"The Ninth Circuit recently adopted a broader definition of work performed in 'the building and construction industry,' potentially expanding the availability of the special definition of complete withdrawal applicable to certain employers and plans in the building and construction industry (the B & C Exception). Since the B & C Exception shields employers from liability for a complete withdrawal unless the employer performs previously covered work on a non-union basis, this is a significant development for construction industry employers." [Walker Speciality Constr. Inc. v. Bd. of Trustees of the Constr. Ind. and Lab. Jt. Pension Trust for S. Nev., No. 24-1560 (9th Cir. Jan. 5, 2026)] MORE >>
"The dispute arose after Mar-Can’s employees voted in 2020 to change union representation, triggering the company’s withdrawal from a Teamsters-affiliated pension fund and requiring the transfer of employee-related assets and liabilities to a new union’s plan. The original plan transferred roughly $5.5 million in liabilities and $3.7 million in assets, then assessed about $1.8 million in withdrawal liability." [Mar-Can Transportation Co., Inc. v. Loc. 854 Pension Fund, No. 24-1431 (2d Cir. Feb. 18, 2026)] MORE >>
"The average plan could pay for approximately one year and four months of benefits and expenses with its net assets, an increase of approximately one-and-a-half months of total expenses from last year.... On a per member basis, expenses increased by 5.8% and total contribution income increased by 3.2% year over year. Over 80% of plans had a net gain in 2023, a significant improvement compared to both 2021 and 2022, when plan income was greater than expenses for about half of plans." MORE >>
"[T]he Second Circuit resolved a significant statutory interpretation dispute under ERISA's Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), holding that a pension fund may not 'double count' transferred assets when calculating withdrawal liability following a certified change in collective bargaining representative.... [T]he Court concluded that the employer's withdrawal liability must be reduced by the full amount of liabilities transferred to the new plan minus the assets transferred -- not by a formula that effectively subtracts assets twice." [Mar-Can Transportation Co., Inc. v. Loc. 854 Pension Fund, No. 24-1431 (2d Cir. Feb. 18, 2026)] MORE >>
149 pages. "In fiscal year 2025, [PBGC] made benefit payments of over $6.4 billion to 926,000 participants in trusteed single-employer plans, provided $168.5 million in traditional financial assistance to multiemployer plans covering 60,244 participants, and made SFA payments of $6.2 billion[.]" MORE >>
68 pages. "This report projects the financial status of both programs under a range of future financial scenarios through FY 2034; additional projections are made through FY 2064 for the Multiemployer Program.... The financial outlook for PBGC's Multiemployer Program improved compared to last year's report, and the Program is likely to remain solvent for the next 40 years.... The Single- Employer Program is projected to remain in a positive net financial position over the next decade in all modeled scenarios, and significant growth in net position is projected." MORE >>
"The justices as a group were skeptical of the argument of Michael Kenneally (for the departing company) that calculating the withdrawal liability 'as of' the valuation date requires the actuary to use out-of-date assumptions.... Probably the most telling feature of the argument was its brevity, as the justices had little or nothing of substance to ask of John E. Roberts (representing the fund) or Kevin Barber, appearing in support of the fund for the federal government. That often suggests that the justices are disposed to vote for that side of the case." [M&K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209; oral arg. Jan. 20, 2026)] MORE >>
"During oral arguments, the justices appeared wary of the employers' request to freeze actuarial assumptions at year-end. Several questions suggested concern that such a rule could hamstring actuaries' ability to do their jobs realistically and consistently." [M&K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209; oral arg. Jan. 20, 2026)] MORE >>
75 pages. "Justice Sotomayor (to counsel for the petitioner): 'Congress knew how to fix the use of assumptions to a particular date. It didn't do it here. Why shouldn't I assume it didn't mean to do that here?' ... Justice Alito (to counsel for the United States, supporting the respondent): 'Have very serious practical problems emerged since Metz or is it simply a matter of the fact that actuaries were used to doing things in a particular way and they don't want to change the way they've been doing it?' " [Also available: audio recording (MP3)] [M&K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209; oral arg. Jan. 20, 2026)] MORE >>
"The employer argues that to calculate liability 'as of' the withdrawal date requires use of the interest rate and other actuarial assumptions in place on that date, not some after-adopted assumptions.... For its part, the fund emphasizes the statute's command that the actuary always make calculations that reflect its best estimate of the financial position of the plan.... The amount of withdrawal liability for a particular date is to a large degree unknowable until an actuary sits down and calculates it using the assets and obligations that the plan had on the relevant date." [M&K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209; oral arg. sched. Jan. 20, 2026)] MORE >>
