OH-16: John Boccieri Vows to Tackle Pension Problems

Boccieri Vows to Tackle Pension Problems

After meeting on Thursday with local retirees from Republic Technologies International (RTI) who have been battling for years to secure the pensions they were promised, State Sen. John Boccieri affirmed his commitment to fight for a resolution to their struggle as a member of the U.S. Congress.

Boccieri also promised to attend a major public meeting about these pension problems on Saturday, October 11. Other elected officials, candidates, and members of the press have also been invited.

State Senator John Boccieri said:

"It's criminal that you would work your whole life, pay into a pension plan, and then get almost nothing because bad trade policies or irresponsible executives bankrupt your company. This issue requires a strong and loud voice in Congress to ensure that laws protecting pensions are enforced and are strengthened to protect workers."

For years, thousands of local workers and retirees from RTI have been struggling with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the government agency that takes over a company's pension plan if it declares bankruptcy to ensure that employees still receive pension benefits.

Despite this intent, many workers see their pensions dramatically reduced when the PBGC takes over from a bankrupt company, due to funding problems and complex laws governing how the agency makes payments.

In the case of RTI, the situation was made worse by extended legal battles over the amounts owed by the PBGC to affected workers, which have now resulted in the agency demanding that retirees pay back pension "overpayments" as large as $60- or $70,000.

Individuals at Thursday's meetings also expressed frustrations with the PBGC's lack of responsiveness and consistency in addressing their concerns. "You ask the same question three times and get three different answers," one retiree said. Others said that PBGC had miscalculated benefits, confused the benefits owed by RTI and previous companies operating the same facilities, and awarded, reduced or revoked benefits arbitrarily.(emphasis added)

Boccieri's initial proposals to address these concerns include:

Working directly with the PBGC, as well as with Senator Sherrod Brown, the Steelworkers Union, and others who have taken the lead on these issues, to push for swift, fair solutions;

Creating a "Pension Protection Caucus" in Congress that would bring together legislators from all of the districts and states affected by these pension problems to seek resolutions;

Increasing enforcement of pension protection laws to ensure that both corporations and the PBGC are honoring their obligations to workers;

Passing legislative improvements to current law, such as measures to give workers' pensions fairer treatment in bankruptcy proceedings and prevent retirees from having to repay PBGC when it takes years to recalculate pension payments;

Improving the responsiveness and transparency of the PBGC in its dealings with pension recipients;

Ensuring that improvements in enforcement and legislation are retroactive in order to address the plight of RTI employees.

Once again, Senator Major John Boccieri is first on the issues that most affect the voters of Ohio's 16th Congressional District!