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November 20, 2019
Health and Pension Benefits for United Mine Workers of
America Retirees: Recent Legislation
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is a labor
participant contributions, and (3) two sources of federal
union that primarily represents coal mine workers. Eligible
financial assistance: interest transferred from the
UMWA members receive postretirement health and pension
Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and supplemental
benefits from one of three multiemployer health benefit
payments from the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. An
plans and one multiemployer pension plan. A
annual cap of $490 million per fiscal year applies on
multiemployer plan is sponsored by more than one
transfers from the General Fund. The cap on General Fund
employer and is maintained as part of a collective
transfers includes grants to certain states and tribes that
bargaining agreement. Legislation in the 116th Congress
have reclaimed certain of their abandoned coal mining sites.
would expand the eligibility for retiree health plans to
receive federal transfers and authorize federal transfers to
In recent years, a number of coal operators have had their
the UWMA pension plan.
obligations to fund retiree health benefits discharged in
bankruptcy proceedings. Without a reliable source of funds,
UMWA Retiree Health Plans
retirees’ health benefits would be at risk. In 2016, Congress
The three multiemployer retiree health plans for UMWA
amended the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
members are (1) the Combined Benefit Fund (CBF), (2) the
of 1977 (SMCRA; P.L. 95-85) to authorize the transfer of
UMWA 1992 Health Benefit Plan (1992 Plan), and (3) the
federal funds to the 1993 Plan through April 30, 2017, for
UMWA 1993 Health Benefit Plan (1993 Plan). Table 1
retirees who would have lost health benefits as a result of
summarizes information about the health plans in the 2017
bankruptcies in either 2012 or 2015 (P.L. 114-254). In
plan year (the most recent information available).
2017, Congress further amended SMCRA in P.L. 115-31 to
permanently authorize the annual transfer of funds to the
Table 1. UMWA Retiree Health Plans
1993 Plan for those retirees.
2017 Plan Year
Coal operator bankruptcies in 2018 (such as Westmoreland
Combined
Coal and Mission Coal) and 2019 (such as Murray Energy)
Benefit
1992
1993
could result in additional retirees losing their health benefits
2017 Plan Year
Fund
Plan
Plan
depending on the outcome of bankruptcy proceedings.
Participants
6,460
4,903
22,981
UMWA Pension Benefits
Benefits Paid (mil ions)
$66.9
$54.8
$301.5
Eligible retired UMWA mine workers receive pension
benefits from the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan and Trust
Number of Employers
42
80
15
(1974 Pension Plan). The 1974 Pension Plan is a
Obligated to
multiemployer defined benefit (DB) pension plan. In
Contribute
multiemployer DB plans, participants typically receive a
Employer
$14.2
$10.5
$114.3
monthly payment in retirement that is based on a formula
Contributions (mil ions)
that uses the participant’s length of service and a benefit
rate. For example, the monthly benefit in retirement might
Participant
$4,542
$9,680
$31,446
be $40 per year of service. An individual with 30 years of
Contributions
service would receive a monthly benefit of $40 x 30 =
Federal Financial
$57.6
$47.0
$151.7
$1,200 per month, or $14,400 per year.
Assistance (mil ions)
Multiemployer pension plans pool risk to minimize
Source: CRS analysis of the plans’ Form 5500, available via search on
financial strain if one or more employers withdraw from the
the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) webpage, at
plan. However, in recent years, an increasing number of
https://www.efast.dol.gov/portal/app/disseminate?execution=e1s1.
employers have left multiemployer pension plans, either
Note: Data are for the 2017 plan year, which ran from January 1,
voluntarily or due to employer bankruptcy. As a result of a
2017, to December 31, 2017, for the 1992 and 1993 Plans and from
decline in 1974 Pension Plan assets in 2008 and employer
October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018, for the Combined Benefit
withdrawals from the plan, there are insufficient funds from
Fund.
which to pay all the benefits promised to participants. The
1974 Pension Plan’s trustees estimate that it will become
The retiree health plans are funded by (1) premiums paid by
insolvent in 2022, though some are concerned that the
an assigned operator, which is a plan participant’s former
recent bankruptcy of Murray Energy, the largest contributor
employer or another responsible party if ownership of the
to the 1974 Pension Plan, could advance that date. Table 2
former employer has changed, (2) a small amount of
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Health and Pension Benefits for United Mine Workers of America Retirees: Recent Legislation
summarizes information about the 1974 Pension Plan in the
When a multiemployer DB pension plan becomes insolvent
2017 plan year (the most recent information available).
and is unable to continue to pay participants their promised
benefits, PBGC provides financial assistance in the form of
Table 2. UMWA 1974 Pension Plan and Trust
loans (which are not expected to be repaid) to
2017 Plan Year
multiemployer DB plans.
