Letter to Thomas Perez, Secretary of Labor - Delphi Retirement Program for Salaried Retirees

Letter

Thomas E. Perez
Secretary of Labor
Unites State Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20210

Dear Secretary Perez:

We are writing to request your prompt intervention on behalf of the Delphi Retirement Program for Salaried Retirees. The 20,000 members of the salaried plan have been waiting for almost five years for a final benefit determination from the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). Recent comments from the PBGC have suggested that the agency has yet to take basic initial steps towards making such a determination.

This delay is unsatisfactory and deeply troubling -- contradicting the PBGC's policy to reach a final determination within 3 years of a plan's termination.

It is for these reasons, Mr. Secretary, that we ask you to intervene and compel the PBGC to provide a clear timetable for reaching a final determination by the end of this year. In doing so, we request that you work with the PBGC to ensure that they are able to punctually reach each milestone in the timetable.

The case of the Delphi Salaried Retirees is particularly unique, as their pensions were terminated during the rescue of the auto industry. These workers' pensions were accumulated over a lifetime of work and yet many found their pensions cut by the PBGC. Now, five years later, these workers are forced to continue to live in limbo, denied any certainty or due process in confirming or challenging the cuts to their earned benefits.

The PBGC's response to date has been unacceptable. Two years after exceeding their own deadline for reaching a final determination, the PBGC has failed to undertake a prompt effort to create the necessary documentation to reach that determination.

Accordingly, we ask that your office intercede in this matter and compel the PBGC to act. Our understanding is that PBGC currently has suggested that a final determination will be made by 2016. This places an unreasonable burden on the salaried retirees and must be accelerated. We request to receive within one month of receipt of this letter a timeline for completing a final determination. We also ask that you provide our offices and the representatives of the affected individuals, the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association (DSRA), with a monthly update on PBGC's progress towards reaching the milestones outlined in the timeline.