SCOTUS Appears to Favor Pension Actuaries in Exit Bill Fight (1)

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to side with pension fund actuaries in a dispute that could swing the withdrawal liability of employers exiting multiemployer pension funds by millions of dollars.

Several justices seemed sympathetic to the idea that actuaries making their best estimates of an employer’s liability might need to consider information that becomes available after the end of the relevant plan year. Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed to statutory language instructing actuaries to use reasonable methods to make their “best estimate” of the pension fund’s expected performance, which he described as “hurdles” for the employers seeking limits ...