Federal Pension Agency to Take Over LTV Plans

The government’s pension insurance program, in its largest pension takeover ever, is assuming control of three underfunded retirement plans covering 82,000 workers and retirees of steel company LTV Corp.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said Friday that the plans were underfunded by about $2.2billion, with combined assets of nearly $2.2billion and benefit liabilities of $4.4billion.

The PBGC is guaranteeing the basic pension benefits of participants in the three plans. Retirees will continue to receive monthly checks, and the benefits of other employees will be held until they reach retirement age.

LTV, once the nation’s third-largest steel company, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors in December 2000 and is being liquidated.

The three plans terminate Sunday. The largest plan, the LTV Steel Hourly Pension Plan, covers about 65,000 participants and is underfunded by nearly $1.8 billion. The LTV Steel Salaried Defined Benefit Retirement Plan has more than 14,000 participants and is underfunded by about $316 million. The LTV Steel Mining Co. Pension Plan, with about 3,500 participants, is underfunded by about $70 million.

Separately, the PBGC is preparing to take over the LTV Railroads Pension Plan covering nearly 700 participants and underfunded by nearly $2 million.

Not affected are the pension plans of LTV subsidiary LTV Copperweld & VP Buildings.