By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I’ve often written about Carol, a hard-working union (Local 805) member whose dignified retirement dreams were crushed when her fund filed for benefit relief under MPRA and was granted permission to slash her monthly benefit through no fault of her own. I chronicled the impact of these cuts through the eight blog posts that follow below. Carol was very generous to share the details of her situation and how the decision to reduce her pension would dramatically and negatively impact her life. Regrettably, Carol’s situation was far from unique.

Let’s Focus On Carol

The Personal Struggles and Why ARPA is so Critically Important

Real People, Real Implications

Mr. Senator – Are You Listening?

Appalling!

There Is No Comparison, But…

The Deniers Need To Read This Post!

A Very Real and Painful Reality

I’m thrilled to report that Carol posted an update yesterday. Her words:

“Well, I spoke to Local 805 this morning. They confirmed that on July 1st, my retro check will be deposited in my IRA, AND, my monthly check will be $1,600.00 MORE than it has been since 2019! 8 days and counting……

Oh, and he confirmed that the second they received the money, and then my payment request form, that money became part of my estate.”

How exciting and wonderful it is to be able to report some great news resulting from the passage of this pension legislation. This was a crisis for 1+ million Americans who either had their pension benefits already slashed or they were in funds that were designated as in Critical and Declining status that would soon fail. It took years to get to this point, but thankfully justice is being served and these hard-working Americans are finally getting the resolution and restitution that they so deserve. Only a small fraction of the eligible plans have filed for Special Financial Assistance based on their Priority Group (1-3 are currently eligible to file). Let’s hope that this legislation continues to provide the relief so very necessary to the long-term health of these plans.