Administration May 21, 2009

Indiana Pension Plans Lose Shot at Blocking Chrysler Asset Sale

May 21, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge turned away an attempt by a group of Indiana pension funds to block the sale of Chrysler assets.
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An Associated Press news report said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzales denied the pension funds’ request to halt the asset sale to Italy’s Fiat Group SpA.

Lawyers representing The Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund, Indiana State Police Pension Trust and Indiana Major Moves Construction Fund argued that proceeds from the asset sale would go to unsecured creditors such as the United Auto Workers union and U.S. Treasury Department, rather than the pension programs.

According to the AP, collectively, the funds have lost $5.6 million invested in corporate debt of Chrysler, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in late April.

The police fund holds about $350 million in total assets, the road fund $2.5 billion and the teachers’ fund $6.9 billion.

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