By: Russ Kamp, CEO, Ryan ALM, Inc.

Good morning. We hope that you had a good holiday weekend.

ARPA is now more than 5-years old (March 11, 2021), and the PBGC continues to plug along implementing this critical pension legislation. We are still waiting to hear how the 80 multiemployer plans on the waitlist that were terminated by Mass Withdrawal before 2020 Plan Year will be treated.

As far as those that are currently going through the process, this week saw one plan added to the waitlist, one plan receive approval for their revised application, and three funds that withdrew initial applications.

Pension Plan of the Automotive Machinists Pension Trust, a non-Priority Group member, is seeking $139 million in SFA through a revised application for their nearly 7,500 plan participants. While the Machinists wait for an answer on their application, the members of the UFCW – Northern California Employers Joint Pension Plan are celebrating the announcement that its revised application has been approved. They will receive nearly $2.6 billion in SFA and interest for their >138k members.

Lastly, Bricklayers and Stonemasons Local Union #2 Pension Plan, Communications Workers Local 1109 Pension Plan, and Local 1430 I.B.E.W. Pension Plan have each withdrawn an initial application seeking SFA. Collectively they are trying to secure $50.2 million for 1,690 pensioners.

Since the PBGC began implementing the ARPA pension legislation in July 2021, more than 18% of the roughly 11 million participants in multiemployer plans have had their promised pension benefits secured. Of the nearly 1,350 multiemployer plans, more than 20% have or will go through the application process to help fund those pension promises. It has been an extraordinary legislative effort.