Most Multiemployer Benefit Plans Sue over Missed Employer Payments

August 23, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Brookfield, Wisconsin group has found that nine in 10 multiemployer benefit plans use the courts in their efforts to collect required employer contributions.

A survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans of 153 US and Canadian salaried and third-party administrators who work with multi-employer plans found that 89% of the funds charge interest on late or missed payments, according to a news release from the group.

According to the survey, other collection programs include:

  • 84% of funds specify penalties and remedies in case of delinquencies
  • 82% of funds require routine and/or random payroll audits
  • 69% of funds collect liquidated damages
  • 50% of funds use wage and fringe benefits bonds to alleviate delinquency problems
  • 22% of funds use arbitration to resolve delinquencies.

To purchase a copy of Collection of Employer Contributions, contact the Publications Department, International Foundation, P.O. Box 68-9953, Milwaukee, WI, 53268-9953; call (888) 334-3327, option 4;  fax (262) 786-8780; or e-mail  books@ifebp.org .  The 216-page publication, bound in a three-ring binder, costs $80 (I.F. Members $40) plus shipping and handling. 

More information about the organization is at  http://www.ifebp.org/ .

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