Salaried GM retirees hit with 'grueling' pension changes 

Salaried GM retirees hit with 'grueling' pension changes

JANESVILLE, Jun 21, 2012 (Menafn - The Janesville Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Several hundred salaried General Motors' retirees and spouses with ties to the assembly plant in Janesville are facing pension plan changes that one local investment adviser says will be "grueling."

A GM retirement group, however, is even more dramatic in its assessment of the changes, saying the automaker is "throwing its retirees under the bus and renouncing its promises to its most loyal former employees."

Earlier this month, GM said it would offer about 42,000 of its 118,000 U.S. salaried retirees a lump-sum buyout on their pension plans.

GM will buy a group annuity contract from Prudential Insurance, which will pay and administer future benefit payments to the remaining retirees.

The automaker expects to complete the transactions -- expected to reduce its pension obligation by 26 billion -- by the end of the year.

"These actions represent a major step toward our objective of de-risking our pension plans and will further strengthen our balance sheet and give us more financial flexibility going forward," said Dan Ammann, GM's senior vice president and chief financial officer.

The changes do not affect retirees' eligibility for post-retirement health care, life insurance and vehicle discounts.

For a full story, read Thursday's Gazette, read online in the Gazette's E-Edition or check back at GazetteXtra.com.

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