Shaheen, Hassan Announce Biden-Harris Administration Action to Save Thousands of Teamsters Pensions Through the American Rescue Plan

(Manchester, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sperling and members of Teamsters Local 633 to announce new action by the Biden-Harris administration to restore and protect the pensions of more than 72,000 Teamsters across New England, including more than 6,000 in New Hampshire, through provisions in the American Rescue Plan. Photos from the announcement event can be found here.

“Before the American Rescue Plan was enacted, Teamsters across New England faced unacceptable, steep cuts to their hard-earned retirement benefits,” said Senator Shaheen. “Now, Teamsters and retirees across the region can breathe a sigh of relief as they plan their financial futures knowing that their benefits are secure thanks to Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration. I look forward to continuing our work to strengthen our unions, middle class and working families.”

“It was great to join Teamsters and the Biden-Harris Administration today to announce this important investment that prevents cuts to the pensions of more than 6,000 Granite State union workers,” said Senator Hassan. “Union members work hard throughout their entire careers with the expectation that the pension that they paid into will be waiting for them when they retire – and when that was put into jeopardy, my colleagues and I worked with the Administration to pass legislation that protects the ability of union workers to retire with dignity. In America, we believe that if you work hard, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead, and this investment safeguards that promise.”

“President Biden and Vice President Harris consider the historic protection of union pension plans to be one of the crown jewels of the American Rescue Plan,” said White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sperling. “They know that these workers not only earned these pensions over decades of work but they often sacrificed wages to make sure they had a pension that would provide them with a dignified retirement. Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’s Rescue Plan, that promise will be preserved and protected.”

Shaheen and Hassan were members of the bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers that steered negotiations of COVID-19 relief and worked to secure the passage of the American Rescue Plan to support economic recovery efforts. The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act which was passed as part of the American Rescue Plan will preserve and restore the pensions of retirees and workers in an estimated 200-225 severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans, including the New England Teamsters Pension Fund. The new action taken by the Biden-Harris Administration will provide $5.7 billion to the New England Teamsters Pension Fund preventing proposed changes that would have increased the retirement age for covered workers and resulted in a 60 percent overall cut in benefits.

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