'Omnibus' spending bill leads to pension cut

AARP is asking that you check your pension plan after the so-called "omnibus" spending bill was signed into law last week. That's because the $1.1 trillion plan that was passed to prevent another government shutdown could mean some big changes: Roughly 100,000 New Yorkers could see their monthly checks slashed by more than 65 percent. "There was no opportunity to debate this provision. There was no opportunity to have hearings or hear from those who were going to be affected," AARP New York spokesperson Erik Kriss. Kriss says the cuts would be made to multi-employer pensions. "That's for the employee who worked for more than one employer. So as you can imagine a lot of union workers wind up working for different contractors over the course of a year," Kriss said. "It's not the typical employee who works for the same company for many, many years." The plans affected are ones the Federal Department of Labor has already said are running out of money. AARP says these pensions could be cut by as much as two thirds. That means the average monthly pension of about $558 would be slashed down to less than $200 dollars and the average yearly retirement income of $22,500 would be cut down to just under $18,000. "That's over a 20 percent cut. And $22,500 is not a lot to live on these days in the first place. It's a very modest retirement income. To cut 20 percent off of that, people are going to be struggling," Kriss said. Kriss says what's done is done but he's concerned that the affects of this legislation could lead to a slippery slope. "Our concern is that now that there is a precedent for being able to go in and reduce benefits of earned guaranteed pensions with this group, who's to say it won't happen with another group?" Kriss said. The people affected by these cuts are not state workers and not union members who worked for the same company for years and years. The people who may need to be concerned are union members who had several employers in the private sector. If you think you may be affected officials suggest to check with your pension plan.