A bankrupt pension fund that received a $35.8 billion bailout from the federal government has returned $126.5 million to the government after it was determined that its application for aid included about 3,500 deaths.
The Central States Pension Fund, which primarily provides benefits to retired Teamsters truck drivers and their families, will receive relief as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in 2021. The fight continued for nearly 10 years.
The bill is best known for providing $1,400 checks to most Americans and extending unemployment benefits to millions of workers hurt by the pandemic.
It also funded distressed multi-employer pension plans run jointly by unions and employers. Without aid, retirees and their families faced significant reductions in benefits.
The Central States Fund is one of the nation’s largest multiemployer funds, and the federal government says its applications for assistance include 360,000 people. Approximately 40,000 workers and retirees in Ohio were among those receiving relief assistance.
However, an audit by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, which administers the support program, revealed that the fund’s application form included deaths. As a result, the Fund was overpaid by approximately $126 million.
According to the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Central States cooperated with the investigation, including assisting with the analysis necessary to calculate the overpayments.
“This settlement demonstrates the Division’s commitment to assisting in the recovery of excess funds disbursed in connection with (the program),” Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. ” “We encourage other pension schemes to cooperate with the government’s ongoing efforts to identify and recover surplus funds in the SFA program.”
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@BizMarkWilliams