Musicians' Pension Fund Will Apply To Treasury A 2nd Time To Prevent Insolvency, Reduce Benefits Under MPRA

Today, the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) informed participants that, by the end of this year, it will be submitting a second application to the U.S. Treasury Department to prevent insolvency by reducing benefits under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA).

The Plan had submitted its first MPRA application in December 2019. In August 2020, the Treasury Department denied the application for technical reasons related to the assumptions used in the application.

The AFM-EPF is currently in "critical and declining" status, which means it is projected to run out of money to pay benefits (or become "insolvent") within 20 years. Under MPRA, if a Plan is in "critical and declining" status, the Trustees can apply to Treasury for approval to reduce participants' benefits by an amount sufficient for the Plan to avoid insolvency. If approved, the proposed benefit reductions would go into effect on January 1, 2022. Participants will receive a notice in early January 2021 with their estimated reduced benefit.

For more information, please follow the link below to view the communication that was sent to the Plan's participants at 1:30pm ET today: https://mailchi.mp/a86954bc433d/pension-fund-notes-690335