Welcome to the reboot of The Bell Effect, a podcast dedicated to the generations of workers who helped build this country’s great communications infrastructure. In this episode, we will hear from leaders of the Association of BellTel Retirees about the fallout from Verizon’s massive 2024 pension risk transfer deal, a $5.9 billion transaction that offloaded the pensions of 56,000 retirees to Prudential Insurance Co. of America and Reinsurance Group of America Inc. 

Don Kaufmann, Board Secretary of the Association of BellTel Retirees, provides a brief refresher course on the issue, followed by legal analysis from Edward Stone, General Counsel of the Association of BellTel Retirees. We will learn about who was affected by this pension-stripping deal, the questionable motives of the corporate players involved, and where things currently stand with litigation against Verizon and its partner in the deal, State Street Global Advisors.

The Association of BellTel Retirees is dedicated to promoting the protection and enhancement of the pensions and benefits for all retirees and the current and future beneficiaries of the companies derived and evolving from the original Bell System.

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You can find more information on our website: https://belltelretirees.org/

You can donate to the cause here: https://fnblipayments.com/#/person/create/target/0J9YR7PQTKMMU61W/

Send any questions to Association@BellTelRetirees.org

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