U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) joined federal and state officials to announce a new pension plan for workers and retirees in the state using American Rescue Plan funds.
The investment of $860 million in Special Financial Assistance to the National Integrated Group Pension Plan will benefit more than 48,000 workers and retirees nationwide in the manufacturing industry, officials said. Prior to the investment, the fund was slated to run out of money in 2034.
“Today’s announcement means that thousands of Pennsylvania workers will receive the full pension they earned after a lifetime of hard work,” Wild said. “It’s a great day for employees and retirees – and it’s thanks to the American Rescue Plan that this investment in our middle class and their retirement security is taking place.”
According to the United Steelworkers and United Auto Workers unions, the investment will protect some 6,700 Pennsylvania workers’ and retirees’ pensions.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) said the investment rescued the pensions.
“The promise of a pension is a promise we’re supposed to keep,” Casey said in a statement. “With today’s announcement, thousands of Pennsylvania steelworkers and auto workers can rest easy knowing that the benefits they’re owed will be waiting for them when they retire.”
The American Rescue Plan was passed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 50-49, and in the U.S. House by a vote of 220-211. No Republican member of Congress voted to support the bill, Casey’s office said.
“This is what investing in America looks like: fulfilling our promise to those who worked their entire lives, and beating back attacks on the dignity and security of retirement,” Wild said. “Those attacks come every single day. But the American Rescue Plan made this happen. It’s a bill that I was proud to fight alongside the Senate and my colleagues in the House to pass into law. And a law that, quite honestly, I’ve become even prouder of every passing day, as we see the impact this monumental legislation has had on the middle class, both in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.”