History of the Fund

History of the Fund

The National Pension Fund (NPF) was started in May 1966. The first local union began participation in January 1967.  Also in 1967, the first local union pension fund merged into the NPF.

During the early years mergers accounted for significant growth for the NPF.  In all, 37 local pension funds have merged into the NPF to date.  Review a listing of local union pension funds that have merged with the NPF. Merged Pension Funds

Over the years, the Fund has confronted a number of challenges to its funding status as a result of the merger of several underfunded pension plans, benefit structures, poorly performing investments, troubled financial markets, and changes in federal law. 

Since 2003, the Trustees have implemented a number of significant changes to contributions and benefit structures to improve funding.  Unfortunately, since 2000 the Fund has had to confront two extraordinary crises in financial markets.  In 2008, the Fund implemented a Rehabilitation Plan as required under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.  This federal law allows underfunded pension funds to make significant changes to its Plan of benefits to help improve its funding position

In 2014, the NPF emerged from Critical Status (red zone) and into Endangered Status (yellow zone) and has continued to be certified in that zone each year since 2014.  When the Fund entered the yellow zone, a Funding Improvement Plan (FIP) was adopted and has been periodically updated since its inception.  The FIP calls for contribution increases in some years depending upon the schedule elected by the bargaining parties.  The FIP was designed to bring the funding percentage to around 75% by the end of the Funding Improvement period which ends in 2026.  The NPF has made scheduled progress towards this target each year.