Leading Senate Republicans have unveiled a proposal for dealing with the severe financial problems facing dozens of multiemployer pension plans. But the proposal, released on Nov. 20, differs greatly from a pension rescue bill that the House approved on July 24 and the new plan has quickly drawn strong criticism from construction unions.
Multiemployer pensions are widespread in the unionized construction sector. Of the approximately 1,350 multiemployer plans in the U.S. as of 2017, some 770, or 57%, were in the construction industry, according to Ben Ablin, a consulting actuary with Horizon Actuarial Services LLC.