Fund Info

2024 Annual Funding Notice Mailing

The Trust Fund Office recently mailed out the Automotive Industries Pension Plan’s Annual Funding Notice (AFN) for the 2024 Plan Year. This notice provides information on the Plan’s funding levels and other information about the Pension Plan. The mailing is required by law and is sent on or around the last week of April to all active, retired and terminated vested participants in the Pension Plan. The AFN will show that the Plan is listed as being 42.7% funded for the 2024 Plan Year.

That 42.7% reported on the AFN does not include the $1 Billion in assets received by the Plan under the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program. It is just based on the “legacy” assets held by the Plan. Rest assured that the Plan has sufficient funding that will allow it to remain solvent and pay benefits to all plan participants through 2053 or longer.

As advised last year, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law on March 11, 2021. Among other things, ARPA provided various forms of funding relief for multi-employer pension plans. Most notably, ARPA established a new program under which the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) provided severely distressed multiemployer plans with SFA in order to keep them solvent. The Board of Trustees had filed for SFA in 2023 and the Pension Fund received $1,081,455,840 on August 21, 2023, from the PBGC.

If you want to learn more about the SFA program and how it was applied to the Automotive Industries Pension Plan, please visit the PBGC website at www.pbgc.gov/arp-sfa.

Why the Trust Fund is Mailing HRA Debit Card Confirmation Letters

If you utilize an HRA Debit Card with your medical benefits, you have probably received a letter from the Trust Fund office asking for additional information on services that were charged to the card. The question most asked about these letters is, “Do I really have to send the information requested into the Fund Office?

Yes. You do. The letter is known as a “substantiation letter” and it is being sent by the Trust Fund Office because the IRS requires the Welfare Plan to verify that all charges and purchases made using the HRA card were for an eligible medical expense (as defined by the IRS). Substantiation letters are not generated for all card transactions. They are usually generated when the amount that is paid through the card does not match the plan information. Information that is being confirmed is:

• Service Date or Purchase Date
• Description of Service/Item Purchase
• Name of Provider/Merchant
• Claim Amount

As a participant in the Plan, you are required to complete the substantiation letter and provide documents that will confirm the information required by the IRA. In most cases, the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from the medical provider or HMO will be sufficient information to fulfill the substantiation letter requirements. If you have any questions about the letters or what documentation needs to be provided, please call the Trust Office.

Reminder: Pension Plan Searching for Former Participants

The Automotive Industries Pension Plan currently has about 2,000 participants who are entitled to receive a pension payment under the
plan but have not made an application for their money. If you know someone who used to work in the industry during the 1970s or 1980s, is over age 65, and is not receiving a pension payment from the Trust Fund, they could be missing out on a monthly payment from the plan. Have them contact the Trust Fund Office at 800-635-3105 for a review of their work history to see if they are eligible.