Treasury Dept. Rejects Teamsters Pension Cuts

The U.S. Treasury Department has rejected a plan that would have drastically cut the pensions of more than a quarter million retirees around the country, including 15,000 here in Minnesota. 

The announcement means that retired workers who paid into the Central States Pension Fund will not be forced to face pension cuts of up to 50 percent. 

U.S. Repesentative Rick Nolan issued a statement regarding Friday’s announcement saying the following: 

“I commend Special Master Ken Feinberg for doing the right thing in rejecting these unfair and unjust cuts to the hard earned pensions that 400,000 Teamsters have faithfully paid into throughout their working lives.”

U.S. Senator Al Franken fought against the cuts and was a cosponsor of the Keep Our Pension Promises Act.  He released the following statement after Friday’s announcement. 

“I believe Minnesotans who work hard and are promised financial security ought to be able to retire with dignity,” said Sen. Franken. “Teamster retirees worked for decades and paid in to the Central States Pension Fund under the promise that when they retired their pensions would be there to support them and their loved ones. That’s why I’m glad the Department of Treasury recognized something I’ve been saying for a long time now: these proposed cuts were ill-conceived and unfair to the men and women who earned their pensions. This is the right decision for Minnesota retirees, and now, Congress needs to have an open and honest debate on the long-term solvency of our multi-employer pension system—because we must uphold the promises made to all workers.”