Pensions of 1.5M need fi x by new panel

WASHINGTON — Butch Lewis was one year into retirement when he received a letter that might have marked the beginning of the end of his life.

The multi-employer plan that held his pension, Central States, had run into trouble and was desperately short of money. It had presented a plan to the U.S. Treasury that would slash benefits. Lewis’ were to be cut from $3,348.82 a month to $1,998.65.

Lewis, a retired truck driver from West Chester, near Cincinnati, and the retired head of Teamsters Local 100, lost sleep and fretted constantly about the cuts he and his fellow Teamsters faced. The stress took a toll: On New Year’s Eve 2015, he died of a massive stroke. He was 64.

Central States is no anomaly: Some 10 million workers are served by 1,400 multi-employer plans, but 150 to 200 plans, covering 1.5 million workers and retirees, could run out of money in the next 20 years, according to the Pension Rights Center.

Now, after years of fighting, countless trips to Washington, and even more hours of stress, Lewis’ wife, Rita, and the other Teamsters have put their hope in 16 yet-to-benamed members of Congress who could hold the key to rescuing those 1.5 million workers and retirees at risk of losing the money they had put