Headlines about "Multiemployer plans"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
[Opinion] Wall Street Journal and Credit Suisse 'Union Pension Bomb' Is Long on Drama, Short on Insight (PDF)
"The May 15, 2012 Wall Street Journal editorial entitled 'The Union Pension Bomb' and the Credit Suisse report to which it refers may provide an eye-catching headline, but it contains numerous factual inaccuracies and misleading statements regarding multiemployer plans.... Rather than acknowledging the long-term nature of pension obligations and the market fluctuations that will produce periodic and transitory periods of over- or underfunding, [the editorial] chose to capitalize on the anomalies produced by artificially low interest rates, overly influenced by monetary policies intended to stimulate low-cost borrowing, at the expense of those institutions and individuals whose long-term financial survival is dependent on savings and historically dependable fixed income instruments. The sensationalism of these conclusions may play well to those whose interests are served by eliminating any sense of corporate responsibility to the workers whose efforts are as much a contributing factor to the companies' success as those who provide the capital, but no one should be fooled by this shameless and opportunistic characterization of the current rates as market driven 'risk-free' rates, appropriate for such conclusions." (National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans)

Spring 2012 Report of Results from the Segal Survey of Calendar Year Multiemployer Pension Plans' 2012 Zone Status
"[T]he proportion of calendar-year multiemployer pension plans in the green zone declined by four percentage points between January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012: from 66 percent to 62 percent. In addition, the survey found that the average [PPA '06] funded percentage for those plans decreased by three percentage points over that period: from 89 percent to 86 percent. Prior to the market downturn that began in late 2008, more than three-quarters of calendar-year plans (83 percent) were in the green zone and the average PPA'06 funded percentage was 97 percent." (Segal)

A Labor Lawyer's Guide to Avoiding Multiemployer Pension Plan Withdrawal Liability
"As traditional bargaining units throughout the country continue to shrink and evolve, and as underfunded multiemployer pension plans continue to feel the crippling effects of the capital markets collapse of 2008, the specter of substantial withdrawal liability assessments against employers which contribute to multiemployer pension plans ... grows." (Bryan Cave)

Due Diligence When Acquiring Business with Multiemployer Pension Plan Means More than an Actuary's Certification
"The seller represents that it is a so-called 'green zone' plan and that you should not be concerned about making contributions to the plan beyond those the seller had been making. The plan's actuary provides a certification stating that the plan is 85 percent funded and that the plan is in neither 'endangered' nor 'critical' status. Should you feel comfortable that there is no risk associated with the plan?" (Chang, Ruthenberg & Long PC)

Noteworthy Developments of Interest to Sponsors of Multiemployer Health Plans, 2nd Quarter 2012 (PDF)
"[Includes] recent developments in health care and the multiemployer marketplace ... data including consumer price index (CPI) and Segal health trends ... a context for what's happening to multiemployer health plans ... [and] information about what other multiemployer plans are doing." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

Employer Barred from Modifying Collective Bargaining Agreement to Evade Duty to Contribute to Pension Fund
"Although the Participation Agreement stated that any agreement "that purports to prospectively reduce the contribution rate" payable to the fund by the employer would be invalid, the employer argued the word "prospectively" is ambiguous because it could reasonably be interpreted to allow for immediate action. In other words, the new CBA did not eliminate the duty to contribute prospectively; it did so immediately. This, the court ruled, was not a reasonable interpretation of the participation agreement, and indeed it defied "common sense and logic."" (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Union Can Be Required to Indemnify Employer for Withdrawal Liability
"In Shelter Distribution Inc. v. General Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Local Union No. 89, the [court] held that it is not a violation of public policy for a union to indemnify an employer through a provision in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for contingent withdrawal liability under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (MPPAA) to a multiemployer pension plan covered under [ERISA]." (Practical Law Company)

Does Danger Loom for Multiemployer Pension Plans?
"Under fair-value calculations, multiemployer plans ... are currently underfunded by $369 billion ... Excessively low funding levels could lead to hikes in employers' contributions as well as in withdrawal liabilities ... It might also give would-be suitors reason to pause before buying smaller businesses that offer multiemployer plans[.]" (CFO)

