A Troubling Expansion of Successor Liability. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (“MPPAA”), an employer that has assumed an obligation to contribute to and subsequently withdraws from a collectively-bargained and jointly-administered defended benefit pension plan (a “multiemployer plan”) is liable for its allocable share of any underfunding. This “withdrawal liability” has become a significant issue since 2008, due to the economic and investment impact of the recession, historically low interest rates, declining plan participation, and an increase in the number of retirees, among other things.
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