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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

WASHINGTONt D.C. 

March 21, 2019 

Mr. Ernest Soehl 

Mr. Rocco Morongello 

Board of Trustees of the Mid-Jersey Trucking Industry and Local 70 l Pension Fund 

2003 US Route 130, Suite A 

North Brunswick, NJ 08902 

Re: Mid-Jersey Trucking Industry & Local 70 l Pension Fund (Fund) Application for Reduction 

ofBenefits 

Dear Mr. Soehl and Mr. Morongello: 

On February 4, 2019, you were notified that the Secretary of the Treasury (Treasury), in 

consultation with the Secretary of Labor (DOL) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

(PBGC), had reviewed your application (Application) for a reduction in benefits, which was 

submitted on June 25, 2018, and determined that the Application satisfied the requirements of 

subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F) of section 432(e)(9) ofthe Internal Revenue Code (Code), 

which were added to the Code by the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA). The 

notification explained that, as required under MPRA, before any benefit reduction could go into 

effect, Treasury would administer a vote of eligible participants and beneficiaries to approve or 

reject the proposed benefit reduction. 

The voting period began on February 22, 2019, and ended on March 15, 2019. The Fund identified 

1,767 participants and beneficiaries as eligible to vote. Of the voters identified by the Fund who 

received a ballot, 693 (or 39.42% of all eligible voters) voted to reject the benefit reduction, 397 

voted to approve the benefit reduction, and 668 did not return a ballot. Because a majority of 

voters identified as eligible by the Fund did not vote to reject the benefit reduction, the benefit 

reduction is permitted to go into effect. Treasury, in consultation with DOL and PBGC, has issued 

a final authorization to reduce benefits under the Fund as described in the Application, effective 

April 1, 2019, subject to the conditions described below. 

Under MPRA, the Fund's ability to reduce benefits is conditioned on the Fund's compliance with 

subparagraphs (C) and (E) of section 432(e)(9). Under subparagraph (C), after the benefit 

reduction goes into effect, the Fund's plan sponsor must make an annual determination that, 

despite all reasonable measures to avoid insolvency, the Fund is projected to become insolvent 

unless a benefit reduction continues. The Fund's plan sponsor must maintain a written record of 

these annual determinations, and this record must include a description of the factors considered to 

determine whether all reasonable 111easures have been taken to avoid insolvency. The written 

record must be made available to participants and beneficiaries. If the Fund's plan sponsor fails to 

satisfy the annual plan sponsor determination requirement for a plan year (including maintaining 

the written record), then the reduction of benefits will expire as of the first day of the following 

plan year. 1 

1 26 C.f.R. § 1.432(e)(9)-l(c)(5). 
Mr. Ernest Soehl 

Mr. Rocco Morongello 

Board ofTrustees of the Mid-Jersey Trucking Industry and Local 70 I Pension Fund 

March 21, 2019 

Page2 

Subparagraph (E) of section 432(e)(9) establishes rules that apply to any benefit improvements that 

are made under the Fund during the period that the benefit reduction remains in effect. 

A copy of this letter will be posted on the Treasury Department website. Please contact Treasury 

staff if you have any questions or need any additional information. 

Sincerely, 

Danielle Norris 

MPRA Director 

cc: Dewey Dennis 

Meredith Golfo 

Paul Montalbano