Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. approves another special assistance application - Pensions & Investments

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. approved the Special Financial Assistance Program, oregon SFA Program, exertion of a New York pension program covering workers and retirees successful the proscription industry, the bureau announced Friday.

The New York State Teamsters Conference Pension & Retirement Plan, oregon NYS Teamsters Conference Plan, volition person $963.4 cardinal successful peculiar fiscal assistance according to a PBGC quality release.

President Joe Biden signed the SFA Program into instrumentality successful March 2021, arsenic portion of the American Rescue Plan Act. The programme allows the PBGC to assistance financially struggling multiemployer plans if they conscionable 1 of 4 criteria: the program has been successful captious and declining presumption successful immoderate program twelvemonth opening successful 2020 done 2022; its benefits person been suspended arsenic of March 11, 2021; it is successful captious status, has a modified backing ratio beneath 40% and has a ratio of active-to-inactive participants of little than 2-to-3; oregon it became insolvent aft Dec. 16, 2014, but has not been terminated arsenic of March 11, 2021.

The NYS Teamsters Conference Plan, which covers 33,643 participants and is based successful Syracuse, New York, implemented a payment suspension successful October 2017 nether the presumption of the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. This reduced the benefits of astir 25,000 participants by an mean of 20%, according to the quality release.

The PBGC's support of the SFA exertion allows the program to reconstruct benefits and marque payments to screen anterior payment suspensions for retirees. The program volition besides beryllium capable "to wage status benefits without simplification for galore years into the future," the bureau said.

As of Dec. 31, the NYS Teamsters Conference Plan had $1.7 cardinal successful assets and $3 cardinal successful projected payment obligations for a backing ratio of 57%, according to the plan's astir caller Form 5500 filing.

The PBGC has approved astir $8.9 cardinal to plans covering much than 191,000 participants arsenic of Nov. 18, according to the quality release.