* Pennsylvania - Some trucking industry retirees could lose more than half of their pensions
--- Thousands of retirees from the trucking industry have been told their pension fund is severely underfunded and the only way to save it is to cut their monthly payouts... Going back to work isn't realistic at your age, and you know it's only a matter of time before your health fails and medical costs rise... That's the dilemma thousands of retired blue-collar workers, some of them in the Lehigh Valley area, are facing. They have been told their pension fund is severely underfunded and the only way to save it is to cut monthly payments to members... This time, it's happening to the men and women who were the backbone of the nation's trucking industry... Central States Pension Fund, which has about 400,000 members nationwide, has petitioned the U.S. Treasury for permission to cut pension payments to about 272,000 of its members... Retired said that if the cuts are approved, his monthly pension would drop from about $2,000 to about $860 starting July 1... Central States Pension Fund says trucking industry deregulation, declining union membership and economic recessions have left the fund "severely underfunded." It says hundreds of employers who once contributed to the fund went out of business... Central States says it needs $11 billion to prevent insolvency and meet its long-term obligations, and will run out of money in about 10 years if changes aren't made... Central States says the average benefits cut would be 22.6 percent, but that is misleading because not all retirees would face cuts. Those 80 and older are exempted by law and those who are at least 75 can receive only limited reductions... The local member who contacted me is approaching 70 and is facing a cut of about 57 percent. Members in other parts of the country are facing similar losses, according to media reports...
Lehigh Valley, PA, USA - The Watchdog/The Morning Call, by Paul Muschick - 30 April 2016Labels: truckers news USA, trucking industry news USA
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