PBGC Grants SFA Money to Third Teamsters Pension in Two Weeks

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced Thursday that it will provide $54.1 million to Cresskill, New Jersey-based Teamsters Local Union 966 Health Fund Pension Plan, which covers 2,356 participants in the transportation industry.

The pension was expected to run out of money in 2023, at which point it would have been turned over to administration by the PBGC, and participants would have received approximately 10% of the benefits they had expected to receive.

There have been three assistance packages for affiliates of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced by the PBGC between November 18 and December 1, totaling more than $1 billion dollars.

The SFA provision of the American Rescue Plan Act allows for PBGC funding for severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans. Funds that receive assistance must monitor the interest resulting from the grant money as separate from other sources of funding. The PBGC also only accepts investment-grade bonds as an investment for the funds it provides.

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The pension administrators did not return a request for comment.

Tags: PBGC, Teamsters, United States Department of Labor (DOL)

Shawn Wooden, outgoing treasurer of Connecticut, was named partner and chief public pension strategist at Apollo Global Management’s institutional client and product solutions group.

Outgoing Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden is scheduled to join Apollo Global Management in January in the newly created role of chief public pension strategist.

As state treasurer, Wooden is the principal fiduciary overseeing Connecticut’s $45 billion retirement and trust funds. He had announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection and would leave office in January 2023. Erick Russell was elected as the next treasurer and is scheduled to take office on January 4.

At Apollo, Wooden will be responsible for strengthening the firm’s relationship with public pension funds, expanding product offerings and providing thought leadership within the market.

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Apollo is a global alternative asset manager with $523 billion of assets under management as of September 20. The company also owns retirement services business Athene.

Apollo manages $125 million of the state’s funds in commitments that were made in 2013 and 2017, respectively, prior to Wooden taking office in 2019. Wooden will have to seek advocation from the state office should Apollo and the state of Connecticut seek to do future business together.

“At Apollo, we have built out an entire ecosystem around empowering retirees, and public pension funds have long been and will continue to be among our most valued partners,” said Scott Kleinman, Apollo co-president, in a press release announcing Wooden’s hire. “We believe Shawn’s deep private- and public-sector experience, along with his extensive relationship network, will allow Apollo to offer tailored, aligned investment solutions to these leading institutions.”

In addition to serving as Connecticut treasurer, Wooden has served as president of the National Association of State Treasurers in 2022.

Prior to serving as state treasurer, Wooden spent 21 years as an investment attorney, with a specialty in public pension plans.