Ascension Health Grants $29.5M Backstop for Wheaton Pension

Ascension Health will guarantee $29.5 million in benefit payments under Wheaton Franciscan Services Inc.'s pension plan, ending a lawsuit accusing Wheaton of wrongly treating the plan as a “church plan” exempt from federal law (In re Wheaton Franciscan ERISA Litig., N.D. Ill., No. 1:16-cv-04232, motion for preliminary settlement approval filed 9/1/17).

The deal, announced in court papers filed Sept. 1, requires Ascension to guarantee payment of the first $29.5 million paid out under the Wheaton pension plan in the event the plan can’t cover the payments itself. Ascension, which acquired part of Wheaton’s health-care business in 2016, also ...