As many of you know, the St. Joseph’s Health Services pension fund failed. The innocent victims are once again the plan participants who were counting on that benefit to get them through their golden years.

Fortunately, action has been taken by the Governor and the Rhode Island legislature to expedite claims, which will hopefully provide a path for participants to get most of what they were expecting. According to an article in the Providence Journal, the legislation “provides that defendants entering good faith, judicially-approved settlements would not be liable for claims from co-defendants. … The finality of the settlement without fear of a contribution claim from a co-defendant provides an incentive to settle.”

KCS’s effort to support the Butch Lewis Act legislation is our attempt to mitigate the risk of insolvency for the 114 “critical and declining” multiemployer plans before they can no longer meet their promises. We certainly don’t want the millions of beneficiaries in those plans to experience the anxiety and heartache suffered by those participants in the St. Joseph’s pension system.

Time is no longer on our side, and action is needed today!