Oppose Taxpayer Bailouts of Underfunded Union Pension Funds
From Liberate to Stimulate: A Bipartisan Agenda to Restore Limited Government and Revive America's Economy
In trying to attract new members, labor unions often tout the promise of a secure retirement to their members in the form of defined benefit pensions. However, many union pension plans today are severely underfunded. Some have been in trouble for years, and the latest economic downturn has only exasperated the problem. In 2008, the Department of Labor listed the status of 230 union plans as either endangered—less than 80 percent funded— or critical—less than 65 percent funded. In 2009, Moody’s Investors Service estimated all union pensions to be underfunded by $165 billion.