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New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund
The New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund launched in 1958 as a multiemployer-defined benefit plan, pooling contributions from regional...
New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund
The New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund launched in 1958 as a multiemployer-defined benefit plan, pooling contributions from regional trucking and logistics employers to provide retirement security for union members. It serves a population concentrated in New England, with participating employers that include United Parcel Service and ArcBest Corporation, both of which have negotiated structured agreements covering withdrawal liability and ongoing pension obligations. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, through General President Sean M. O'Brien, shares governance with employer representatives led by Christopher Langan on a joint Board of Trustees. The fund deploys capital across a broad alternatives-heavy portfolio, allocating to buyout, growth equity, distressed debt, mezzanine lending, fund-of-funds vehicles, and direct co-investments. Its real asset exposure includes a direct commercial property holding in Burlington, Massachusetts held through Auburn Oxford Trust, LLC, alongside employer withdrawal-liability receivables spread across the New England region. In 2023, the fund received a $1.1 billion Special Financial Assistance grant from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the largest such award under the American Rescue Plan's Butch Lewis Act, designed to restore the plan to full funding through 2051 (per PBGC, 2023). Total assets under management are estimated at $1.7B to $1.8B, a figure shaped significantly by the PBGC grant infusion that recapitalized a plan previously projected to become insolvent. The fund maintains its single office in Burlington, Massachusetts, operating without the multi-city footprint common among large public pensions. Governance remains split between union and employer trustees, a structure typical of Taft-Hartley plans, with investment decisions approved by the full board rather than delegated to a standalone investment committee or OCIO. The fund's structural differentiator is its status as a recipient of the largest PBGC special-assistance grant in the program's history—a carveout created by Congress specifically to rescue deeply underfunded multiemployer plans without cutting participant benefits. This federal backstop transforms the fund's investment horizon, allowing the board to manage a fully funded portfolio with a multi-decade runway rather than the distressed, liquidity-focused posture that would have accompanied near-term insolvency. The arrangement ties the fund's fortunes uniquely to federal policy durability alongside traditional pension actuarial assumptions.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1958
AUM
$1.7B – $1.8B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Burlington
Corporate office
Burlington, MA, United States
Principals
Sean M. O'Brien
Union Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Christopher Langan
Employer Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the New England Teamsters pension fund?
Investment decisions are made by the Board of Trustees, a joint body with equal representation from union and employer trustees. Sean M. O'Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, serves as Union Co-Chairman, while Christopher Langan represents employer interests as Employer Co-Chairman. The board oversees asset allocation, manager selection, and all fund commitments rather than delegating to an external OCIO or independent investment committee.
How did the 2023 PBGC bailout change the fund's financial position?
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation awarded the fund $1.1 billion in Special Financial Assistance under the American Rescue Plan's Butch Lewis Act in January 2023. This grant recapitalized a plan that had been projected to become insolvent, restoring it to an estimated full funding level with solvency projected through at least 2051. The cash infusion transformed the fund's investment posture from liquidity-preservation mode to a fully funded plan with a multidecade horizon.
What role do contributing employers like UPS play in the fund?
United Parcel Service and ArcBest Corporation are among the largest contributing employers to the plan, each with structured agreements covering withdrawal liability and ongoing pension obligations. These agreements set the terms under which employers satisfy their funding commitments to the multiemployer plan, and the fund carries withdrawal-liability receivables as an asset on its books representing amounts owed by employers that have exited or restructured their participation.
Does the fund invest directly or through external managers?
The fund employs a mix of direct co-investments and fund-of-funds commitments across buyout, growth equity, distressed debt, and mezzanine strategies. It also holds direct commercial real estate through Auburn Oxford Trust, LLC, a Burlington-based property vehicle. Manager selection and strategy allocation are approved by the joint Board of Trustees.
What is the fund's exposure to real assets?
Real asset exposure includes a direct commercial property in Burlington, Massachusetts held through Auburn Oxford Trust, LLC, which is the fund's headquarters asset. The portfolio also includes employer withdrawal-liability receivables tied to real economic activity across the New England region, though these function more as credit instruments than traditional real estate equity.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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