Comments made by Retiree Representative to the Treasury Dept.

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Susan Mauren uploaded this letter to the Treasury Dept. website comments on MEPRA, instead of addressing the injustice of bad investments made by government imposed Wall St. banks she feels we need a tax break if the cuts go through.


Susan Mauren
Retiree Representative to the Central States Pension Fund
P.O. Box 15670, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Email: [email protected]

Filed electronically at www.regulations.gov and by mail at:

The Honorable Jacob J. Lew, Secretary of the Treasury
Attn: Deva Kyle
Department of the Treasury, MPRA Office
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Room 1224
Washington, DC 20220

October 27, 2015

Re: Retiree Representative’s First Comment On The Central States Pension Fund Suspension Application

Dear Mr. Secretary:
I am the retiree representative appointed under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (“MPRA”) by the Central States Pension Fund. I am also a 34 year Teamster, and a Central States pensioner. On behalf of over 300,000 retired and inactive individuals whose pensions will be cut under MPRA, I ask you to exercise your authority under MPRA Section 201(b)(7) to grant Central States retirees tax relief to mitigate the burden MPRA will impose on them.

Under long-accepted principles of income tax policy, investment losses are applied against gains to lessen an individual’s income tax liability. Central States participants whose benefits are reduced under MPRA will be in a position analogous to that of an investor that experiences an investment loss. However, Central States participants are unlike a typical investor, in that they reasonably believed their pensions were protected by law. For forty years, pension promises were sacrosanct. When MPRA abruptly brought that era to an end, it put Central States participants in a unique position, warranting unique treatment.

An appropriate remedy for the losses Central States participants will experience due to MPRA is an advanceable refundable tax credit equal to the amount by which each participant’s benefit is reduced under MPRA. The tax credit could and should be administered in the same manner as the premium tax credit under Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code. Such a tax credit would address the burden imposed on vulnerable retirees by benefit reductions under MPRA.

MPRA is unprecedented, and no existing tax policy provides adequate redress. On behalf of hundreds of thousands of my fellow retirees, I hope you will carefully consider my proposal. If I can assist in any way, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Susan Mauren
Retiree Representative
 
I would like to see Central States go after the Wall Street bankers that squandered our money. Bart cited several examples of settlements made between these bankers and investors. What is stopping them from pursuing this ?

And if PBGC cannot cover CS if they were to go bankrupt why is CS forced to buy their worthless insurance to the tune of 10+ million/ year ?
 
And if PBGC cannot cover CS if they were to go bankrupt why is CS forced to buy their worthless insurance to the tune of 10+ million/ year ?
Just keep one thing in mind...in the midst of this pile of garbage that stinks to high heaven...the benefits being paid through this plan are MORE THAN they would be should the PBGC take over. I know it's not much comfort but it is true.
 
Just keep one thing in mind...in the midst of this pile of garbage that stinks to high heaven...the benefits being paid through this plan are MORE THAN they would be should the PBGC take over. I know it's not much comfort but it is true.

I realize they are a pittance over what PBGC would pay, at least my projections are, less than $100 a month. And I realize the rats in government will not bail PBGC out when they go bankrupt just because they are disgusting rats.

What guarantee is there though that this supposed "once and for all fix" of CSPF is just that ? We have been lied to repeatedly by the fund and benefits cut due to BS "Perfect Storms" and every other pile of garbage they dream up. IMO there is no guarantee there will not be another crisis in the future they can handily take advantage of to steal some more of our pension money. Laws can be rewritten to anybody's advantage if you lay enough cash out, look no further than MEPRA and the players involved in it.

That is why I believe the bankers and CSPF hierarchy need to be flushed out and get them singing, let's see what else they can cough up besides this piece of trash they have thrown at us.
 
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