A contingent of IAM members and retirees will be attending an upcoming House committee hearing on “pension reform” and changes to laws governing the nation’s multi-employer pension system on Tuesday, October 29, 2013.
The “Strengthening the Multiemployer Pension System: How Will Proposed Reforms Affect Employers, Workers, and Retirees?” hearing will be held by the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions of the House Education and Workforce.
Lawmakers are expected to discuss a proposal that would allow poorly-run multiemployer plans to slash retirement benefits for existing retirees. This is currently against the law.
The proposal allows for plans to be cut down to as much as 110 percent of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation’s (PBGC) minimum of $1,072.50 per month, which would work out to only about $1,180 per month. For a worker planning on receiving a monthly benefit of $3,613, this would mean a 67 percent cut in promised benefits. A bigger pension would result in an even larger cut.
“Unconscionable” is how IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger described the proposal in an April 24, 2013 letter to President Obama demanding presidential protection for the deferred wages that more than 44 million Americans have sacrificed based on the promise of a secure retirement after a lifetime of work.
The “Strengthening the Multiemployer Pension System: How Will Proposed Reforms Affect Employers, Workers, and Retirees?” hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2175, located at 45 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC.
All available IAM members and retirees are encouraged to attend. For those unable to attend, a live webcast will be available here.
Take action now by clicking here. Tell Congress to vote “No” on any proposal that cuts American workers’ pensions.
