Dive Brief:

• The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said in a fiscal year-end report last week that multi-employer pension plans ran an $8.3 billion deficit last year and that annual shortfalls could increase to $49.6 billion in the next 10 years.
• Multi-employer plans are important in construction as well as other industries, and a coalition of unions and industry groups is pointing to the new report as evidence in its ongoing push for Congress to find ways to repair and shore up the program.
• Last year, the coalition -- which includes Bechtel, the National Electrical Contractors Association and Associated General Contractors -- came up with a list of proposed changes to stop the money drain, but there has been no action in the House or Senate yet.

Dive Insight:

The coalition members said they suspect the pension issues may be left for a lame-duck Congress to address after the elections, leaving less than two months before the whole pension-protection system expires at year's end. Jim Young, who works in congressional relations for AGC, said that is somewhat risky because the coalition's goal is reform, not rushed extension of the same system.