Chief Operating Officer Ronald Bryant said he assured employees that their benefits will not suffer under the transfer.
WESTFIELD – Noble Hospital will no longer finance its employee pension plan and has referred the frozen benefit package to the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. to maintain workers’ benefits.
Chief Operating Officer Ronald P. Bryant said he assured employees Monday that their benefits will not suffer under the transfer and that “this has become common for small hospitals.
“Health care is being squeezed from all sides and now Noble is finding it difficult to keep up with the (pension) fund,” he said. “The hospital has decided to terminate it and turn it over to PBGC.”
The hospital has an estimated 435 full-time employees. Bryant was unable to provide an estimate on the number of employees covered by the pension package.
“The plan has been frozen but there will be no decrease in benefits to our employees who are eligible for benefits under it. Everything will continue in full. This just allows us to get out of the liability,” Bryant said.
Notices were given to employees on Monday and three forums for workers, to explain the transfer, are scheduled for Tuesday.
“Employees should take the time to attend one of the forums,” he said.NobleHospitalPensionLetter
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. is a federal agency created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to protect pension benefits in the private sector, according to its website: www.pbgc.gov.
Currently the PBGC pays monthly retirement benefits to nearly 801,000 retirees and is responsible for pensions to about 1.5 million current and future retirees, according to that website.