1974 Pension Plan
PBGC does not receive taxpayer funding. Pension plans
pay premiums to PBGC, which were $292 million in
Active Participants
3,857
FY2018. PBGC paid $153 million in financial assistance to
Retired Participants and Beneficiaries
78 multiemployer plans in FY2018. PBGC expects the
86,240
Receiving Payments
funds in its multiemployer insurance program to be
exhausted by the end of FY2025. If PBGC becomes
Terminated Vested Participants
6,227
insolvent, no provisions in law provide U.S. Treasury
assistance. ERISA, referring to PBGC, states that “
Number of Employers Obligated to
the
40
Contribute to Plan
United States is not liable for any obligation or liability
incurred by the corporation.” (See 29 U.S.C. §1302(g)(2).)
Benefit Payments
$613.8 mil ion
From July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018, the UMWA
Employer Contributions
$30.1 mil ion
1974 Pension Plan paid $613.8 million in benefits to plan
Plan Assets (Current Value)
$2,780.0 mil ion
participants, had about $3.0 billion in assets, and received
$30.1 million in employer contributions. The 1974 Pension
Plan Assets (Actuarial Value)
$3,025.6 mil ion
Plan’s insolvency would likely result in PBGC’s
Plan Liabilities (Under Immediate Gain
insolvency. The annual financial assistance required for the
$6,541.8 mil ion
and Unit Cost Methods)
1974 Pension Plan would likely be several times greater
than the annual financial assistance PBGC currently
Plan Liabilities (Under “RPA ‘94”
$9,285.5 mil ion
provides to multiemployer plans and its current premium
Method)
revenue. The exact amount of financial assistance needed
Plan Underfunding (Assets - Liabilities)
would depend on a number of factors, including the total
Using Actuarial Values of Assets and
$3,516.2 mil ion
amount of benefit reductions for participants who receive
Immediate Gain Value of Liabilities
benefits greater than a maximum PBGC guarantee.
Funding Ratio (Assets/Liabilities) Using
46.3%
116th Congress Efforts to Provide Federal
Actuarial Values of Assets and Liabilities
Financial Assistance to UMWA Plans
Plan Underfunding (Assets - Liabilities)
In the 116th Congress, several bills (H.R. 934, H.R. 935, S.
$6,505.5
Using Current Value of Assets and RPA
27, S. 671, S. 2788) contain provisions that would
mil ion
’94 Liabilities
increase transfers from the General Fund to the 1993
Funding Ratio (Assets/Liabilities) Using
Plan to cover retirees who lose health benefits as a result
Current Value of Assets and RPA ’94
29.9%
of a coal industry bankruptcy in 2018 or 2019, and/or
Liabilities
Number of Participants on Whose
increase the cap on transfers from the General Fund
84,900
Behalf No Contributions Were Made
from $490 million to $750 million and authorize the
transfer of funds to the 1974 Pension Plan. The amount
Source: CRS analysis of the plan’s Form 5500, available via search on
transferred would be the amount remaining within the
the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) webpage, at
annual cap after funds are first transferred from the
https://www.efast.dol.gov/portal/app/disseminate?execution=e1s1.
General Fund to three UMWA multiemployer health
Notes: The 1974 plan year ran from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.
plans and to certified states and tribes.
Pension plans are required to calculate the values of plan assets and
plan liabilities using several methods. Specifical y, the RPA ’94
For More Information
measure of plan liabilities uses a lower discount rate to calculate the
For more information, see CRS In Focus IF11352, The
present value of future benefit obligations.
Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund: Issues and Legislation
in the 116th Congress; and UMWA Health and Retirement
Role of the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Funds, Health and Medical Benefits,
Corporation
http://www.umwafunds.org/Health-Medical-Benefits/
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a
Pages/default.aspx.
federal government agency created by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA; P.L. 93-
John J. Topoleski, Specialist in Income Security
406) to protect the benefits of participants in private-sector
DB pension plans. There are separate insurance programs
IF11370
for single-employer and multiemployer pension plans.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Health and Pension Benefits for United Mine Workers of America Retirees: Recent Legislation
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11370 · VERSION 1 · NEW