The VEBA is open to salaried and hourly retirees between 55 and 65 who worked for auto parts manufacturers headquartered in, or remaining in, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, and who have had their pensions transferred to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp (PBGC).
“Tens of thousands” of Ohio retirees could benefit from the new VEBA, estimated Cathy Cone, owner of Houston, Texas-based Cone Insurance, which specializes in the Health Care Tax Credit, a federal subsidy for retirees who have lost their pensions to the PBGC.
Retirees of Delphi, Allis-Chalmers, Amcast, Collins & Aikman, Haynes-Lemmerz International and dozens of other companies would be eligible, according to San Francisco law firm Farella Braun & Martel.
Amcast Industrial Corp. was based in Washington Twp. until the business sought bankruptcy protection. It turned its pension obligations to the PBGC in 2005.
In 2009, then-bankrupt Delphi ended health and life insurance benefits for salaried retirees and turned its pension obligations over to the PBGC. Hourly, union-represented retirees from Delphi saw their health benefits cut, but their pensions remained whole.
Health coverage will be rolled out Jan. 1.
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