Compliance June 29, 2011
PBGC Takes on Wolverine Tube Pension
June 29, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation will pay the pensions of nearly 2,400 employees and retirees of bankrupt Wolverine Tube, Inc.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The agency said it stepped in after the bankruptcy court ruled that the Huntsville, Alabama-based firm, with facilities also in Shawnee, Oklahoma, could not continue in business unless PBGC took responsibility for the pensions.
The company’s pension plan has $106.3 million in assets to cover $190.4 million in benefit liabilities, according to the PBGC. The agency expects to cover $79.6 million of the $84.1 million shortfall.
“We are pleased PBGC was able to help preserve jobs at Wolverine, as well as secure benefits for 2,400 people whose pensions, without PBGC, would largely be lost,” said PBGC Director Josh Gotbaum, in a news release.