WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 6929, the Susan Muffley Act, bipartisan legislation to restore retirement benefits to as many as 20,000 Delphi Salaried Retirees – including 5,000 Ohioans. According to the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, some retirees lost as much as 70 percent of their benefits, with a total of $440 million cut from retirees’ plans. For retirees on a fixed income this has been a significant financial strain. 

The legislation, of which Joyce is a cosponsor, is named after Susan Muffley whose husband worked at Delphi as an electronics technician for 31 years but lost the full value of his pension in 2009 after GM filed for bankruptcy. Despite health problems, Susan avoided seeking treatment due to her family’s financial constraints after losing their pension. She was ultimately diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away on August 9, 2012. 

“I was proud to vote for this legislation and provide Delphi salaried retirees with the pensions they worked so hard to earn,” said Congressman Dave Joyce. “This isn’t a partisan issue – it’s about doing what’s right. I’ve heard from countless constituents who were robbed of the pensions they planned to survive on during retirement. These middle-class workers deserved better than to be left without their hard-earned financial security for the past 13 years. It’s past time Congress acted.”

Joyce was encouraged when President Trump issued a memorandum in 2020 requiring the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury and Commerce to issue a report on appropriate actions that could be taken to address the lost Delphi pension benefits and to provide additional transparency regarding the original decision to terminate them. However, after the Supreme Court declined to take up the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association’s case in January, Congressional action was the only option to restore the pension benefits.

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