SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Democratic lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) celebrate the signing of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on March 10, 2021. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Pensioners, Labor Groups Applaud Key $86 Billion Provision in Covid-19 Relief Package
"Millions of Americans can feel confident today knowing that the retirement benefits they have earned and paid for will be there when they need them."
Mar 09, 2021
Labor and progressive advocates on Wednesday welcomed the inclusion of $86 billion worth of multi-employer pension plans grants in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief and recovery bill approved this week by Congress.
"We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President Biden for his leadership in seeing it through and announcing he will sign it into law soon."
--Robert Roach Jr.
Alliance for Retired Americans
The need for the funding is acute. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that of the nation's approximately 1,400 multi-employer pensions--which pay retirement benefits to around 10 million people who worked in industries including construction, entertainment, manufacturing, mining, and transportation--124 are in "critical and declining" status, according to the federally chartered Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Projections show these pensions--which, according to the American Academy of Actuaries, cover around one million people--won't have enough money to pay out full benefits within the next 20 years. Previously, the PBGC was able to intervene in cases of pension benefit shortfalls. However, the entity faces a high likelihood of insolvency during this decade, according to its own forecasts.
Pension campaigners applauded the financial lifeline.
"I'm over the moon with pensions getting settled," Mike Walden, a retired truck driver and president of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions, told The Columbus Dispatch. Walden, a member of the Central States Fund--which covers around 400,000 retirees and is among the "critical and declining" pensions--added that "we're getting a bailout like everyone else is getting theirs."
The Alliance for Retired Americans, a nonprofit advocacy group affiliated with the AFL-CIO, also welcomed the funding's inclusion in the American Rescue Plan, which it said would provide "greatly increased pension security" for more than 10 million people.
"Millions of Americans can feel confident today knowing that the retirement benefits they have earned and paid for will be there when they need them," said alliance president Robert Roach Jr. in a statement. "Plans experiencing problems will have the resources they need from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to pay benefits for the next 30 years."
"We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President [Joe] Biden for his leadership in seeing it through and announcing he will sign it into law soon," added Roach. The president is expected to sign the legislation on Friday.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Labor and progressive advocates on Wednesday welcomed the inclusion of $86 billion worth of multi-employer pension plans grants in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief and recovery bill approved this week by Congress.
"We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President Biden for his leadership in seeing it through and announcing he will sign it into law soon."
--Robert Roach Jr.
Alliance for Retired Americans
The need for the funding is acute. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that of the nation's approximately 1,400 multi-employer pensions--which pay retirement benefits to around 10 million people who worked in industries including construction, entertainment, manufacturing, mining, and transportation--124 are in "critical and declining" status, according to the federally chartered Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Projections show these pensions--which, according to the American Academy of Actuaries, cover around one million people--won't have enough money to pay out full benefits within the next 20 years. Previously, the PBGC was able to intervene in cases of pension benefit shortfalls. However, the entity faces a high likelihood of insolvency during this decade, according to its own forecasts.
Pension campaigners applauded the financial lifeline.
"I'm over the moon with pensions getting settled," Mike Walden, a retired truck driver and president of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions, told The Columbus Dispatch. Walden, a member of the Central States Fund--which covers around 400,000 retirees and is among the "critical and declining" pensions--added that "we're getting a bailout like everyone else is getting theirs."
The Alliance for Retired Americans, a nonprofit advocacy group affiliated with the AFL-CIO, also welcomed the funding's inclusion in the American Rescue Plan, which it said would provide "greatly increased pension security" for more than 10 million people.
"Millions of Americans can feel confident today knowing that the retirement benefits they have earned and paid for will be there when they need them," said alliance president Robert Roach Jr. in a statement. "Plans experiencing problems will have the resources they need from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to pay benefits for the next 30 years."
"We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President [Joe] Biden for his leadership in seeing it through and announcing he will sign it into law soon," added Roach. The president is expected to sign the legislation on Friday.
Labor and progressive advocates on Wednesday welcomed the inclusion of $86 billion worth of multi-employer pension plans grants in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief and recovery bill approved this week by Congress.
"We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President Biden for his leadership in seeing it through and announcing he will sign it into law soon."
--Robert Roach Jr.
Alliance for Retired Americans
The need for the funding is acute. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that of the nation's approximately 1,400 multi-employer pensions--which pay retirement benefits to around 10 million people who worked in industries including construction, entertainment, manufacturing, mining, and transportation--124 are in "critical and declining" status, according to the federally chartered Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Projections show these pensions--which, according to the American Academy of Actuaries, cover around one million people--won't have enough money to pay out full benefits within the next 20 years. Previously, the PBGC was able to intervene in cases of pension benefit shortfalls. However, the entity faces a high likelihood of insolvency during this decade, according to its own forecasts.
Pension campaigners applauded the financial lifeline.
"I'm over the moon with pensions getting settled," Mike Walden, a retired truck driver and president of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions, told The Columbus Dispatch. Walden, a member of the Central States Fund--which covers around 400,000 retirees and is among the "critical and declining" pensions--added that "we're getting a bailout like everyone else is getting theirs."
The Alliance for Retired Americans, a nonprofit advocacy group affiliated with the AFL-CIO, also welcomed the funding's inclusion in the American Rescue Plan, which it said would provide "greatly increased pension security" for more than 10 million people.
"Millions of Americans can feel confident today knowing that the retirement benefits they have earned and paid for will be there when they need them," said alliance president Robert Roach Jr. in a statement. "Plans experiencing problems will have the resources they need from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to pay benefits for the next 30 years."
"We salute the U.S. House and Senate for passing this historic legislation and President [Joe] Biden for his leadership in seeing it through and announcing he will sign it into law soon," added Roach. The president is expected to sign the legislation on Friday.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.