Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
National Pension Fund
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
GCC/IBT-NPF
Legislative update . . .
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On July 24, 2019, the House of Representatives provided some positive news regarding a possible solution to the Multiemployer Pension Crisis when it passed H.R. 397 "The Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act". A companion bill, S. 2254 the "Butch Lewis Act of 2019" was introduced in the Senate the same day. Unfortunately, the bill faces stiff opposition from Senate Republicans and on November 20, 2019, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and
Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) unveiled draft legislation called “The Multiemployer Pension Recapitalization and Reform Plan” which has been resoundingly rejected by the multiemployer community as a misguided tax plan which would ultimately destroy, rather than fix, multiemployer pension plans.
Now, more than ever, it is important that you contact your Senators and let them know that you are a constituent of theirs and that you demand they reject the ill conceived Grassley-Alexander proposal and support S. 2254 which, along with HR 397, are the only proposed bills which would allow for participants to continue to receive the benefits they earned. Democratic Senators have supported this legislation, however, in order for this law to be signed by the President, it must first pass the Senate and to date, most Senate Republicans have not shown support for the bill. For that reason, it is extremely important for many plan participants, employers and labor unions to contact their Republican and Democratic Senator and urge them to support the "Butch Lewis Act".
You can also go to the Fund's Legislative Tools page for materials to assist you to urge your Senator to support the "Butch Lewis Act". The Legislative Tools page contains information on how to find your Senator's phone number and address along with sample letters intended to urge Senators to take action to save pension plans like the National Pension Fund.
The current projection of the Fund's Actuary indicates that the Fund will become insolvent sometime during the Plan Year May 1, 2022 thru April 30, 2023. In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a new projection is underway but will not be available until late summer. NOTE: All stakeholders should be cautious and realize that if the Fund was to encounter unfavorable investment results in the current or future years, the date of insolvency could be accelerated because of the fragile financial condition of the Fund. See the most current Annual Funding Notice and Critical and Declining Status Notice contained within the August 2019 Pension Communicator
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