The pensions of retired salaried workers at Delphi have been in limbo since they were assumed by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.
This week, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and three more Democratic lawmakers from Ohio sent a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, urging him to intervene on behalf of Delphi retirees.
"The 20,000 members of the salaried plan have been waiting for almost five years for a final benefit determination from the PBGC. Recent comments from the PBGC have suggested that the agency has yet to take basic initial steps towards making such a determination," wrote the Ohio lawmakers.
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In 2009, Delphi was spun-off from General Motors prior to the auto giant filing for bankruptcy. As a condition of the government's bailout, GM made Delphi's union employees' pensions whole.
GM's pension obligations to Delphi's salaried workers were turned over to the PBGC after the company was spun off.
At the time, PGBC's guarantee cap was $54,000 (it's now $59,320). Almost 2,000 Delphi retirees saw their life's savings reduced.
In 2012, PBGC averaged three and a half years to make final determinations for the plans it took over. Delphi is the second-largest pension plan the PBGC has taken over, perhaps accounting for the delay.
The letter to Secretary Perez calls the Delphi case "deeply troubling."
"The PBGC's response to date has been unacceptable. Two years after exceeding their own deadline for reaching a final determination, the PBGC has failed to undertake a prompt effort to create the necessary documentation to reach that determination," the lawmakers wrote.
The Delphi Salaried Retirees Association said in a statement that it is "fighting to restore the full pensions we earned and are entitled to, including any supplement, and complete reimbursement of the amounts our pensions have been reduced, retroactive to when the plan was improperly terminated by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC"), as well as full recovery of our legal costs."
According to the letter to Perez, the PBGC has said it will make a final determination in the case in 2016.
"This places an unreasonable burden on the salaried retirees and must be accelerated," the lawmakers' letter said.
The lawmakers requested an expedited timeline on a final determination in one month.
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