Russ Kamp, Managing Director – Ryan ALM, Inc.

The PBGC has just announced that two more multiemployer plans that filed applications for the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) have had those applications approved. In both cases, these were Group 1 priority filers that had become insolvent. The Milk Industry Office Employees Pension Plan (Milk Industry Plan) has been insolvent since 2017 at which point the PBGC started to provide assistance. According to the press release that plan will receive $6.6 million to support and restore the benefits for the 78 plan participants for years to come.

The other plan that has been approved is Local 584 based in New York City, New York, which covers 2,172 participants in the transportation industry. The Local 584 Plan became insolvent in July 2021. At that time, PBGC started providing financial assistance to the plan. PBGC has been providing benefits at roughly 50 percent below the benefits payable under the terms of the plan. With the approval of the SFA ($225 million), the participants will see their benefits restored.

This is excellent news for these two plans and their participants, as well as the ARPA multiemployer program. The addition of these two plans brings to seven the number of plans that have had their applications for SFA approved. Each of the seven was a Priority Group 1 plan. Let’s keep the good news rolling.