David M. PixleyBlog Posts
‘Segal Blend’ Withdrawal Liability Calculation Violates ERISA, Court Holds in Milestone DecisionThe use of the “Segal Blend” to calculate a company’s withdrawal liability when it withdrew from a multiemployer pension plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), because it was not the actuary’s best estimate, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati has held in...October 8, 2021 |
Pension Plan Withdrawal Liability Calculation Violates ERISA, Court Holds in Milestone DecisionThe use of the “Segal Blend” to calculate a company’s withdrawal liability when it withdrew from a multiemployer pension plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act, because it was not the actuary’s best estimate, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati has held in a milestone... Continue ReadingOctober 8, 2021 |
‘Segal Blend’ Withdrawal Liability Calculation Violates ERISA, Court Holds in Milestone DecisionThe use of the “Segal Blend” to calculate a company’s withdrawal liability when it withdrew from a multiemployer pension plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), because it was not the actuary’s best estimate, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati has held in... Continue ReadingOctober 8, 2021 |
Withdrawal Liability – Real Property Presumed a Trade or BusinessAn employer’s permanent cessation of contributions to a multiemployer pension plan can trigger withdrawal liability. This liability may reach affiliated trades or businesses with sufficient common ownership to be under “common control” with the employer. The affiliates would be jointly and severally liable for withdrawal liability incurred and unpaid by the withdrawing affiliate. Courts often...… Continue ReadingAugust 8, 2021 |
Successor Liability Claims Found Insufficient to Establish Federal Question JurisdictionAs a general rule, an asset purchaser does not assume the seller’s liabilities, including its ERISA obligations. Courts, however, have formulated an exception to this general rule via the doctrine of successor liability. Successor liability is an equitable doctrine requiring a court to “strike a proper balance between on the one hand preventing wrongdoers from... Continue ReadingJuly 30, 2021 |
PBGC Issues Interim Rule On Multiemployer Pension Bailout; Impact On Employers UnclearOn July 9, 2021, the PBGC issued its interim final rule (the “Rule”) on the process for eligible troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans (“MEPPs”) to apply for and obtain Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”). The Rule was posted on PBGC’s website and became effective as guidance on July...… Continue ReadingJuly 12, 2021 |
Multiemployer Pension Plan Reform/Bailout May Be Greater Than Expected; Guidance Still ForthcomingThe Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA), enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), contained unprecedented financial relief for the most troubled multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs). The MEPPs community is eagerly awaiting guidance from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on the requirements for MEPPs to apply for the special...… Continue ReadingJune 7, 2021 |
Will American Rescue Plan Act Multiemployer Pension Provisions Bring Relief to Employers?The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes a modified version of the Butch Lewis Act, referred to as the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA), which restores to financial health more than 100 failing multiemployer pension plans. However, the measure falls well short of any meaningful long-term funding reform. More…… Continue ReadingMarch 15, 2021 |
Will American Rescue Plan Act Multiemployer Pension Provisions Bring Relief to Employers?The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes a modified version of the Butch Lewis Act, referred to as the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA), which restores to financial health more than 100 failing multiemployer pension plans. However, the measure falls well short of any meaningful long-term funding reform. More Continue Reading…March 15, 2021 |
What Took So Long? Democrats Quickly Introduce Pension Relief BillHouse Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA) on January 21, 2021. EPPRA represents the latest legislative attempt to address the well-documented multiemployer pension crisis. EPPRA is significant in that it is the first legislation introduced by Chairman Neal under the Biden administration, signaling a possible... Continue Reading…January 24, 2021 |