Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, held a hearing to weigh the costs and benefits of funding certain ailing
“„Although pensions are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the payout for insured benefits hasn’t increased in years, so many retirees would see their benefits slashed. Plus, the collapse of any multiemployer pension plan places an incredible strain on an agency already beleaguered by fiscal woes, and the failure of a large plan could cripple the agency.
“„Congress has already taken steps to provide targeted, short-term relief to ease them through these tough economic times, and funding relief will surely help some of these plans remain afloat. But for a handful of multiemployer plans, short-term funding relief simply isn’t enough. Those are the plans we are focusing on today — the minority of plans that are truly in dire straits. They find themselves bearing costs dumped on them by defunct employers that failed to pay their fair share while, at the same time, watching their contribution base shrink as industries and demographics change over time. Those plans need long-term help and systemic reforms.** The challenges faced by multiemployer plans are real, and we need to face them head-on because, quite frankly, they are simply too big to ignore.**