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Benefits June 9, 2015
Washington Post Agrees to Not Transfer Pension
The Washington Post is moving away from both its traditional DB plan and cash balance plan, and has agreed not to transfer pension liabilities to an insurance company.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The Washington Post and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild have reached a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract.
According to the Guild, the Post declined to improve the pension formula for the cash balance pension plan and insisted on closing this plan to new employees. The newspaper will also freeze its traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plan as of August 31.
The Post also offered to credit employees’ cash balance pensions for half a year retroactive to July 1.
According to the Guild, the newspaper agreed not to sell the DB plan’s liabilities to an insurance company—an action several big-name companies have already taken. Some in the industry have wondered whether participants’ benefits are more or less secure after the move to an insurer.
Interestingly, the Guild also said the Post backed off a proposal to have the right to cease offering health care insurance for everyone.
More information about the tentative agreement is here.