congress to consider construction worker retirement plan

A move to offer increased retirement options and benefits to construction workers has been introduced in Congress.

Representatives Phil Roe of Tennessee and Donald Norcross of New Jersey say the Giving Retirement Options to Workers Act of 2018 will safeguard the current multi-employer pension plan system.

The legislation will do so through the authorization of a new kind of retirement option that will combine features of existing benefit programs.

As proposed, the bill would allow for the creation of a multi-prong approach combining existing retirement plans with 401 K-type defined contribution plans that both employers and employees would contribute to.

Construction workers may have various contracts with various employers through the years. But while companies combine their resources for those retirement plans, the advent of fewer companies puts a strain on employers.

Roe says the GROW Act will allow employers to negotiate a fixed contribution rate in a move to replace a multi-employer pension system that he characterizes as “irreparably broken.”

The measure has won the support of the Associated General Contractors of America.

“Offering employers more attractive multi-employer retirement options like the kind permitted in this proposal will bring stable, sustainable, and comfortable retirement benefits to many more employees than the current system supports,” Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

By Garry Boulard