via dispatch.com,
by Mark Williams, The Columbus Dispatch,
October 2, 2015,
Retired truck drivers and others who draw a pension from an underfunded pension plan expect to find out in the next couple of days how much their monthly stipend may be cut. The Central State Pension Fund said today that it has mailed information to all fund participants about how its rescue plan to stabilize the fund will affect their benefits. The fund said it has filed an application with the U.S. Treasury Department seeking approval of the plan. How much benefits would be cut is hard to say at this point, said Mike Walden, chairman of the Northeast Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions. “I don’t know what the individual percentages are,” he said, though some could see their pension benefits cut by more than half. He said he expects to find out more as retirees receive their letters.
The cuts must be approved by the Treasury Department and retirees before they can go into effect. Cuts likely would go into effect next summer. A law passed by Congress last year allows “multi-employer pension plans” to reduce benefits to shore up their sagging finances.