Pension Fund’s Holdup in Seeking Exit Liability Dooms Appeal

A pair of commercial painting and waterproofing companies defeated a pension fund’s Third Circuit appeal seeking $800,000 in withdrawal liability, because the fund waited too long to demand payment.

Pension funds must act “as soon as practicable” when attempting to collect the withdrawal liability owed by departing employers, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said Tuesday in a 2-1 split opinion. The International Painters & Allied Trades Industry Pension Fund’s eight-year delay in seeking withdrawal liability from two companies connected to a defunct contributing employer is fatal to the fund’s bid for payment, the appeals court ...