nospinzone
Well-Known Member
In reply to JonFrum...
1. Our active participation in the various Teamsters-sponsored pension plans will stop as UPS stops contributing money on our behalf. Each of us will have our benefits calculated as of that moment and we will be eligible to receive benefits according to the rules in effect at that time. If there is a five year vesting requirement, then anyone with less than five vested years will forfeit all monies contributed on their behalf. Anyone who is short of any other pension milestone will forfeit the right to a pension based on that milestone. ………..
If the APWA causes UPS to withdraw from the funds, we will be cut off from all future pension credit accruals.
Each individual person would be affected differently depending on their vested time as described by Jon. A person who is a matter of months away from a vesting requirement would be sacrificing more than the person who reached a milestone a few months prior to a NLRB election. In the same light, a new hire would have much to gain by choosing the APWA single employer plan. UPS’rs with long careers/pensions are restricted in their pension benefits dependent on the health of the Teamster funds. People are going to take a financial hit either way you look at this. If we stay with IBT, the younger guys are being cheated out of what they could be getting, and if we switch to APWA, those short of vested milestones will lose a few years of credit that’s not vested….. mind you this is credit towards reduced benefits in most of the Teamster funds.
2. You may have heard that single-employer funds have much better insurance than multi-employer funds. Suposedly, a single-employer fund such as the APWA would create for UPSers only, would have it's monthly benefits insured up to $4,125 per month should the plan fail. While a Teamsters-sponsored multi-employer plan only has insurance of $1,072 per month. The government requires the single-employer funds to be more heavily insured because they fail at a rate of 100 times that of multi-employer funds. They are totally dependant on one employer, and when it fails, the fund fails. That's why you are always cautioned: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. The multi-employer funds, in effect, have much of their "insurance" built in to them as a result of their diversified employer contribution base. I've explained this and more in another thread . . .
Jon said that single employer plans, such as the APWA, “are totally dependant on one employer, and when it fails, the fund fails.” Do you foresee United Parcel Service encountering severe financial instability in the near future? They have managed to weather tough times such as the Great Depression, Black Friday, etc…. If there is information that you believe makes this possibility a sincere and present danger, please share.
JonFrum also said… “The multi-employer funds, in effect, have much of their "insurance" built in to them as a result of their diversified employer contribution base.” How much “insurance” do the IBT multiemployer plans have left in them? UPS is the insurance plan for the IBT plans!
3. But here I want to explain that the often-cited figure for single-employer plans only applies if you are 65 years of age! The coverage is significantly less if you are younger than 65, as almost all of us are. See this table of coverage to see how much less . . .
Maximum monthly guarantee tables (PBGC.gov)
Note that the coverage is reduced even further if the Surviving Spouse option is taken.
Benefits from the PBGC for multiemployer plan are calculated based on service years and contribution accrual rates. This insurance maxes out at the number quoted by JonFrum.. $1,072 per month. Single employer insurance is paid on a age-based table that begins at $1,031 monthly at age 45 and increases each year on the average of 5-8%. By the time you reach age 65, PBGC would pay out $4,125 monthly or $3,712.50 if you choose the joint/50% spouse option. So I still don’t see how IBT is a better option from the PBGC insurance coverage.
And again, what catastrophic event are we expecting that would force UPS to fold after celebrating 100 years of service??
4. The new APWA pension plan will not carry any PBGC insurance for the first five years, since no benefits will be paid for the first five years, (if I'm interpreting their sketchy pension plan description accurately.) These years will be the most turbulent as the APWA attempts to get its house in order and the Teamsters and Teamsters-sponsored funds retailate with campaigns and lawsuits.
PBGS insurance is once again irrelevant unless we expect UPS to fold in the next five years. I expect, as you also do, that Teamsters will not go quietly into the night after an APWA NLRB win. There will be campaigns to convince UPS’rs to return to the IBT. My opinion about that is, if you don’t have the fortitude and spine to stick with the APWA the first few years, don’t sign the card now. If you feel that you will waiver the first time there is a bump in the road with the APWA, or if you will run back to the IBT the first time they put out a seemingly convincing flyer or PR campaign, stay with that blue and gold security blanket that is snuggly covering your eyes.
As far as the lawsuits, IBT will have to reverse precedence with regards to transfer of pension fund assets. Please see the forum “APWA: unanswered questions”
5. UPS will also be hit with a huge bill from each of the pension plans that is less than 100% funded, to cover its Withdrawal Liability. UPS will regard these payments as no different in kind than it's normal payments that it has been making to the funds on our behalf all along. They will claim in negotiations that any new contributions the APWA expects them to make to a new APWA plan will be on top of the Withdrawal Liability contributions they are already legally required to make to the old Teamsters plans.
I’ve reviewed the ERISA on this subject. Unfortunately “War and Peace” reads easier than ERISA. I think JonFrum and I are on even ground with respects to UPS’s responsibility to old IBT plans. They are responsible for benefits promised through the IBT up till the CBA change. Judge Moran will not excuse UPS from those old liabilities. However, any contracts and benefits negotiated by the APWA will cover future work and benefits. Any prior obliglations and liability that UPS is responsible for is between UPS and IBT. APWA will not allow these old liabilities to effect proper and appropriate compensation/benefits for work that has yet to be performed--- ie… all labor negotiations after the CBA change.
