Area lawmakers continue push for bill to restore pensions to Delphi retirees

WASHINGTON D.C. — Dayton Congressman Mike Turner and other House members sent a letter to House leadership Thursday requesting the House and Senate include the Susan Muffley Act in end of year legislation.

The letter was also signed by Ohio Representative Bill Johnson, Indiana Representative Victoria Spartz and two other members of Congress, according a spokesperson for Representative Turner’s office.

>>RELATED: Delphi retirees still waiting to regain lost pensions

“With only one month left in the 117th Congress, passing the Susan Muffley Act must be a high priority,” the letter said. “After 13 years of working to fix this injustice, Delphi Salaried Retirees should not have to start over again next Congress. It is imperative that the Senate finally pass the Susan Muffley Act and that President Biden signs the bill into law.”

The Susan Muffley Act, which was first introduced in March 2022, would restore the full vested monthly benefits the non-union Delphi Corporation retirees. It passed the House in July but remains in the Senate.

“This legislation would remedy this injustice by restoring Delphi Salaried Retiree pension payments to their full value and providing the Delphi Salaried Retirees with backpay for their missed benefits, with interest,” the letter said. “Congress must not remain silent in the face of the thousands of retirees devastated by this injustice.”

>>RELATED: House passes bill to restore pensions for Delphi retirees 13 years after GM bankruptcy

At least 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost portions of their retirement benefits in the aftermath of the General Motors bailout in 2009, Turner’s office said.

Bruce Gump, the chairman of the Delphi Salaried Retirement Association (DSRA), told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell in July non-union workers lost their pensions when General Motors declared bankruptcy in 2008-09. The government bailed the company out in 40 days, but agreed only to fund one group’s pensions.

Retirees, including 2,000 in the Dayton area, have spent 13 years fighting this battle.

Tom Rose, a Delphi retiree living in Springboro, told News Center 7′s James Brown back in August retirees like him have waited 13 years to get back their lost pensions.

“We are really quite optimistic,” Rose said. “We had 36 Republicans and most Democrats vote to pass this bill in the House, and it also has bipartisan support in the Senate.”

He told Brown he lost about 40% of his pension but other people lost as much as 70%.

©2022 Cox Media Group