New Penn | 707 pension insolvency - time to act

John Kelder

TB Lurker
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Here are the facts as I know them - 707 pension was funded at 98% in 1995 when McCaffrey became a union officer and Fund Trustee .Under his watch he approved an increase in pension credits from $90 per credit to $115 .This coincided with President of 707 retirement and member of his ticket who immediately became a Yellow Labor manager ,Nicholas Piccarello .Nice going away gift .Then , instead of hard negotiations , when Cardinal Healthcare and Overnight/UPS became 707 Teamsters , they did not become part of the pension , they were put in a 401K .The pension NEEDED more employers then and now .Yet ,McCaffery complains about lack of employer contributions when he let 2 big fish get away .
In 2000 , the Fund had about 440 MILLION in assets .15 years later , we have next to nothing . Here is where the politicians got involved . In 2006 , Pension laws were changed , and that is why we receive those notices regarding funding status .That same set of laws also provided for a 5% penalty the first year , and 10% penalty every year after above and beyond the contribution rate until the fund was out of endangered status . I believe that THIS is what triggered UPS paying 6 Billion dollars to get out of CSPF . I also believe that is why YRC desperately needed to freeze pension contributions ...Because ZERO X 5% is ZERO ,and Zero X 10% is ZERO .And to the best of my knowledge , no penalty surcharge has been paid .
Leadership roles demands of leaders to make decisions , and accountability . The plan actuaries CANNOT have NOT known what this set of circumstances would do the the 707 pension fund .Yet McCaffrey and crew told the members to vote yes to save YRC , never speaking of actuarial advice to the contrary .
McCaffrey has , while holding a full time job as 707 President , became certified in Plan administration .He also ,as noted in this thread , entered into local politics .SO ,is it no wonder that the Teamster members suffer ? The 707 plan administrator was a full time job, the President was a full time job , and one would imagine that the constituents want their county legislator doing that full time ..THREE FULL TIME JOBS done by one person.Plus a Fund Trustee..Rome burned , as Nero fiddled ................He and the other Trustees have violated their Fiduciary duties IMO .

So please pass this along - at 4PM on Saturday 6/20/15 at LaQuinta Inn and Suites at MacArthur Airport ,10 Aero Rd. Bohemia NY all active and retired 707 pension participants are invited to discuss any and all legal remedies to restore our pension .
 
707 pension participants - this is your weekend up date
.
1 - IMO we are hiring the best forensic attorney team in the country .you get what you pay for .$50,000 retainer.

2 - no guarantees - you are paying for legal advice and a forensic review of the pension fund .We may never find wrong doing , and we may never recover 1 penny as a result of this investigation. BUT - no pension goes broke without somebody getting rich (quote of the week)

3 -McCaffrey said the Dept . of Labor did an audit last year . According to McCaffrey , nothing was wrong as the result of the DOL audit .

4 - I , for one , do not trust the government .Or the Trustees, or the Fund Administrator . FYI - the DOL receives a 1099(IRS FORM) annually . It showed the DOL the staggering losses , and the DOL did nothing .

5 - McCaffrey called me on Wednesday and asked me NOT to move forward with our independent audit . I declined .

6 - I will be at the Fund office next week to obtain any and all documents available to participants.I hope it is enough .

7 - Many retirees and active participants are mobilizing and putting in towards the retainer

8 - Saturday ,6/20/15 at 4PM at the LaQuinta Inn in Bohemia ,there is a meeting for 707 pension fund participants , active and retired . I am putting the meeting on . Hope to see the room full .
 
707 pension participants - this is your weekend up date
.
1 - IMO we are hiring the best forensic attorney team in the country .you get what you pay for .$50,000 retainer.

2 - no guarantees - you are paying for legal advice and a forensic review of the pension fund .We may never find wrong doing , and we may never recover 1 penny as a result of this investigation. BUT - no pension goes broke without somebody getting rich (quote of the week)

3 -McCaffrey said the Dept . of Labor did an audit last year . According to McCaffrey , nothing was wrong as the result of the DOL audit .

4 - I , for one , do not trust the government .Or the Trustees, or the Fund Administrator . FYI - the DOL receives a 1099(IRS FORM) annually . It showed the DOL the staggering losses , and the DOL did nothing .

5 - McCaffrey called me on Wednesday and asked me NOT to move forward with our independent audit . I declined .

6 - I will be at the Fund office next week to obtain any and all documents available to participants.I hope it is enough .

