retirees who spent nearly a decade fighting for their promised pension benefits celebrated a major win thursday as president joe biden announced a 36 billion rescue for their troubled retirement plan the bailout of the central states southeast and southwest areas pension fund an underfunded multiemployer definedbenefit plan is the largest amount ever awarded by the federal government to support pension security and will prevent deep cuts to the benefits of more than 350000 workers and retirees according to the white house without the financial assistance to shore up the pension plan benefits would be slashed and “some folks would stand to lose 10000 each and every year of their retirement” biden said thursday at a white house event announcing the award “the money they earned” the announcement means that “finally the retirees can plan the rest of their lives” said dana vargo 70 of massillon ohio who helped lead the yearslong grassroots effort to avert the benefit cuts vargo’s husband don a retired trucker was facing a more than 50 reduction in his central states pension benefit now “we don’t have to continue to come to washington to beg for what my husband worked for” vargo said last year’s american rescue plan act authorized the taxpayerfunded financial assistance program for wobbly multiemployer pension plans these plans are negotiated between unions and two or more employers and cover roughly 11 million participants in trucking construction manufacturing and other industries after many of these plans were shaken by declining unionization withdrawals of participating employers and investment losses a 2014 law opened the door for plans to cut the benefits of current retirees the american rescue plan provision named after central states retiree and teamsters leader estil “butch” lewis allows certain underfunded multiemployer plans to apply for financial assistance and restore benefits previously cut before thursday’s announcement the pension benefit guaranty corp the federal agency overseeing the program had already approved nearly 9 billion in assistance to plans covering 193000 people the program which is ultimately expected to distribute between 74 billion and 91 billion to over 200 plans covering more than 3 million people has drawn fire from some congressional republicans who say it leaves taxpayers on the hook for mismanagement of the plans the plight of central states one of the largest and most underfunded multiemployer plans threatened to drain the pbgc’s multiemployer reserves which provide a backstop to ensure certain minimum payments to participants in failed plans the pbgc’s multiemployer insurance program which prior to the american rescue plan was expected to go broke in 2026 is now likely to remain solvent for more than 40 years according to the agency the financial assistance awarded to central states is not just “a huge victory” for workers and retirees “but also great for the economy and great for the pbgc” said karen friedman executive director of the nonprofit consumer group pension rights center the economic benefits are clear in the northwest ohio town of bryan headquarters of spangler candy co a central states participating employer said spangler president bill martin the company has roughly 700 workers and retirees in the pension plan–nearly 10 of the town’s population–who were facing benefit cuts of 60 or more martin said and spangler feared for years that it could be on the hook for massive payments if the plan failed completely now workers “can have a dignified retirement and take care of their families” he said while the company freed from the uncertainty over the pension plan’s fate has added almost 100 people to its bryan operations over the past year central states retirees’ relentless lobbying efforts over much of the past decade played a critical role in ultimately winning passage of the broader multiemployer pension rescue plan people involved in the legislation say some made dozens of trips to washington staged protests testified before congress and met with lawmakers elevating their cause by wearing their union gear around capitol hill jack palush 73 a central states retiree in north royalton ohio made 32 trips to washington he says fighting to preserve the pension benefit he’d earned after 37 years as a truck driver in 2015 six years into his retirement he had learned that his benefit could be cut by more than half and feared he’d have to go back to work to survive “we all became lobbyists” palush said “we didn’t have any money we had to rely on the information we were getting from congressional staffers” and learn the ins and outs of congress along the way he said anticipating the backlash surrounding a taxpayerfunded bailout he said “we had to let these people know that there’s two things retirees do with their money we spend it and we pay taxes”