Days away from the one-year anniversary of the House’s passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) hailed the package’s inclusion of a solution to the worsening multiemployer pension crisis. The ARP contained Chairman Neal’s Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, which stabilized troubled plans, protected more than 1 million workers’ and retirees’ hard-earned savings, and prevented tens of thousands of businesses from shuttering.

For years, Chairman Neal fought to achieve a solution to the multiemployer pension crisis, and he was instrumental in ensuring that the American Rescue Plan included relief.

“The Butch Lewis provision of the American Rescue Plan Act saved multiemployer pension plans from insolvency and secured the financial futures of workers and retirees who have always played by the rules and made responsible savings decisions,” said Chairman Neal. “Already, the financial assistance program we established has saved thousands of pensions, and this number will only continue to grow.”

The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation estimates that the law’s Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program will pay approximately $94 billion to over 200 financially troubled plans that cover more than 3 million participants and beneficiaries.

More information on applying for relief is available HERE.

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