White House seeks $1 billion to restore Delphi pensions

The White House asked Congress on Wednesday for $1 billion to restore pension benefits for former Delphi workers whose retirement checks were cut during General Motors’ 2009 bankruptcy restructuring. The request was folded into a broader $87.6 billion supplemental package that also sought $500 million for construction projects in and around Washington, $1 billion for Penn Station reconstruction, and a change that would let the Federal Aviation Administration reallocate any remaining air-traffic modernization funds to whatever reform plan Congress ultimately approves.

Delphi was spun off from General Motors in 1999 and entered bankruptcy protection in 2005. In August 2009, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation took responsibility for Delphi’s six pension plans after the plans ended on July 31 of that year, covering about 70,000 workers and retirees. The federal agency pays only up to statutory limits, not the full pension promises Delphi had made. Delphi’s salaried plan was underfunded by $2.7 billion and the hourly plan was short by $4.5 billion in July 2009.

Some Delphi participants whose benefits were reduced by PBGC sought relief through both judicial and legislative channels, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case in January 2022. As of January 2026, Congress still had multiple active Delphi bills, including the Susan Muffley Act of 2025 and the Delphi Retirees Pension Restoration Act.

The House bill text would recalculate monthly benefits so they equal the full vested plan benefit and require the corporation to make lump-sum payments to eligible participants for past-due benefits after enactment. The restoration effort covers more than 21,000 Delphi salaried retirees, including about 5,180 in Ohio and more than 5,800 in Michigan. Separate materials for the Susan Muffley Act say eligible recipients would receive back pay plus 6% interest.