Fight Continues: Turner, Boehner, Portman Push for New Answers for Delphi Salaried Retirees

Dayton, OH—This week, Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH), Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) were joined by the entire Ohio Republican delegation in a letter that pushes for new answers on behalf of the Delphi Salaried Retirees. In 2009, more than 20,000 Delphi Salaried Retirees had their pensions unjustly terminated in the wake of the federal government’s bailout of General Motors.

Since that time, Congressman Turner, Speaker Boehner, and Senator Portman have joined with the Ohio Republican Delegation to push for answers, accountability, and justice for these men and women.

On June 26 of this year, the coalition signed a letter requesting that the Office of Inspector General conduct an inquiry into the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC’s) lengthy delay in providing final benefit determinations for Delphi Salaried Retirees.

The PBGC has a stated policy of issuing these determinations in three years; however, these retirees have waited in earnest for over five years for the PBGC to complete the basic documentation necessary to begin the benefit determination process.

On September 2nd, the OIG for the PBGC issued the results of their inquiry, which outlined the PBGC’s failure to provide sufficient justification for the undue delays and yielded substantially more questions than answers.

Most notably, the OIG inquiry uncovered that the PBGC has issued inconsistent responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and waited two years to hire a public accounting firm to begin the process of verifying the assets of the Delphi Salaried Retirees’ Plan.

This week, Congressman Turner, Speaker Boehner, and Senator Portman joined with the Ohio Republican Delegation to request additional information immediately and ensure that the PBGC is held accountable to the Delphi Salaried Retirees who have unjustly lost so much.

“For five years, we have pushed for answers on behalf of the Delphi Salaried Retirees and we’re not backing down now," said Congressman Turner. "We will continue to hold the administration accountable and ensure that these men and women get the information they deserve.”

“While I appreciate the PBGC’s response to the request that the Ohio Republican delegation made back in June on the extreme delay in the final benefit determinations for the Delphi Salaried Employees, let me just say we have even more questions now than we had before our request. We will, without a doubt, continue pressing the PBGC until we get the answers that these Salaried Retirees deserve, and I applaud Rep. Mike Turner for his persistence and leadership on this,” said Speaker Boehner.

“I’m pleased to be able to join my colleagues in continuing our push for a solution for the Delphi Salaried Retirees,” said Senator Portman. “The retirees and their families have gone too long without adequate answers regarding their pensions and we must continue to hold the Administration accountable.”

When Delphi’s defined benefit pension plan was terminated, 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost up to 70 percent in benefits, including 5,000 Ohioans. Of the 5,000 Delphi Salaried Retirees and their families in Ohio, about 1,500 are in the Mahoning Valley, 2,000 are in the Dayton area, and a majority of the remaining 1,500 are in Columbus and Sandusky.

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