7 - Many retirees and active participants are mobilizing and putting in towards the retainer

8 - Saturday ,6/20/15 at 4PM at the LaQuinta Inn in Bohemia ,there is a meeting for 707 pension fund participants , active and retired . I am putting the meeting on . Hope to see the room full .

How will the forensic team get access to the funds transactions? Will they have to get a court order or is the union going to help you?
I would bet a bunch of money there has been some serious fraud with those funds and hope those responsible go to prison.
Post a donation address on the holland and yrc boards and ask the mods to make it a sticky.If everyone donated 5 or 10 bucks or more 50 grand will be no problem.I will send a 10 dollar check immediately and see how it's going.( even if you did tell me to powder my nose) lol.

If McCaffery was legit he would begging for a forensic review of the funds.Be careful,there is a lot of money involved and a lot of fairly wealthy people's lives at risk.
 
That is exactly what I am thinking. But I wish him well and would donate later when I see the ball rolling.

Exactly, I want justice for them and think we should do the same thing with our fund,but the people it effects must be willing also.I will donate 10 bucks to their cause right now and more later,as you say ,when the ball gets rolling.
 
How will the forensic team get access to the funds transactions? Will they have to get a court order or is the union going to help you?
I would bet a bunch of money there has been some serious fraud with those funds and hope those responsible go to prison.
Post a donation address on the holland and yrc boards and ask the mods to make it a sticky.If everyone donated 5 or 10 bucks or more 50 grand will be no problem.I will send a 10 dollar check immediately and see how it's going.( even if you did tell me to powder my nose) lol.

If McCaffery was legit he would begging for a forensic review of the funds.Be careful,there is a lot of money involved and a lot of fairly wealthy people's lives at risk.

We greatly appreciate your offer . But at this time just accepting money from participants of 707 pension fund . That being said , to reach retirees all over God's green earth , we will eventually have a link for your type of donation .Probably within 30 - 45 days Thanks .
 
707 Pension update - McCaffrey has sent to the jobs the letters from the Dept. Of Labor regarding the pension fund audit and the findings....
IMO -
1 - If he sent a notice telling the participants there was an ongoing audit , that would have been timely and proper.
2- if he sent out a notice that the audit was completed in July of LAST YEAR ,right after the audit was completed , that would have been timely and proper .
3 - To send it out now , AFTER the notice of Insolvency and the fundraising for the retainer for the Forensic Audit has began is not timely ( unless you are him ) and insulting .

Please remember that there is a difference between an audit and a forensic audit .It is OUR Pension , why all the secrets ??
And the same government that audited the Fund is the same government that watched OUR pension go broke .The same government that audited OUR pension is the same government that changed the law and allowed OUR pension benefits , that WE worked for , for DECADES ,to be slashed by over 60 % .
 
next meeting is this Saturday 6/27/15 ..Doors open at 230PM ,meeting starts at 330 PM.. At - Black Rock Fish and Game Club ,5 Pleasant hill Rd
( off Rt. 32 ) Mountainville NY 10953 . To discuss Forensic audit , lack of fiduciary oversight , and legal action .
 
707 pension update- look in tomorrow's NY TIMES for an article on our chosen attorney, Ted Seidle, launching a forensic audit into a 300 billion dollar pension in California. .
 

It would be almost impossible to track the millions in cash given to a fund manager in kickbacks for paying equity firms billions in fees.It is designed for corruption when there is not 100% transparency.
To me John,the defined benefit should be a thing of the past.The money contributed on our behalf should be managed by us on an individual basis,with an approved option of mutual fund managers like Fidelity,Vanguard,T Rowe price,ect.

This would eliminate the Ponzi effect,corruption and save billions in fees.
 
so looking at the Notice of Insolvency - Ran some numbers -
We have 314 more retirees in 2014 than we did in 2000
Benefits paid out has increased by $ 20,801,117 ($20 million plus)
that equals a 44 year pension at $115 per credit at 13 payments per year of over $5000 per month .....
Want to bet not one of those 314 retirees get anywhere near $67,000 per year ?????????
 
for those of you on Facebook - New page for the group - 707 Pension forensic Audit - is another way to stay up on current events . Only those who have paid the $120 towards the audit will be allowed to join - keeps the rats out..........
 
just posted my opinion on the Federal Register site for Pension Law comments . Here it is ----------


