WASHINGTON-- A trade union group that includes woodworking businesses has joined a legislative effort to protect multiemployer pension plans from cuts.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers joined the Pension Rights Center, AARP and other pension advocacy groups in Washington, DC at a lobbying day and media event at in Washington DC to call for passage of the Keep Our Pension Promises Act of 2015. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced the Keep Our Pension Promises Act in their respective chamber of Congress.
There can be no real retirement security if your pension can be cut after you retire - R. Thomas Buffenbarge, IAM Union President
“There can be no real retirement security if your pension can be cut after you retire,” said IAM International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger in a letter to Congress. “The overwhelming majority of retirees do not have the means to increase their income either because of health issues or age discrimination. Allowing cuts in promised benefits is a ticket to poverty and dependence on government assistance.
Cutbacks in retiree benefits, except in plans completely out of money, had been prohibited under ERISA for more than 40 years. In 2014, Congress passed the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MRPA), ending the anti-cutback rule by allowing “deeply troubled” plans to cut the pensions of current retirees. The Treasury Department is holding hearings on implementing regulations for the MRPA, one of the last steps before thousands of retirees face benefit cuts.
The Keep Our Pensions Promises Act would restore the anti-cutback rule and provide alternate, sensible solutions to strengthen troubled multiemployer plans.
“While most pension plans are properly funded, some have funding challenges because of deregulation, bad trade policies, and the financial mistakes of Wall Street. Retirees should not be made to unjustly suffer because of issues that they had no involvement in,” said Buffenbarger. “The Keep Our Pension Promises Act restores the anti-cutback rule, a fundamental tenet of retirement security for millions of Americans in multiemployer pension plans.”
The IAM is among the nation’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, with nearly 600,000 members in aerospace, manufacturing, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking (including plywood mills, millwork firms, and paper companies), electronics and the federal sector. The IAM National Pension Fund is the fifth largest multiemployer pension fund in the U.S. It is fully funded with approximately $10.9 billion in assets and provides benefits for more than 90,000 retirees. Visit mypension.iamnpf.org for more information.
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