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GENMO Pension Committee Mtg. January 15, 2020
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On January 15, 2020 GENMO members Tom Laurie and Mike Powell met with GM's VP of Fin
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GENMO Pension Committee Mtg. June 6, 2019
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On June 5, 2019, GENMO members Tom Laurie, Mike Powell and Garry Marnoch met with
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GENMO Pension Committee Mtg. June 6, 2019
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On June 5, 2019, GENMO members Tom Laurie, Mike Powell and Garry Marnoch met with
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Read more...
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GENMO Pension Committee Mtg. October 16, 2018
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On October 16, GENMO directors Tom Laurie, Mike Powell and Garry
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GENMO Pension Committee Mtg. April 25, 2018
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Quarterly Pension Committee Meeting April 25, 2018
On April 25, Tom Laurie—in
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Why do we need another GMCL salaried retirees organization?
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The General Motors of Canada Salaried Retirees Association based in Oshawa is recognized as a social organization. The financial difficulties experienced by GMCL and the adjustments to the pension and benefits of salaried retirees and surviving spouses demonstrated the need for a representative organization focused on protecting the pension and benefits of salaried retirees and surviving spouses. GENMO was established to be the official representative organization whose mandate is to protect the pension and benefits of all members of Pension Plan # 0304950. GMSRA and GENMO will work together.
To be a member of both organizations requires paying dues to both organizations.
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Will GENMO be in existence on a permanent basis ?
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Yes. We have set up a capable organization with comprehensive by-laws and we have incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. We fully expect to remain strong and protect our retiress in perpetuity.
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Who can be a member of GENMO?
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Any member of the General Motors of Canada Salaried Pension Plan, including retirees, surviving spouses, those receiving deferred pensions, dependent children of deceased retirees, and active employees can be a member.
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What if you live in another province?
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We want all those who are part of the General Motors of Canada Salaried Pension Plan to become GENMO members regardless of their Province of residence. We currently have members from across Canada, the United States and abroad. We are have had meetings in Oshawa, St. Catharines, Windsor, London, Peterborough, Moncton, New Brunswick, and British Columbia.
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Why does GENMO not release the names of those who are GENMO members, and also the names of those retirees who are non-members ?
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GENMO has not received the names of all retirees who would be members of the class, as GMCL is currently not obliged to share that information with us, and has chosen not to do so.
Consequently, we do not know with certainty who all the potential members of the class are.
Privacy laws prevent us from publicaly sharing the names of those who are members of GENMO, and additionally it was promised that GENMO members names would be held in confidence, as some members may have a need to not be identified publicaly. ie active employees is one example
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How can we help to recruit new members?
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Please talk with all your fellow retirees and ask them to visit www.genmo.ca to complete the membership form and submit their payment. For those who do not have internet access, please, provide them with a membership form. You could also help by providing them with copies of updated information that is available to you on the web. We need to reach out to everyone, particularly surviving spouses who may not have heard of GENMO and who do not have access to the internet.
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Membership Fees and Finances
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How much are the membership fees?
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The Registration fee is $25 plus $75 per year. The increase in annual fees from last year is only temporary while we have high legal fees for our class action lawsuit. Once this is resolved the fees will be significantly reduced.
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What will the membership fees be used for?
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Membership Fees will be used for the ongoing expenses of the GENMO Organization. For example: primarily legal fees, but also website maintenance, office supplies, incorporation charges, insurance, and travel expenses. Accumulated funds will be placed in a reserve fund for on going and future expenses.
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How are you communicating with retirees?
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GENMO is communicating with retirees primarily by email. GENMO has held numerous meetings in various cities to address populations of GM retirees. Our website is available online and pertinent information will continue to be posted as it becomes available. E-mail is the most efficient and effective method of communication, however, from time to time, we will be sending letters by regular mail. GENMO must hold an Annual General Meeting as required by our by-law.
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What is the existing funding level of our pension plan?
