Drained pension fund has retired New York union workers pinching pennies to survive, as doom looms for reserves across U.S.

Drained pension fund has retired New York union workers pinching pennies to survive, as doom looms for reserves across U.S.

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These retired Local 707 workers (from l.) Tim Chmil, Milton Acosta, Edward Hernandez, Ted Petrone and Ray Narvaez saw dramatic cuts to their pension checks after the fund bottomed out.

(Susan Watts/New York Daily News)

In the backseat of his beat-up car, Tim Chmil stashes what he refers to as his new retirement fund — bags and bags of recyclable bottles and cans.Every time he spots a bottle on the street, he bends down to pick it up.

“Even if it’s just 5 cents, it’s money, and I need it,” the 71-year-old said.

It’s not the way the ex-trucker — a member of Teamsters Local 707 — expected to fund his senior years.

Local 707’s once booming pension fund runs out of money

Chmil is one of roughly 4,000 retired Teamsters across New York State suffering a fate that could soon hit millions of working-class Americans — the loss of their union pensions.

Teamsters Local 707’s pension fund is the first to officially bottom out financially — which happened this month.

“I had a union job for 30 years,” Chmil said. “We had collectively bargained contracts that promised us a pension. I paid into it with every paycheck. Everyone told us, ‘Don’t worry, you have a union job, your pension is guaranteed.’ Well, so much for that.”

Retirees from Teamsters Local 707 had their monthly pension payments cut in half under the 2014 MERPA law - photographed at the GoodFellas Diner in Maspeth, Queens on Wednesday February 22, 2017 - (Susan Watts/New York Daily News)
(Susan Watts/New York Daily News)
Ray Narvaez - Retirees from Teamsters Local 707 had their monthly pension payments cut in half under the 2014 MERPA law - photographed at the GoodFellas Diner in Maspeth, Queens on Wednesday February 22, 2017 - (Susan Watts/New York Daily News)
(Susan Watts/New York Daily News)

Narvaez received a certificate when he retired that guaranteed his lifetime pension, but last year, he and 4,000 others were informed their checks would be slashed.

Also on the brink of drying up are the pensions for two Teamster locals — 641 and 560 — in New Jersey, union officials said. Plus 35,000 Teamster members upstate who are part of the money-hemorrhaging New York State Teamsters Pension Fund…..more here

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