Private Sector Multiemployer Pension Plans – A Primer

The brief’s key findings are: *Private sector multiemployer pension plans, which are negotiated by a union with a group of employers, have become a focus of congressional interest. *Multiemployer plans have been hurt by an expansion of benefits during the 1990s and the twin financial crises since 2000. *Most are recovering, but a substantial minority faces serious funding problems. *These problems are exacerbated by unique structural challenges: *the cyclical nature of the construction industry, which covers the most plan participants; *a low ratio of active to total participants that increases the burden on underfunded plans; and *insufficient penalties for employers who withdraw from the plans.