The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced today that it has approved the application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the Western States Office and Professional Employees Pension Plan (Western States Office Pension Plan). The plan, based in Portland, Oregon, covers 7,230 participants in the service industry.

On October 1, 2018, the Western States Office Pension Plan implemented a benefit suspension under the terms of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) in order to address the plan’s troubled financial condition at that time and its projected insolvency. The plan reduced benefits of about 6,000 plan participants. On average, affected participants’ benefits were reduced by 25 percent.

PBGC’s approval of the SFA application enables the plan to restore benefits suspended under the terms of MPRA and to make payments to retirees to cover prior benefit suspensions. SFA will enable the plan to pay retirement benefits without reduction for many years into the future. The plan will receive $294.7 million in SFA, including interest to the expected date of payment to the plan.

“This Special Financial Assistance means nearly 7,230 service industry workers, retirees and their families will receive the retirement they earned, that they were promised and that they deserve,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Administration Lisa M. Gomez. “With federal financial assistance funded by the Biden-Harris administration’s American Rescue Plan, participants in the Western States Office and Professional Employees Pension Plan will continue to have secure and dignified retirements for many years to come.”

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