Susan Muffley Act of 2025
Key claim: The Susan Muffley Act of 2025 would require the PBGC to restore full vested monthly benefits to Delphi Corporation pension plan participants whose benefits were reduced when GM went bankrupt in 2009, including lump-sum back payments.
Abstract
(HR1357 · 119th Congress) Susan Muffley Act of 202 5 This bill restores the full vested monthly benefits for eligible participants of certain pension plans that were sponsored by Delphi Corporation and terminated as a result of General Motors’ bankruptcy in 2009. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) must recalculate and adjust each plan participant’s monthly benefits payment. The PBGC must also apply the recalculation to previously-made monthly payments and make a lump-sum payment for any additional benefits based on the recalculation. The bill establishes and provides appropriations to a fund for the payment of these benefits and specifies how the lump-sum payments are treated for tax purposes. Latest action (2025-02-13): Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Why this matters
The bill sits at the intersection of pension policy and tax administration: restoring full vested Delphi benefits with lump-sum back payments would generate significant retroactive taxable distributions reportable on Form 1099-R, raising questions about income-bunching, withholding, and potential relief mechanisms for affected retirees. It is a narrow, retiree-favorable remedy that shifts costs onto the PBGC/federal government rather than a systemic change to tax law.