[Opinion] ACLI Statement for Senate Committee Hearing on Retirement (In)security: Examining the Retirement Savings Deficit (PDF)
Submitted to Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy for March 28, 2012, hearing. "ACLI urges this Committee to look at other proposals that would expand retirement savings opportunities. The ACLI supports reforms to and expansion of the private multiple employer plan (MEP) system to further encourage and facilitate participation by employers that are not prepared to sponsor a stand-alone retirement plan." (American Council of Life Insurers)

Secretary of Labor Suit for Breach of Fiduciary Duty Alleged Defendants Established ERISA Health Benefit Plan
"Defendants had retained, as compensation, a substantial portion of payments made by businesses to enroll their employees. The complaint alleged improper diversion of funds and that defendants were required by ERISA to use the assets only for the defraying reasonable plan expenses for the benefit of plan participants. (Justia.com)

[Guidance Overview] Union Agreement to Indemnify Employer for Withdrawal Liability Upheld in Issue of First Impression
"In Shelter Distribution Inc. v. General Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Local Union No. 89, ... the [court] held that nothing in ERISA prohibits a union from contractually agreeing to be held liable for an employer's withdrawal liability under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act.... The Sixth Circuit thus joined the Third Circuit in enforcing such indemnity provisions." (Littler)

[Opinion] Comments on Proposed Rule on Filings Required of MEWAs and Certain Other Related Entities
Links to comments from interested parties are provided on the target page. (Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Official Guidance] FASB No. 2011-09: Disclosures about an Employer's Participation in a Multiemployer Pension Plan (PDF)
"The amendments in this Update require that employers provide additional separate disclosures for multiemployer pension plans and multiemployer other postretirement benefit plans. For employers that participate in multiemployer pension plans, the amendments in this Update require an employer to provide additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures. The amended disclosures provide users with more detailed information about an employer's involvement in multiemployer pension plans.... [Published September 2011.]" (Financial Accounting Standards Board)

[Opinion] ERISA Multi-Employer Plan Contingent Liability Indemnification Provision Is Not Prohibited by Public Policy
"We now have two circuits that have ruled on this indemnification issue (Third Circuit and Sixth Circuit), with both finding that an indemnification provision regarding ERISA multi-employer plan contingent liability does not violate public policy. Reneging on an indemnification agreement may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but this could have a chilling effect on multi-employer plan participation." (Porter Wright)

Shelter Distrib., Inc. v. Gen. Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Union Local No. 89
"The collective bargaining agreement was scheduled to expire. During negotiations, the union disclaimed representation of the company's employees and terminated the collective bargaining process. The company then withdrew from the multiemployer pension plan. The pension fund imposed withdrawal liability and assessed $57,291.50.... The company demanded indemnification from the union pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, which stated: 'The Union shall indemnify the Company for any contingent liability which may be imposed under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980.'" (Justia.com)

[Guidance Overview] 2012 Key Administrative Dates and Deadlines for Calendar-Year Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
The information is for plans subject to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. (Milliman)

[Guidance Overview] Waste Management Succeeds Against Pension Funds
"The employer sought an early withdrawal from its obligation to make pension contributions to a multiemployer pension fund; it entered into a new collective bargaining agreement, six weeks before expiration of the existing agreement, that abrogated its obligation to make payments to the fund. The fund sued under [ERISA]. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of the fund. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting an argument that the agreement was ambiguous in providing that the employer could not 'prospectively' change its obligation." (Justia.com)

Recent DOL Initiatives: Questions Answered
"Last month, advisory board member Sherwin Kaplan and his colleague at Nixon Peabody, Eric Paley, conducted a webinar titled 'Managing and Protecting Your Employee Benefit Plans: New [DOL] Initiatives.' As part of that webinar, [they] took questions from the audience, but they were unable to get to every question in the time allocated[.] Sherwin ... agreed to answer outstanding questions[.] The following are questions submitted during the webinar, with Sherwin's answers.]" (Bloomberg BNA)

Ensure your Plan Participants are Prepared for a Secure Retirement
Defined Contribution Conference, March 11-13, in Miami. Learn from your peers through presentations and discussions on plan design, communications, investment options and more. FREE registration for qualified plan sponsors. (Pensions & Investments)

