trucking and coal mining.
That
restructuring has led to fewer employers making payments to the funds
on behalf of fewer workers. Federal oversight also continues to be
light, and the PBGC collects relatively low premiums to back up the
multi-employer plans.
Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment