Time is running out for a decision from the U.S. Department of the Treasury on the future of the Central States Pension Fund.
WATCH: 41 Action News reporter Dia Wall explains the Central States Pension Fund in the video below.
Here's how it happened.
- Sept. 25, 2015: The CSPF applied for a rescue plan under the Kline-Miller Multi-employer Pension Reform Act of 2014. The law was attached to the 2014 budget, and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II told 41 Action News most lawmakers didn't have a chance to fully read it. The MPRA is a last resort for a pension fund after it has met several action requirements from the Treasury Department.
- Oct. 1, 2015: CSPF plan members were mailed a letter outlining how much their benefits would be cut if the rescue plan is approved. Retirees 80 and older would not see a cut, those 75 to 79 would have a smaller reduction and the rest would lose up to 60 percent of their pension.
- May 7, 2016: Deadline for a decision from the Treasury Department. If it's approved, the measure would go to a vote of the fund members and would need a two-thirds majority. No matter what, Ken Feinberg with the Treasury Department has to make the final call.
If it's approved, the cuts will start July 1.
Cleaver wrote, "Like the thousands of retirees who are facing extreme pay cuts, we are awaiting the decision from the Treasury Department. In the meantime, I have sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking for an investigation into the Central States Pension Fund to determine if there was any mismanagement of funds that led to today's insolvency."
Dave Scheidt, who heads up the Missouri-Kansas City Committee to Protect Pensions, said if this plan is approved, "We are going to be unleasing some lawsuits. We feel that the MPRA is an unconstitutional law."
We asked Tom Schwarzenberger, after 25 years with UPS, just how much he contributed to his pension with Central States. "This is terrible to say, but I'm not completely sure and I guess the reason for that is that we took them in complete faith. We figured it was there and I think quite honestly most of us were that way," Schwarzenberger said.
Now he's part of the fight to keep his benefits and the benefits of other plan members from being chopped down, while warning others before they hit retirement. "Especially to our young people, save back your money now. Take 10 to 15 percent, save it back, you've got to because there's no guarantees right now."
It's a sentiment that Scheidt agrees with, like the other Teamsters in Kansas City.
"Everybody is waiting, kind of on edge. People are just worried. They kind of what to know what the future is going to hold for them," he said.
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Dia Wall can be reached at dia.wall@kshb.com.