1. Our active participation in the various Teamsters-sponsored pension plans will stop as UPS stops contributing money on our behalf. Each of us will have our benefits calculated as of that moment and we will be eligible to receive benefits according to the rules in effect at that time. If there is a five year vesting requirement, then anyone with less than five vested years will forfeit all monies contributed on their behalf. Anyone who is short of any other pension milestone will forfeit the right to a pension based on that milestone. ………..
If the APWA causes UPS to withdraw from the funds, we will be cut off from all future pension credit accruals.
Each individual person would be affected differently depending on their vested time as described by Jon. A person who is a matter of months away from a vesting requirement would be sacrificing more than the person who reached a milestone a few months prior to a NLRB election. In the same light, a new hire would have much to gain by choosing the APWA single employer plan. UPS’rs with long careers/pensions are restricted in their pension benefits dependent on the health of the Teamster funds. People are going to take a financial hit either way you look at this. If we stay with IBT, the younger guys are being cheated out of what they could be getting, and if we switch to APWA, those short of vested milestones will lose a few years of credit that’s not vested….. mind you this is credit towards reduced benefits in most of the Teamster funds.
2. You may have heard that single-employer funds have much better insurance than multi-employer funds. Suposedly, a single-employer fund such as the APWA would create for UPSers only, would have it's monthly benefits insured up to $4,125 per month should the plan fail. While a Teamsters-sponsored multi-employer plan only has insurance of $1,072 per month. The government requires the single-employer funds to be more heavily insured because they fail at a rate of 100 times that of multi-employer funds. They are totally dependant on one employer, and when it fails, the fund fails. That's why you are always cautioned: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. The multi-employer funds, in effect, have much of their "insurance" built in to them as a result of their diversified employer contribution base. I've explained this and more in another thread . . .
Jon said that single employer plans, such as the APWA, “are totally dependant on one employer, and when it fails, the fund fails.” Do you foresee United Parcel Service encountering severe financial instability in the near future? They have managed to weather tough times such as the Great Depression, Black Friday, etc…. If there is information that you believe makes this possibility a sincere and present danger, please share.
JonFrum also said… “The multi-employer funds, in effect, have much of their "insurance" built in to them as a result of their diversified employer contribution base.” How much “insurance” do the IBT multiemployer plans have left in them? UPS is the insurance plan for the IBT plans!
3. But here I want to explain that the often-cited figure for single-employer plans only applies if you are 65 years of age! The coverage is significantly less if you are younger than 65, as almost all of us are. See this table of coverage to see how much less . . .
Maximum monthly guarantee tables (PBGC.gov)
Note that the coverage is reduced even further if the Surviving Spouse option is taken.
Benefits from the PBGC for multiemployer plan are calculated based on service years and contribution accrual rates. This insurance maxes out at the number quoted by JonFrum.. $1,072 per month. Single employer insurance is paid on a age-based table that begins at $1,031 monthly at age 45 and increases each year on the average of 5-8%. By the time you reach age 65, PBGC would pay out $4,125 monthly or $3,712.50 if you choose the joint/50% spouse option. So I still don’t see how IBT is a better option from the PBGC insurance coverage.
And again, what catastrophic event are we expecting that would force UPS to fold after celebrating 100 years of service??
4. The new APWA pension plan will not carry any PBGC insurance for the first five years, since no benefits will be paid for the first five years, (if I'm interpreting their sketchy pension plan description accurately.) These years will be the most turbulent as the APWA attempts to get its house in order and the Teamsters and Teamsters-sponsored funds retailate with campaigns and lawsuits.
PBGS insurance is once again irrelevant unless we expect UPS to fold in the next five years. I expect, as you also do, that Teamsters will not go quietly into the night after an APWA NLRB win. There will be campaigns to convince UPS’rs to return to the IBT. My opinion about that is, if you don’t have the fortitude and spine to stick with the APWA the first few years, don’t sign the card now. If you feel that you will waiver the first time there is a bump in the road with the APWA, or if you will run back to the IBT the first time they put out a seemingly convincing flyer or PR campaign, stay with that blue and gold security blanket that is snuggly covering your eyes.
As far as the lawsuits, IBT will have to reverse precedence with regards to transfer of pension fund assets. Please see the forum “APWA: unanswered questions”
5. UPS will also be hit with a huge bill from each of the pension plans that is less than 100% funded, to cover its Withdrawal Liability. UPS will regard these payments as no different in kind than it's normal payments that it has been making to the funds on our behalf all along. They will claim in negotiations that any new contributions the APWA expects them to make to a new APWA plan will be on top of the Withdrawal Liability contributions they are already legally required to make to the old Teamsters plans.
I’ve reviewed the ERISA on this subject. Unfortunately “War and Peace” reads easier than ERISA. I think JonFrum and I are on even ground with respects to UPS’s responsibility to old IBT plans. They are responsible for benefits promised through the IBT up till the CBA change. Judge Moran will not excuse UPS from those old liabilities. However, any contracts and benefits negotiated by the APWA will cover future work and benefits. Any prior obliglations and liability that UPS is responsible for is between UPS and IBT. APWA will not allow these old liabilities to effect proper and appropriate compensation/benefits for work that has yet to be performed--- ie… all labor negotiations after the CBA change.