Burmeister v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

OPINION

ROSEMARY M. COLLYER, District Judge.

What happens when a union and employer agree to change the employee pension plan but the plan never gets changed, the agreed change is dropped from the next contract, the employer goes bankrupt, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation takes over pension payments? In determining pension benefits, can PBGC rely on the formal plan documents and most recent collective bargaining agreement or must it sift through the parties’ prior contract negotiations and apply agreed-upon changes that are not reflected in the plan or the last contract?

Once the…