Salaried retirees from Delphi Corp. expected to testify

By Don Shilling

Salaried retirees from Delphi Corp. are expected to testify about their reduced pensions before a congressional subcommittee.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, said Friday that the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions has agreed to have a pension hearing in the next few weeks and include Delphi retirees.

It isn’t known yet who will testify.

Ryan said the hearing likely will take up broader pension issues, such as the solvency of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., but he expects the Delphi pensions to be a main issue.

“This is a terrific thing,” said Bruce Gump of Howland, who is a member of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association. “Congressman Ryan has worked hard for a hearing by this committee.”

Gump will testify Thursday at a Senate committee hearing on pensions. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is considering pension reform Thursday. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, is a member of that committee.

Ryan is a former member of the House subcommittee, but he said he has been pressuring current members to schedule a pension hearing.

He said he intends to use the testimony from the hearing to continue to raise awareness about Delphi retirees’ having their pensions trimmed.

“It’s a critical step for us to get this kind of attention. We need to keep hammering away,” he said.

Ryan said the goal is for Congress to find a way to restore the pensions of Delphi workers, but he added that such a measure will take time.

Salaried retirees are facing pension cuts of between 30 percent and 70 percent as their pensions are taken over by the PBGC, a federal agency that insures pensions.

The agency doesn’t cover supplemental pensions that were given to younger workers to encourage them to retire early. The supplemental pensions were to last until retirees were 62 and eligible for Social Security.

Delphi, the parent company of Warren-based Delphi Packard Electric, dropped its pension plan during a bankruptcy case.

Area residents who are hourly retirees from Delphi are hoping to avoid the pension cuts. General Motors, Delphi’s former parent, has agreed to make up the difference in pension benefits for the hourly retirees. The deal has yet to be approved by a bankruptcy court judge, however.

Delphi’s hourly and salaried retirees also had their health-care plans revised so that they are more expensive.

shilling@vindy.com