Restructuring Occupational Pension Plans in Crisis: A US Labor–Management Case Study

Abstract

Defined benefit pension funds in the United States experienced material declines in funded ratios in the past decade. The events of 2008 coincided with the implementation of a new federal pension funding regime, the Pension Protection Act of 2006. This case study describes a unique pension agreement between a major American labor union and the sixth largest American employer, involving the merger of four underfunded multiemployer pension plans that restructured the legacy benefits through a financial transaction and redesigned future benefits and funding policy.