The pension crisis may affect as many as one million Americans. Thousands of workers and retirees have suffered benefit cuts. A million more are at risk. These plans are failing at an alarming rate. About 12 percent of workers with vested multi-employer pensions are in plans expected to run dry within 20 years. And the plans’ weak safety net is getting weaker. The Federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which insures private plans, pays no more than $12, 870 per year to a 30-year worker whose multiemployer plan has failed. The fund for these plans is likely to go broke by 2020. In 2014, over AARP’s objections, Congress passed a law allowing troubled plans to cut vested benefits in hopes of staying afloat.
In March 2019, AARP declared its support for Multiemployer Pensions Act, a House bill with bi-partisan support. It would provide low-cost, 30-year government loans to qualifying plans, while forbidding increases in promised benefits and reductions in employer contributions. Stay informed about your pension plan!
Rev. Dr. Donna Taylor is the Pastor of Andrew Chapel, United Methodist Church on the Northern Neck in Montross, VA. Rev. Dr. Taylor promotes best practices for financial literacy and financial empowerment in the church and leads workshops throughout Northern Virginia. Currently, she serves as the Chair of the District Finance Committee. In May 2015, Rev. Dr. Taylor received her Doctor of Ministry from Virginia University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, VA. Rev. Dr. Donna Taylor is married to Dr. David Taylor, who is also the Director of our church-based free clinic. They have two adult children and three grandchildren. In her leisure time, Rev. Dr. Taylor enjoys traveling, jogging, weightlifting, swimming, yoga, and interior decorating. In May 2015, Rev. Dr. Taylor received her Doctor of Ministry from Virginia University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, Virginia. Rev. Dr. Taylor was born and raised in New York City and recently discovered her ancestral roots in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Rev. Dr. Donna Taylor is married to David Taylor and they have a son and a daughter. Their daughter is a educator and son is an Active-Duty Senior Seaman in the Navy married with three children. In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling, reading, swimming, writing poetry, crocheting and spending time with her family.