Employer Liability Exceptions Approved in Pension Bailout Tweak

Employers seeking to abandon bailed-out multiemployer pension plans may have a new exit strategy.

The federal government’s private-sector pension insurer has revised its special financial assistance rules to allow employers to request permission to use that assistance when calculating their financial liability to the plan.

Withdrawal liability was a controversial issue under the $90 billion bailout package Congress approved for severely underfunded plans formed between multiple employers and trade unions. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation discouraged employers from taking advantage of the influx in cash by requiring a phased-in accounting of financial assistance.

A final rule the agency issued Wednesday ...