According to the PBGC, The Treasury Department approved a related application submitted by the plan for the required benefit reductions and certified the results of a participant vote on the plan’s benefit reduction proposal. The Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 set the course for financial assistance and benefit reductions for these plans.
In its applications to the Treasury and PBGC, the plan trustees said the plan was in critical and declining status. They projected that the plan would run out of money during the plan year ending March 21, 2022.
Effective January 1, 2019, PBGC will move a portion of the plan’s guaranteed benefit obligations to a new, separate plan that will have its costs reimbursed by PBGC. Plan participants whose benefits are moved to the new plan will be treated the same as participants whose benefits remain in the original plan.
Benefits of approximately 495 participants will not be reduced because of the statutory protections for benefits of older and disabled participants and for participants whose benefits are equal to or less than 110% of the PBGC guarantee amount. The remaining participants will see future benefit reductions to 110% of the PBGC guaranteed amount, averaging a 41% cut in benefits.