Recent News Coverage on Multiemployer Pension Plans

Many members of Co-op Nation may have read or seen TV news coverage discussing a forthcoming decision from the United States Treasury Department that could potentially reduce pension benefits for one of the country’s largest multiemployer  pension plans. These potential cuts are possible under legislation that was passed by Congress in 2014 that would allow financially distressed multiemployer plans to reduce retiree benefits if it aids in the financial health of the overall pension.

NRECA would like to remind our member cooperatives that the Retirement Security (RS) Plan is not a multiemployer pension plan, it is a multiple employer plan. Rules for multiple employer plans are very different; the provisions that allow multiemployer plans to potentially reduce employee benefits do not apply to multiple employer plans like the RS Plan.

If you have specific questions about the legislation or your co-op’s RS Plan benefit structure, please contact your field representative.