Business
CEO’s latest bid to save Sears would leave pensioners high and dry, government says

By Rachel Siegel
National business reporter
January 28 at 4:32 PM

Eddie Lampert’s last-ditch moves to save Sears have been lambasted by workers' rights groups, the company’s unsecured creditors and bankruptcy experts alike. ... The latest stakeholder to come out swinging: the pension insurer for the U.S. government.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. during the weekend came out against Lampert’s proposed $5.2 billion bid for the fledgling retailer. In papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Saturday, the PBGC specifically pointed to a $1.7 billion funding gap that, the corporation says, Lampert’s bid doesn’t account for.

Plus, bankruptcy experts say Sears could become the latest example among retailers and other companies that, once thrown into bankruptcy, have their pension plans wiped cleaned. ... When companies file for bankruptcy, it has become common for them to shed pension plans they can’t fund, said Larry Perkins, a bankruptcy expert and chief executive of SierraConstellation Partners. That’s one reason the PBGC exists in the first place: to protect pensioners. ... “Overwhelmingly, they’re left holding the bag,” Perkins said.
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Bruce Miller, 56, had worked at Sears for nearly 36 years before he was laid off from his New Jersey store in June. After losing his job, he lost his house as well. He’s worried that Lampert isn’t going to fund pension plans for him and his fellow workers. ... He’s afraid of Lampert sending one message: “There’s no more money in the pension plan. You’re out of luck.”

Rachel Siegel is a national business reporter. She previously contributed to the Post's Metro desk, The Marshall Project and The Dallas Morning News. Follow https://twitter.com/rachsieg