A Tale of Two Teamsters Pension Plans

It was (nearly) the best of times for the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan, it was (nearly) the worst of times for the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund.

While that sounds like a Charles Dickens novel, it’s the reality facing two of the largest U.S. multiemployer plans that provide pensions to retirees and active members of the Teamsters union. The two plans have nearly 1 million members.

Central States is among the approximately 130 plans that have projected they will run out of money in the next 20 years. That means the plan’s members could lose ...