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As of September 1, 2012, the valuation estimated a wind up ratio of 75.4%. This means the Plan had sufficient assets to pay 75.4% of the DB benefits payable, if the Plan had ceased operations on September 1, 2012. This compares with the September 1, 2011 wind up ratio of 78.5%.
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What happens to our pension if the manufacturing operation leaves Oshawa?
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GM would still be a corporation in Canada so our pension plan would not have to be wound up; but could be if A) GM totally funded the pension and decided to wind it up, or B) GMCL filed for bankruptcy protection and was allowed by the courts to wind up the underfunded pension. When pensions are wound up the retirees receive annuities which are valued in relation to the solvency rate of the pension.
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Now that the threat that GMCL may declare bankrupcy is past, why should I join GENMO ?
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We hope that GM continues to prosper, however the future is not guaranteed. Some of our promised benefits were reduced. GENMO continues the fight to ensure we keep the current benefits and to recover those that have been lost. Also, the Pension Fund while in better shape than it was in 2008, is not 100% funded. GENMO will continue to work with Federal and Provincial gevernments to amend laws to ensure pur pension is fully funded.
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What is GMCL doing to improve the funding level of our pensions ?
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GMCL is responsible for adding fixed amounts towards eventually reaching 100% funding. GENMO meets quarterly with the GMCL Pension Plan Administrator and Vice President-Finance to scrutinize progress towards that goal. Updates are provided immediatley after each meeting on the GENMO website under the submenu "pensions".
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What would happen to our pensions if GMCL was to go into bankrupcy ?
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If bankrupcy occurred, the underfunded portion would never be funded unless there were monies available after all other creditors were paid in full. In our opinion, it is highly unlikely that there would be anything left to support the pension shortfall. GENMO is an advocate for improving Federal bankrupcy laws which regulate where our pensions would stand with respect to creditors, such as banks and hedge funds.
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Are the U.S. pension plans fully funded?
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No. A recent article indicated that they are underfunded by $12B, but that GMC is committed to fully funding them within the next few years. Note that this is approximately 1/2 of the world wide underfunding of GM pension plans.
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Does accepting $20,000 Sun Life Death Benefit impact rights of retirees ?
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If a GMCL pensioner passes away, will a surviving spouse be forfeiting any rights to funds that may result from a settlement from GM through the class action lawsuit, if they accept the $20,000 payment now ?
SGM’s opinion is that if the surviving spouse does not sign a release in exchange for the life insurance payment then there should not be a problem accepting the $20,000 payment.
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Does GM have the right to arbitrarily change our pension and benefits?
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In our opinion, GM does not have the right to amend or adjust pensions or post retirement benefits. With respect to benefits, GENMO has retained the law firm of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP to initiate a class action law suit against GMCL to recover benefits (including life insurance) unilaterally taken away from retirees by GMCL over the last several years. Detailed updates regarding the status of the law suit, are posted as they become available, on the GENMO web site under the submenu “class action”
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How do we get Secured Creditor Status?
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Collectively we need to influence Federal politicians to change bankruptcy laws to improve the status of pensions when the associated company is in bankruptcy. What happened to Nortel retirees is a very unfortunate example of what could happen to us, should GMCL fail in the future.
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Has GENMO hired lawyers yet?
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With respect to benefits, GENMO has retained the law firm of SGM to initiate a class action law suit against GMCL, so as to recover benefits (including life insurance) unilaterally taken away from retirees by GMCL over the last several years. Detailed updates regarding the status of the law suit, are posted as they become available, on the GENMO web site under the submenu “class action”.
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What is the status of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund?
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The Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund (PBGF) provides a guarantee for only the first $1,000 of a retirees pension and is self-funded by Ontario companies. It is currently under-funded by many millions but there is no obligation by the provincial government to top it up. There have been reports in the newspapers that failures by one or more large companies could bankrupt the fund. Further, as a condition of GMCL receiving funding in Sept 2009, our pension plan members are not eligible for PBGF benefits until our plan is fully funded for a specific period of time.
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