It is a failure of the government at all levels to allow pension benefits that were paid for through employer contributions to be reduced .That the reduction allowed is a mere 10% above the PBGC guarantee will result in tens of thousands of retirees ,many of whom can no longer work , to become destitute .The American dream is nothing without the thought of having a safe and secure pension and retirement .
Why would you have $12,000 worth of insurance on a $37,375 plan . That is what the PBGC has done for years , and it has the stench of failure .And the retirees are downwind .
The law also fails on technical points as well as humanitarian levels .That employers,(who are represented on the Board of Trustees) of these very same Pension Funds are given the opportunity to have a drastically reduced withdrawal liability after 10 years of benefit reductions is wrong on every level . Those same corporations should be forced to pay increased contributions to provide the funds adequate funding levels .
The fact that that a surcharge on employer contributions is allowed under the Pension Plans Rehabilitation Plan is moot. Why ? In the case of my pension , Road Carriers 707 Pension (TAX ID # 51-6106510), the Board of Trustees applied to relieve the funds largest contributor (YRC) from the 5% and 10% surcharges listed in the Rehabilitation Plan ,and supposedly required under the law.The application was made to the Treasury Dept.and was approved , thereby guaranteeing the Funds insolvency , currently scheduled for 2/1/16 .
And to further point out the governments failures regarding this process, I see no penalties for failure to follow the guidelines regarding the notification process .Again , as it pertains to the 707 Pension , if I had not called the DOL-EBSA ,I would not have been made aware that the 707 Pension Plan application to the Treasury Dept. was rejected . Why ? Despite clear language that requires the plan to notify all participants that the application was submitted , the Plan Administrator chose not to do so . Why not ? No penalties to face seems an obvious answer .Congress did want the reduction process to be transparent to participants , but did not put any teeth into the law .
Furthermore , why would a plan that has been posting staggering losses not automatically trigger an audit ? Until a former Union President and Fund Trustee complained in 2013 that the 707 fund had not been audited since 1998 , the DOL , despite receiving a 10-99 annually pointing out huge losses , did nothing .And it the same DOL that allowed a Fund Trustee to become the Plan Administrator. Rome burned as Nero fiddled , and the government had the best seats in the house .
 
just posted my opinion on the Federal Register site for Pension Law comments . Here it is ----------


It is a failure of the government at all levels to allow pension benefits that were paid for through employer contributions to be reduced .That the reduction allowed is a mere 10% above the PBGC guarantee will result in tens of thousands of retirees ,many of whom can no longer work , to become destitute .The American dream is nothing without the thought of having a safe and secure pension and retirement .
Why would you have $12,000 worth of insurance on a $37,375 plan . That is what the PBGC has done for years , and it has the stench of failure .And the retirees are downwind .
The law also fails on technical points as well as humanitarian levels .That employers,(who are represented on the Board of Trustees) of these very same Pension Funds are given the opportunity to have a drastically reduced withdrawal liability after 10 years of benefit reductions is wrong on every level . Those same corporations should be forced to pay increased contributions to provide the funds adequate funding levels .
The fact that that a surcharge on employer contributions is allowed under the Pension Plans Rehabilitation Plan is moot. Why ? In the case of my pension , Road Carriers 707 Pension (TAX ID # 51-6106510), the Board of Trustees applied to relieve the funds largest contributor (YRC) from the 5% and 10% surcharges listed in the Rehabilitation Plan ,and supposedly required under the law.The application was made to the Treasury Dept.and was approved , thereby guaranteeing the Funds insolvency , currently scheduled for 2/1/16 .
And to further point out the governments failures regarding this process, I see no penalties for failure to follow the guidelines regarding the notification process .Again , as it pertains to the 707 Pension , if I had not called the DOL-EBSA ,I would not have been made aware that the 707 Pension Plan application to the Treasury Dept. was rejected . Why ? Despite clear language that requires the plan to notify all participants that the application was submitted , the Plan Administrator chose not to do so . Why not ? No penalties to face seems an obvious answer .Congress did want the reduction process to be transparent to participants , but did not put any teeth into the law .
Furthermore , why would a plan that has been posting staggering losses not automatically trigger an audit ? Until a former Union President and Fund Trustee complained in 2013 that the 707 fund had not been audited since 1998 , the DOL , despite receiving a 10-99 annually pointing out huge losses , did nothing .And it the same DOL that allowed a Fund Trustee to become the Plan Administrator. Rome burned as Nero fiddled , and the government had the best seats in the house .
I don't think the government should be involved at all. That is communism and not good for society. It is sad that people work their whole life and the money isn't there at the end but where does the government come in? They get involved with pensions then they have a right in managing the business like they did with the fall of the banks. That kills capitalism in my opinion. Again I'm not an expert on any of this but the government officials involved are doing it for the wrong reasons or they would have jumped in years ago. I would have never let UPS cash out as they would still be contributing to the cause to pay for the retirees.
 
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