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

I hope that all the Dads who may stumble onto this post had a wonderful Father’s Day.

Welcome to the latest update on the ARPA pension legislation. Following a couple of weeks without obvious activity, the PBGC received one revised application from Local 1814 Riggers Pension Plan. This Staten Island, NY-based ILA fund is requesting $2.5 million in Special Financial Assistance (SFA) for its 65 members. The PBGC now has until October 10, 2026 to act on the application or they will automatically receive the SFA proceeds plus interest.

There is no other activity to report outside of this one fund resubmitting its application, as no current applications in front of the PBGC have been approved nor denied. No applications withdrawn and no new funds added to the waitlist. There are currently nine revised applications before the PBGC. There remain >25 applications that have been withdrawn that will likely be resubmitted prior to year-end.

I’m still waiting to learn the fate of the 80 pension funds residing on the waitlist that are Mass Withdrawal casualties prior to 2020. Will they be given the opportunity to file an application or will further legal activity deem them unworthy candidates? In any case, this legislation has been a huge success for American workers promised a benefit that may not have been received. To date, 2,017,527 participants have received $77.9 billion in SFA to support those promises. Yes!