# The Susan Muffley Act of 2022: What It Does

This bill fixes a problem that affected thousands of workers from several automotive parts companies—primarily Delphi, but also PHI and ASEC Manufacturing—whose pension plans were terminated years ago. When these plans ended, many retirees and their families received less money than they were originally promised because of federal limits on pension guarantees. This bill says those people should get the full amount they were entitled to receive.

Here's what actually happens: If you're currently receiving pension payments from one of these six specific pension plans, or if you're waiting to receive payments in the future, the government will recalculate what you're owed based on your complete vested benefits—essentially ignoring the federal caps that previously limited your payments. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the federal agency that protects pensions) will figure out how much extra money you should have received since your plan ended, add interest at 6 percent per year to account for the time you've been waiting, and send you a lump-sum payment within six months of the law passing. After that, your monthly pension checks will increase to reflect the correct amount going forward.

The bill also creates a special government trust fund to pay for these increased benefits, funded by Congress through regular appropriations. For tax purposes, if you receive a lump-sum payment of back benefits, you can spread the income across three years instead of claiming it all at once, which helps reduce your tax burden. If you pass away before receiving all your back pay, your surviving spouse can inherit the remaining payments and continue spreading them out over time for tax purposes.

This primarily affects former Delphi, PHI, and ASEC Manufacturing employees and their families who have been receiving reduced pension payments since their plans were taken over by the federal government during the 2008 financial crisis.

Susan Muffley Act of 2022

Kildee, Daniel T.

Susan Muffley Act of 2022 This bill restores the full vested monthly benefits for eligible participants of certain pension plans that were sponsored by Delphi Corporation and terminated as a result of General Motors' bankruptcy in 2009. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) must recalculate and adjust each plan participant's monthly benefits payment. The PBGC must also apply the recalculation to previously-made monthly payments and make a lump-sum payment for any additional benefits based on the recalculation. The bill establishes and provides appropriations to a fund for the payment of these benefits and specifies how the lump-sum payments are treated for tax purposes.