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

I hope that you and your families enjoyed a Happy Fourth of July weekend. My family and I enjoyed some traditional American activities this past weekend as we took in a Mets game (all 18 of us) at Citi Field on Saturday and the Ridgewood, NJ parade on Monday, which has been an annual tradition in our family since my oldest guy was just 9 days old in 1986. Of course, our weekend culminated in a BBQ in our backyard. Fortunately, the weather in Northern NJ was spectacular as reflected in the picture below.

As for ARPA, it was a slow week in terms of activity although two pension systems filed their initial applications for Special Financial Assistance (SFA) with the PBGC. Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Local 7 Pension Plan, a Priority 2 category member, as they are a MPRA Suspension & Partition plan, filed on June 27, 2022, seeking SFA of $31.6 to protect the benefits for their 397 members. Bricklayers Union Local No. 1 Pension Fund of Virginia filed their initial application on June 30, 2022, seeking only $8.7 million for their 395 members. Bricklayer Local No. 1 is a Priority Group 1 member, as they are currently a plan that is insolvent.

There were no applications approved, denied, or SFA proceeds paid out during the previous week. However, there have been some rumblings that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completed its review of the PBGC’s proposed Final, Final Rules. We continue to monitor the PBGC’s website hoping to see an announcement on what, if anything, is being changed by the PBGC as they continue to implement the ARPA legislation first begun nearly one year ago.