Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
August 4, 2022 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) asked unanimous consent for the Senate to pass their bipartisan, bicameral Susan Muffley Act. This legislation would restore retirement benefits to over 20,000 Delphi Salaried Retirees. Their request was blocked.
When General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the Obama administration terminated the pension plan for 20,000 Delphi salaried employees and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) then cut their retirement benefits by as much as 70 percent. This includes more than 5,000 retirees in Ohio. The PBGC assumed responsibility for the terminated benefits but could not pay an individual more than a statutory maximum benefit. Therefore, salaried retirees suffered significant losses to their benefits, with devastating impacts on many lives.
This bipartisan legislation would restore the terminated pensions, making these hardworking retirees whole. The bill would make up the difference between the pension benefits earned by Delphi Salaried Retirees and what they received following the GM bankruptcy in 2009. This means beneficiaries who have already begun receiving benefits will receive a lump sum payment of the difference between what was actually paid by PBGC and would have been paid without the limitations, plus six percent interest. Retirees may pay income taxes on this lump sum over three years to ease the tax burden. All beneficiaries will receive their full earned benefit amount moving forward.
A transcript of Senator Portman’s remarks can be found below and a video can be found here.
“I thank my colleague from Ohio, Senator Brown. And I thank him for working with us on this bipartisan legislation that impacts thousands of retirees in our home state of Ohio. In the summer of 2009, as the federal government took General Motors into bankruptcy, the Obama administration terminated the pension plans covering thousands of Delphi workers. While union employees were protected, these 20,000 salaried retirees ranging from shop floor supervisors and salespeople to engineers, office managers were left out.
“They spent many years working at Delphi, a major employer and economic engine in Dayton, Ohio, Youngstown, Ohio, Sandusky, Ohio. These people had followed the rules. They had earned their pensions the American way, through hard work, dedication and contribution. But instead of honoring the promises that had been made to these salaried, middle-incomed employees after 30, 40 years of service, the Administration terminated their pensions. People who had worked hard their entire lives and played by the rules saw benefits cut by as much as 70 percent. It’s just not fair, no fault of their own.
“And it’s devastated some of them, particularly those who have health care issues in their later years who have not been able to lead the standard of living they assumed they would based on the pensions they had. It’s about fairness, and it’s very simple. It ensures that these Delphi retirees receive the retirement benefits they were promised. It would reinstate their pension plan and restore their benefits that were unnecessarily reduced and unfairly reduced.
“Some of my colleagues may characterize this as a bailout, but I respectfully must correct the record. The Delphi pension was over 80 percent funded when the federal government terminated the pensions in 2009 and took over these assets. By the way, it would have been fully funded by the next year based on all the data we now have showing what would have happened with market conditions. It was 80 percent funded when the government stepped in and said that it was massively underfunded, and a year later it would have been fully funded. Despite this, the government, again, treated the pensions as though they were underfunded and slashed the benefits.
“It’s simply about keeping our promises to these workers. There were 20,000 participants. Some say it’s not a lot of people. Well, to them, it’s really important, and it’s really important to Ohio, and about a quarter of those 20,000 live in our home state of Ohio. That’s why I’m proud to stand with them, my colleague from Ohio, with others here in this body and over in the House to ensure that fairness is what they get at the end of the day. This should not be controversial legislation, in my view. I’m pleased to say that it has bipartisan support. We just saw 36 Republicans support this on the House side. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to also support these workers, to make them whole with this legislation so that we can make good on the federal government’s promise to them. I yield back my time to my colleague from Ohio.”
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