5-page chart includes: [1] An overview on all the key dates in calendar form. [2] More detailed descriptions and action needed to be taken for each item. [3] Relevant IRS forms you"ll need. MORE >>
"This rule amends the [PBGC's] regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans undergoing distress or involuntary termination with valuation dates falling in 2026. This table is needed to compute the value of early retirement benefits and, thus, the total value of benefits under a plan. This rule also provides the mortality assumption for use with PBGC's missing participants program for determination dates in 2026." MORE >>
"The IRS Employee Plans recently digitalized Form 15315 to allow you to electronically report the actuarial certification of a multiemployer defined benefit plan's funding status. The Mobile Friendly Forms webpage has a glitch that won't allow you to enter a date beyond Dec. 31, 2025, or plan numbers beginning with 0; for example, 002. Note: The IRS is now accepting Form 15315 certifications by mail, fax or email." MORE >>
"The timing of actuarial assumptions used to calculate withdrawal liabilities for employers exiting an underfunded multiemployer plan has prompted clashing opinions among trade organizations and consumer groups seeking to influence the Supreme Court ... The actuarial altercation, filed through multiple amicus briefs ... has provoked comments from competing coalitions, each warning the 'wrong' Supreme Court decision could have a dramatic impact on multiemployer plan management." [M&K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209)] MORE >>
"[T]he court found that the lower court had erred in not permitting Yellow to amend its complaint adequately.... The Tenth Circuit's ruling specifically pointed out that Yellow's amended complaint successfully demonstrated that the Teamsters had essentially repudiated their duties under the collective bargaining agreement. Thus, Yellow was exempt from exhausting all grievance procedures that would typically be required in contract disputes." [Yellow Corp. v. Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters, No. 24-3411 (10th Cir. Nov. 5, 2025)] MORE >>
31 pages. "Three key themes from the survey: [1] Taft-Hartley plans face many challenges and competing priorities that go beyond simply meeting their investment goals.... [2] Plan sponsors recognize the need for educating their boards' trustees, but too few are taking action -- and participant education poses challenges of its own.... [3] Taft-Hartley plans continue to see the value in alternatives and expect to increase their allocations." MORE >>
"If the Supreme Court sides with the Second Circuit, ... withdrawal liability estimates requested by and provided to employers prior to their withdrawal will be more reliable estimates of the actual withdrawal liability.... If, however, the court sides with the D.C. Circuit ... withdrawal liability estimates will be arguably unreliable for purposes of estimating the actual withdrawal liability, making it more difficult to plan for withdrawal liability in the same manner as an employer does any other corporate liability." [M&K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209)] MORE >>
"Plans with higher Pension Protection Act funded percentages tend to be in the green zone, but that isn't always the case.... The median burn rate for C&D plans is more than twice that of red-zone plans. For SFA recipient plans, the median inactive-to-active ratio is much higher than for other plans, including C&D plans." MORE >>
"The court held that the private equity fund was under 'common control' with the portfolio companies because it owned a 95% interest in them, and that the fund was a 'trade or business' under the standard set forth in Sun Capital I as a result of it actively managing the portfolio companies. The court declined, however, to hold the private equity fund's general partner or management company liable, concluding that under the standard set forth in Sun Capital II, they did not comprise a partnership-in-fact with the private equity fund or the withdrawing employers such that they could be deemed part of their controlled group." [Longroad Asset Management LLC v. Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust, No. 23-0738 (W.D. Mo. Aug. 19, 2025)] MORE >>
"In the first withdrawal liability case to reach the Supreme Court in more than three decades, the Court will consider a narrow, but consequential, statutory question ... The answer will determine whether multiemployer pension plans have the flexibility to update actuarial assumptions after year end or whether those assumptions must be fixed at the close of the prior plan year, which provides more certainty to withdrawing employers." [M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209)] MORE >>
"A recent Eleventh Circuit decision opens up a route for overturning the appellate court's strictest-in-the-nation precedent requiring administrative exhaustion of all claims brought under [ERISA], ... given that two judges in a panel concurrence advocated for such action following en banc review." [Bolton v. Inland Fresh Seafood Corp. of Am., Inc., No. 24-10084 (11th Cir. Oct. 15, 2025)] MORE >>
