Delphi retirees get pension restoration after 15-year underpayment

What it does

This bill restores full pension benefits to retirees of six Delphi Corporation pension plans who received reduced payments after the plans terminated. It requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to recalculate their guaranteed benefits to the full vested amount (removing statutory caps that had limited payouts), and to pay lump-sum settlements covering all past-due amounts plus 6% annual interest within 180 days. The bill funds these payments from the PBGC's existing general fund for basic benefits.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is to restore pension benefits to a specific group of retirees by removing statutory caps that had limited their guaranteed payouts. It is a targeted correction to prior benefit reductions, funded from existing PBGC reserves.

What the text implies

• The bill applies only to six named Delphi plans and explicitly excludes employees covered by 1999 GM-union top-up agreements, creating a two-tier outcome among Delphi retirees based on union status and transfer timing.
• Lump-sum payments are spread over 3 tax years to moderate the retirees' tax burden in any single year, but the 6% interest accrual may push some recipients into higher tax brackets.
• The PBGC's general fund (section 4005) finances the restoration; if the fund is already strained, this may reduce the PBGC's capacity to guarantee benefits in other failing plans.
• The bill does not address whether the restored benefits will be subject to future PBGC premium increases or whether the corporation's funding adequacy is affected long-term.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Delphi retirees receive restoration of pension benefits they earned and were promised, plus retroactive payments with interest for years of underpayment. The bill corrects a prior reduction in their retirement security without imposing costs on other citizens or workers.

Who stands to gain

• Delphi Corporation retirees (six named pension plans)
• Surviving spouses and beneficiaries of eligible Delphi participants

Named in the bill

Delphi Corporation, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), General Motors, Delphi Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan, Delphi Retirement Program for Salaried Employees, PHI Non-Bargaining Retirement Plan, ASEC Manufacturing Retirement Program, PHI Bargaining Retirement Plan, Delphi Mechatronic Systems Retirement Program, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Section 4022 (ERISA guaranteed benefits), Section 4005 (PBGC fund)

Where it stands

20 cosponsors: 13 Republicans, 7 Democrats.

• Mar 6, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 6, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $30,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Victoria Spartz, the sponsor, reported $117,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Ascensus, Inc. — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.