The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide the scope of federal liability for pension plans in a case that could affect countless tax dollars and the retirement security of millions of workers.
The court will hear arguments this term in the case brought by the Pensions Benefit Guaranty Corp. seeking review of lower court rulings that held the government corporation liable for three pension plans of the LTV Corp.The PBGC, created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, guarantees pension plans much like the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. used to guarantee thrift deposits. Companies whose pension plans are covered by the PBGC pay fees that can be used to cover losses in pension plans.
In seeking high court review, the PBGC warned that if the lower court decisions on its liability for LTV pensions are allowed to stand, they "could have a crippling impact on the pension insurance program."
"The result will be a fundamental transformation of the PBGC's role and a dramatic increase in the PBGC's liabilities that could lead to a financial crisis similar to" the one that ravaged the FSLIC, the PBGC said.
Congress recently abolished the FSLIC as part of the overall savings and loan bailout plan.
James B. Lockhart, executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., said in response to the court's action that "this is an important case for the pension insurance fund and the people we protect. We are pleased that the Supreme Court will review it."
But he noted, "This is just one more step in the judicial process, and the bottom line will not be written for several months."
At issue in the pension case is whether companies facing financial difficulty can turn their pension plans over to the PBGC and later make up any benefits employees may have lost without taking back financial responsibility for the plan. Such arrangements are called follow-on plans.
In 1986, LTV, facing plant shutdowns and Chapter 11 bankruptcy, turned the pension plans that were underfunded by $2.1 billion over to the PBGC.
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Other court action
-The Supreme Court on Monday let stand decisions in two child abuse cases that give young victims wide protection from the strain and fear that often comes with testifying in open court. The court refused to hear cases from Connecticut and Georgia allowing children to testify by videotape and to allow hearsay evidence.
-Refused to review the conviction of a Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. executive who tried to pass off a sugary mix of apple-flavored drink for pure apple juice and delivered it to supermarkets.
-Declined to disturb a lower court ruling that banned a Nebraska mental retardation agency from requiring employees to submit to tests for the AIDS and hepatitis viruses.
-Refused a plea from James Earl Ray, the assassin of the Rev. Martin Luther King, to reopen his case based on a claim that new evidence has been discovered.
-Agreed to decide whether the Port Authority Trans Hudson Corp. of New York and New Jersey is immune from suit in federal court by employees injured on the job.