Restore Earned Benefits for Retirees

In 2021 the Association of BellTel Retirees formed a strategic alliance with Retirees for Justice to further the Association’s leadership role in fighting to protect and restore earned benefits for retirees and their families.

Thanks to the support of your Association, Retirees for Justice has been able to communicate its core principles to key policy makers at the state and federal level.

So far, 2022 has been the year for slashing or eliminating retiree life insurance benefits. AT&T and DuPont retirees all lost life insurance coverage on the same day:  January 1, 2022. The protection of BellTel Members’ life insurance is of critical importance to the Association.

Regrettably, it seems that targeting retiree earned benefits is the easiest way to improve stock performance and increase executive compensation for a select few! In the past, retirees advocated for the protection of earned benefits, but now we must focus on the restoration of benefits taken away through acts of corporate indifference towards retirees and their families. Using Vapor “profit” through accounting gymnastics and the targeting of retiree benefits is unconscionable.

While healthcare and life insurance benefits are considered welfare benefits which can be taken away at will and with little notice, ERISA still protects retirement pensions from reduction because they are considered vested benefits subject to ERISA’s anti-cutback rules.

However, since 2012 close to $220 billion in pension liabilities has been offloaded to insurance companies in pension de-risking transactions, which allow a defined benefit plan sponsor to amend its defined benefit plan to kick out retirees without giving them a choice.

It happened to 41,000 Verizon retirees and more than 100,000 GM retirees in 2012. Ever since, the Association of BellTel Retirees has been a tireless advocate in favor of transparency and accountability in pension de-risking transactions.

Retirees for Justice has been working with the Department of Labor and the US Senate HELP Committee, regarding the Pension Risk Transfer Accountability Act of 2021. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy took a bold first step to protect retirees impacted by pension risk transfer deals by introducing the Pension Risk Transfer Accountability Act of 2021 earlier this year.

Among other things, the Act directs the Secretary of Labor to review its guidance on fiduciary standards under ERISA when selecting an annuity provider and to report to Congress on the findings of such review, including an assessment of risk to participants.

Retirees for Justice has also drafted a proposed amendment to ERISA to prevent discrimination against retirees when it comes to reducing or eliminating any benefits promised to retirees during the course of their employment.

Through its affiliation with Retirees for Justice the Association is making a big push to change state laws to replace protections that are lost in pension de-risking transactions with reasonably equivalent protections under state law.

In April, BellTel Chairman Tommy Steed and I traveled to Albany, NY to support Assemblyperson Jaime Williams, who represents the 59^th Assembly District in Brooklyn. We had an opportunity to speak with her, and she agreed to support Assembly Bill Number A6099 sponsored by Peter Abbate, a longtime champion of pension protections.

Critically Assemb. Williams is a member of the Insurance Committee, and we urged her to push for a hearing. The meeting followed a grass roots campaign targeting members of the Insurance Committee.

Tommy Steed and I also met with Assemblyman Abbate’s legislative director to discuss how we might best persuade the Insurance Committee to hold a hearing before the end of session.

For a bill to gain traction, in New York, for example, there needs to be a “same as” bill in the State Senate. Fortunately, Senate Bill Number S2885 sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes has also been sent to the Senate Insurance Committee, chaired by Neil D. Breslin from the 44^th District, surrounding the state capitol. A similar grass roots effort is underway with the Senate Insurance Committee.

These two bills are designed to replace the uniform protections intended by Congress under ERISA, with reasonably equivalent protections under New York State Law. Retirees for Justice is actively looking for support from New Yorkers. Please reach out to me directly at estone@retireesforjustice.org if you are a New York resident and would like to write a letter or email of support.

A copy of the Memorandum of Support that we have been circulating is available on the Retirees for Justice website.

The Association of BellTel Retirees and Retirees for Justice are working to prevent corporations from taking away life insurance benefits from retirees and their families. At the same time, Retirees for Justice has identified a number of low-cost insurance products priced like group insurance but underwritten and issued on an individual basis through strategic partnerships with Medicare Transition Services and SBC Benefits.

For access to these products and services, join Retirees for Justice by going to www.RetireesForJustice.org and click on “JOIN NOW”. Membership is free! This small step of support will greatly assist us all in fighting to protect and restore earned benefits.

By Edward Stone, Esq., Special Council for the Association of BellTel Retirees

 

This article was first published in the Summer 2022 BellTel Newsletter.