Turner aims to ‘right the wrong’ of unpaid pension benefits for Delphi salaried retirees

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) earlier this month proposed a bipartisan bill that would restore the unpaid pensions of more than 21,000 Delphi salaried retirees, 5,180 of whom live in the congressman’s home state of Ohio.

“The effort to restore Delphi salaried retirees’ pensions has been challenging, but my determination will not waiver to right this wrong,” Rep. Turner said.

The retirees had worked for car parts manufacturer Delphi, which faced bankruptcy during the Great Recession of 2009. The company was acquired by General Motors (GM), which also was struggling financially, and as part of GM’s bailout, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) took trusteeship of Delphi employees’ pensions at the direction of the Obama administration, according to information provided by Rep. Turner’s office.

One Delphi-employed group consisted of the 21,000 salaried employees, and their retirement benefits included a single-employer pension. GM decided to voluntarily terminate their fully funded pensions and the PBGC became the sole trustee of the plan. The salaried employees then formed the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association (DSRA).

Since 2009 and several administrations, Rep. Turner has worked with the DRSA to restore their benefits. Most recently, President Joe Biden in July 2022 issued a statement of administrative policy in support of the legislation to restore the Delphi retirees’ pensions.

“Through bipartisan efforts in Congress and with President Biden’s support, we now enter the fourteenth year of this fight,” said Rep. Turner. “I will continue to advocate to make Delphi retirees financially whole, who lost their pensions through no fault of their own.”

Rep. Turner on Feb. 1 introduced the Susan Muffley Act, H.R. 735, with three original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI). Named after the deceased spouse of a Delphi retiree, the bill would restore full pension payments going forward as if never disrupted, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Turner’s office.  

H.R. 735 also would provide back pay for the pension payments that should have been received for the past 13 years via a lump sum payment equivalent to the difference between any benefits that have been paid out and what retirees would have been paid without limitations, plus six percent interest, the summary says. 

H.R. 735 has been referred for consideration to both the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee and the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.

Rep. Kildee said that while the lawmakers were successful last year in getting the legislation passed with bipartisan support in their chamber, the U.S. Senate failed to take up the measure. “We will not stop fighting for Delphi salaried retirees until their pensions are restored,” he said.