March 25, 2021

News: President Biden Signs Law Saving Multiemployer Pension Plans from Insolvency

One of the most important parts of the American Rescue Plan for union members and numerous other workers and retirees is its provision saving multiemployer pension plans from insolvency. More than ten million Americans, including many SOAR members, will have greatly increased pension security now that President Biden has signed the stimulus relief bill into law.

The Alliance for Retired Americans and the United Steelworkers worked with the labor movement for years to ensure that workers have the retirement income security they earned over a lifetime of hard work. This legislation is the culmination of those efforts.

Multiemployer pension plans are collectively bargained pension plans operated jointly by unions and employers, usually within the same or related industries – such as construction, retail, manufacturing, transportation, and mining. Many multiemployer plans are in financial trouble due to the 2008 recession and corporate bankruptcies. The COVID-19 recession exacerbated the situation.

A recent national survey from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that 77% of Americans agree that all workers should have a pension, with support for pensions consistent across party lines.

Millions of Americans can feel confident that the retirement benefits they earned and paid for will be there when they need them. Plans experiencing problems will have the resources they need from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to pay benefits for the next thirty years. We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President Biden for his leadership in seeing it through.

by Alliance President Robert Roach, Jr.