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

We hope that you enjoyed a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend.

Regarding ARPA, the PBGC continues to work through the remaining pension plans that were not impacted by Mass Withdrawal prior to 2020. According to our tracking, there are 41 plans that could potential receive Special Financial Assistance (SFA) if you don’t include the 80 plans currently on the waitlist that have been designated as Mass Withdrawal casualties. Of those 41 plans, 8 have applications currently under review, including St. Louis-based Retail Bakers’ Pension Trust Fund of St. Louis, which has submitted (5/1/26) a revised application seeking $5.7 million for 566 members.

Another 29 plans, including six with a priority designation, are waiting to resubmit previously withdrawn applications. Lastly, there are four pension plans that have yet to file an initial SFA application. I’d love to know those circumstances, especially for the three plans that have a priority designation. Plasterers Local 79 Pension Plan is the lone fund on the waitlist that has yet to be able to submit an application.

Still no update as to how the 80 Mass Withdrawal plans will be treated. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.

At the end of the day, this legislation has been incredibly successful for the multiemployer sector, with $77.9 billion in SFA grants being awarded to 160 pension funds that will support the promised benefits to 2,017,527 American workers and retirees. These financial resources create economic activity in the pensioners community. That is a lot of economic stimulus!