Avoid the Common Mistakes Affecting Plan Loans Webcast
Earn CE credit while ERISA expert, Charles Lockwood, JD, LLM, explains the administrative issues that affect plan loans. Have questions? Charles will address them either during or after the webcast. March 22nd at 2pm EST. (ASC)

Soft Landing Strategies for Troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans: Cooperation, Compromise, and Flexibility (PDF)
"Fully funded plans and less volatile investments should be the final aim of any plan restructuring. In the current economic environment, that is an impossible goal for some plans. The worst approach would be to wait for a crisis to create consensus for change. Allowing plans now in distress to create solutions that address their specific circumstances will save the largest number of plans and benefit the greatest number ofparticipants." (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. via Kraw & Kraw Law Group)

Winter 2012 Report of Results from the Survey of Plans' 2011 Zone Status
"The average Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA'06) funded percentage for the surveyed plans was 87 percent in 2011, up from 83 percent in 2010." (The Segal Company)

Union Membership, 2011
"In 2011, 7.6 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared with 7.2 million union workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for public-sector workers (37.0 percent) was substantially higher than the rate for private-sector workers (6.9 percent)." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Multiple Employer Plans: Qualified Retirement Plans (PDF)
"[As an alternative to single employer plans, the 'MultipleEmployer Plan' or MEP is] being increasingly promoted by service providers as the panacea for eliminating fiduciary liability and administrative costs. The value proposition of a MEP can vary by operational design and type of plan at issue, but the common benefits of a MEP to an employer include the elimination of most plan sponsor functions such as an annual plan audit and Form 5500 filing, and some planfiduciary functions such as choosing which investment options will be available to plan participants." (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. via K&L Gates LLP)

[Guidance Overview] 2012 Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Multiemployer Plans (PDF)
"The [calendar] summarizes compliance requirements for multiemployer plans." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

New FASB Rules on Multiemployer Plan Disclosures: Where to Find the Information
"The new requirements ask employers to provide a lot of detail concerning the pension plans they contribute to. Some of the information will be readily available within the employer's own records, such as the amount of contributions made to each 'significant' plan and to all plans in the aggregate, as well as the expiration dates of collective bargaining agreements. However, much of the rest needs to be gathered with a little bit of help from the plans themselves." (Retirement Town Hall)

Philadelphia Orchestra Association Negotiating Split with National Musicians' Pension Fund
"Under discussion are the amounts the association would pay, and over what period of time, to the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund (AFM-EPF), said the orchestra association's lawyer, Lawrence G. McMichael. Although the association won't contribute to it anymore, the fund will still be responsible for providing some benefits players earn." (Philadelphia Media Network Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Seventh Circuit Determines Solvent Companies Responsible for Withdrawal Liability of an Insolvent Affiliate
"Under ERISA, for purposes of computing withdrawal liability, all 'trades or businesses' under 'common control' are treated as constituting a single employer. Each such trade or business is jointly and severally liable for any withdrawal liability of any other. The district court held here that the solvent MCRI and MCOF were both trades or businesses that were under common control with insolvent SCOFBP at the relevant times, so that both MCRI and MCOF are liable for SCOFBP's withdrawal liability." (401k Fiduciary News)

[Official Guidance] EBSA Advisory Opinion 2011-10A: Where the Trust Fund Is Entity that Is Separate from, and Holds Assets that Are Not Part of, the Pension Plan
"[DOL was asked w]hether certain cash contributions to a pension plan by the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council Labor Management Cooperation Trust would result in prohibited transactions under section 406 of ERISA and section 4975 of the Code." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Pension Remains Contentious Issue for Automakers
"Three years after the bailout of two of Detroit's three automakers was set in motion, pensions for thousands of former employees throughout the domestic auto industry remain a contentious issue." (The Oakland Press)

[Official Guidance] Text of PBGC Notice of Pendency of Request for Approval of Special Withdrawal Liability Rules for the Cultural Institutions Pension Plan (PDF)
"This notice advises interested persons that [PBGC] has received a request from The Cultural Institutions Pension Plan for approval of a plan amendment providing for special withdrawal liability rules. . . . Such approval is granted [to a multiemployer pension plan] only if PBGC determines that the rules apply to an industry with characteristics that make use of the special rules appropriate and that the rules will notpose a significant risk to PBGC." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

