A recent decision from the Southern District of New York reveals that courts may be inclined in some withdrawal liability cases to narrowly apply the building and construction industry exemption based on the nature and...more
In an apparent effort to resolve uncertainty caused by court rulings, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has proposed that actuaries of multiemployer pension plans should be allowed to use any interest rate for...more
In a prior alert, we detailed how the Interim Final Rule (IFR) from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) regarding the special financial assistance (SFA) provided under American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) would...more
In a highly anticipated and thorough opinion, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that use of the Segal Blend by a multiemployer pension plan (MEPP) in calculating an employer’s withdrawal liability violated ERISA. ...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides “special financial assistance” (SFA) for certain troubled multiemployer defined benefit pension plans (MEPPs). Although ARPA outlined the big picture of how these troubled...more
The element that perhaps most significantly impacts the amount of an employer’s withdrawal liability – or indeed whether an employer even has withdrawal liability at all – is the actuarial method and interest rate used to...more
Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in multiemployer pension funds relying upon the successor liability doctrine in seeking to recover unpaid withdrawal liability from asset purchasers. The...more
Withdrawal liability is not well understood by many employers who contribute to multiemployer defined benefit pension funds because it is both complex and daunting. Mass withdrawal liability is perhaps even less well...more
It is not uncommon for private equity funds to reconsider the desirability of a prospect when they learn that the company contributes to an underfunded multiemployer defined benefit pension fund. But because of the hesitation...more