Ailing Pensions Get A Big Boost In The Covid Relief Bill.
Many pensions that are near collapse are getting a shot in the arm to remain solvent for decades to come after years of mismanagement. (NY Times)
“The bailout targets multiemployer pension plans, which bring groups of companies together with a union to provide guaranteed benefits. All told, about 1,400 of the plans cover about 10.7 million active and retired workers, often in fields like construction or entertainment where the workers move from job to job. As the work force ages, an alarming number of the plans are running out of money. The trend predated the pandemic and is a result of fading unions, serial bankruptcies and the misplaced hope that investment income would foot most of the bill so that employers and workers wouldn’t have to.
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Pensions represent a lifetime of work for millions of people across the nation. Unfortunately, many pensions have suffered from decades of mismanagement and corruption that depleted the funds to the point of insolvency. Although the legislation in the relief bill aimed at pensions is not perfect, it will go the distance in maintaining a very important source of income for millions of retirees. The legislation should include provisions that require pension administrators to correct their errant ways that led to the near collapses but that can and should be added later.