[Guidance Overview] Fourth Circuit Holds Trustees Are Liable Only If Their Fiduciary Breach Caused the Plan's Loss
"In Plasterers' Local Union No. 96 Pension Plan v. Pepper, . . . the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's findings that trustees of a multi-employer pension plan breached ERISA fiduciary duties by not diversifying plan investments and by failing to prudently investigate investment alternatives for the plan. However, the district court's holding that the trustees were liable to the plan was reversed because the Fourth Circuit concluded that the lower court never undertook to determine what losses, if any, resulted from the trustees' breaches of duty." (Goodwin Procter LLP)

[Guidance Overview] Year-End Compliance Issues for Multiemployer Retirement Plan Sponsors (PDF)
This review looks at key areas that plan sponsors should address by December 31, 2011. (Milliman, Inc.)

Revised Edition of Trustee Handbook: A Guide to Labor-Management Employee Benefit Plans Released
"This tool is for all multiemployer plan trustees and administrators who are committed to fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities. The book is a guide for professional providers who work with multiemployer plans." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Multiemployer Plans Look to Value-Based Health Care
"A new survey released by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans finds that in the last year, the number of multiemployer and public employer plans that consider their health and wellness offerings to be a part of a broader VBHC strategy more than doubled from 16% to 37%." (Employee Benefit News)

[Opinion] Government Worker Pensions ARE Wall Street
"In an editorial posted in January 2011 entitled 'Wall Street & Public Sector Unions,' we identified an irony still lost on the occupy movement's rank and file ? Wall Street is financed by the pension funds of unionized government workers. Every year, taxpayer funded government agencies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into Wall Street investment funds." (Union Watch)

Withdrawal Liability to Multi-Employer Pension Plans under ERISA (PDF)
"This paper is intended as a general guide to the withdrawal liability provisions of ERISA, which were added in 1980 by the Multi-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act ('MPPAA') for practitioners and executives. It discusses the MPPAA's background and the operation of its major provisions, with some emphasis on litigation procedures. [This paper was included in the meeting materials for the 21st Annual National Institute on ERISA Litigation, presented by the American Bar Association's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits.]" (Vedder Price P.C.)

EBSA Issues Field Assistance Bulletin on Apprenticeship Funds' Graduation and Marketing Expenses
"EBSA stated that with few exceptions, apprenticeship or other training programs are considered employee welfare benefit plans subject to ERISA. The apprenticeship and training program fiduciaries must abide by the general fiduciary standards in Part 4 of ERISA.... [they] must be able to justify plan expenses as appropriate means of carrying out the plan's mission of training workers." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Drafting ERISA: What Were They Thinking?
An informative and entertaining video presentation entitled "ERISA: What Were They Thinking?" by three of the principal drafters of ERISA: Frank Cummings, Bob Nagle and Henry Rose. Presented at the Pension Rights Center's recent National Training Conference for the U.S. Administration on Aging's Pension Counseling and Information Program. (Pension Rights Center)

* ERISA: What Were They Thinking in 1974?
* Video of an informative and entertaining presentation entitled "ERISA: What Were They Thinking?" by three of the principal drafters of ERISA -- Frank Cummings, Bob Nagle and Henry Rose. Presented at the Pension Rights Center's recent National Training Conference for the U.S. Administration on Aging's Pension Counseling and Information Program. (* Pension Rights Center)

ERISA -- What Were They Thinking in 1974?
View an informative and entertaining video presentation entitled "ERISA: What Were They Thinking?" by three of the principal drafters of ERISA -- Frank Cummings, Bob Nagle and Henry Rose. Presented at the Pension Rights Center's recent National Training Conference for the U.S. Administration on Aging's Pension Counseling and Information Program. (Pension Rights Center (Washington, D.C.))

[Guidance Overview] Employer No Longer Contributing to Multiemployer Plan Cannot Use Sale of Assets Exemption Under MPPAA
"In HOP Energy, L.L.C. v. Local 553 Pension Fund, the key issue decided by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was whether an employer that stopped contributing to a multiemployer pension plan ... after it sold the assets of one of its divisions to another company can use the sale of assets exemption under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendment Act ... to avoid the obligation to pay withdrawal liability." (Practical Law Company)

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