BAC Pensions Protected

One major component of the pivotal 2021 American Rescue Plan not regularly discussed in the mainstream media is its provisions that protect the retirement funds of tens of millions of American workers and restore benefits to more than 80,000 retirees. 

Named for heroic Ohio union leader and pension advocate Butch Lewis, the legislation’s Special Financial Assistance Program will ensure that all multiemployer pension plans pay full benefits through at least 2051. 

“We turned a promise broken [by President Trump] into a promise kept,” President Biden told union brothers and sisters, including many BAC members, at the Iron Workers Local 17 Training Center in Cleveland, Ohio, during the historic pension relief’s unveiling on July 6. “A lot of politicians like to talk about how they’re going to do something about it. I’m here today to say we’ve done something about it.”

 The legislation provisions will 

•    Position multiemployer plans that receive assistance to remain solvent for almost 30 years.
•    Protect benefits for millions of workers who faced cuts.
•    Reverse harsh pension cuts for over 80,000 workers and retirees in 18 multiemployer plans.

BAC President Tim Driscoll praised the Administration’s efforts to benefit all hard-working workers and their families. “These provisions are the most significant effort to protect the solvency of the multiemployer pension system in almost 50 years,” said President Driscoll. “With the support of this Administration, millions of retirees, including many BAC members and beneficiaries, can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that they will still receive their full pensions and be able to retire in dignity after a lifetime of hard work.”

“For years and years union workers have been driving trucks from factories to stores, bagging your groceries, constructing the buildings, bridges, roads we need, and so much more. The ironworkers, bricklayers, carpenters, laborers, plumbers, truck drivers, musicians, food workers, and so much more,” President Biden continued in Cleveland. “These workers work hard today to secure a retirement tomorrow. That is what this is all about.”