According to campaign literature the IAM is offering the opportunity to participate in their plan with instant vesting. Also we have been told that the plan is currently funded at 97% and is in the "Green Zone". This has been offered as a much better alternative to the IBT's WCT plan which is also in the "Green Zone", but at a funding level of 84.7%.
Is it true? Unfortunately the answer is no. Here is a link to the IAMNPF webpage dealing with the Actuarial Certification for the 2009 plan year. The Actuary has deemed the fund to be in the "Yellow Zone" or endangered status for the plan year. The next question is how can the fund be claimed to be in the Green Zone when actually it is in the Yellow Zone? The answer lies in the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act ("WRERA") of 2008. According to the IAMNPF website "That Act made some temporary changes in the multiemployer plan funding rules of the Pension Protection Act of 2006". According to the letter the previous two years funding levels were used as allowed by the Law to give the fund time to correct its deficiencies. The last two links on the page include an explanation and also a question and answer document.
The fact that the fund is not doing well is not surprising given the huge downturn in the market, but I felt it was important that if you were making comparisons you had an "apple to apple" baseline.
That's all for now,
Bob
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