Update On Recent Multiemployer Pension Reform Developments

In recent months, two competing visions for multiemployer pension reform legislation have been introduced in Congress.

• On December 17, Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Lamar Alexander - who at the time were the chairpersons of the Senate committees with jurisdiction over pensions - introduced the Chris Allen Multiemployer Pension Recapitalization and Reform Act (the "Grassley-Alexander Act").
• On January 21, Democratic Congressmen Bobby Scott and Richard Neal - the chairpersons of the House committees with jurisdiction over pensions - introduced the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act (the "Scott-Neal Act").

These bills have some common characteristics, but also many differences. Both proposals use a partition framework to provide relief to failing plans and both proposals would increase the PBGC guarantee level for multiemployer plans. The Scott-Neal Act does not permit any reductions to the benefits of participants in severely underfunded plans, and