Updated:
Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 172 Pension Fund
The Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 172 Pension Fund is a defined-benefit plan serving members of United Association Local 172 — plumbers, pipefitters, and...
Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 172 Pension Fund
The Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 172 Pension Fund is a defined-benefit plan serving members of United Association Local 172 — plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians working across northern Indiana and parts of Michigan. The fund operates under a joint trusteeship structure, with labor trustees including Business Manager Broc Buczolich and management trustees chaired by David Niezgodski. The trust is headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, at the union’s 4172 Ralph Jones Court facility, which also houses the local’s training and administrative operations. As a mature Taft-Hartley pension fund, the plan maintains a multi-asset institutional portfolio designed to meet long-term actuarial obligations. While the fund does not publicly disclose a detailed asset allocation, typical allocations among comparable plans include domestic and international equities, fixed income, real estate, and private-market exposures — both direct and through commingled vehicles. The fund’s geographic investment focus is primarily domestic, reflecting the liability profile of a local union workforce concentrated in the Midwest. No specific portfolio companies, direct real estate assets, or fund commitments are publicly disclosed. The plan is governed by a board of trustees split evenly between union and contributing-employer representatives. Union trustees for the Health & Welfare and Pension fund include Broc Buczolich, Tim Freet, and Kurt Meade as alternate. Management trustees include Chairman David Niezgodski, Kevin Conery, and Matt Meert. The fund is closely tied to the local’s signatory contractor network and does not operate a separate philanthropic foundation or affiliated family office — it is a pure defined-benefit governance structure with a single purpose: paying lifetime retirement benefits to eligible participants. The Local 172 fund’s structural differentiator is its joint labor-management trustee governance, a hallmark of Taft-Hartley multiemployer plans. This architecture splits fiduciary responsibility between the union that represents the workers and the contractors who contribute, forcing consensus across adversarial interests. In an era of corporate and public-pension consolidation, these multiemployer plans remain among the least visible and most locally anchored pools of institutional capital.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
South Bend
Corporate office
4172 Ralph Jones Ct, South Bend, IN 46628, United States
Principals
Broc Buczolich
Business Manager
David Niezgodski
Chairman, Health & Welfare/Pension Management Trustees
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 172 Pension Fund governed?
The fund is governed under a Taft-Hartley multiemployer structure, with a board of trustees split evenly between labor representatives — including Business Manager Broc Buczolich — and management trustees appointed by the local's signatory contractors. David Niezgodski chairs the Health & Welfare/Pension Management Trustees. This joint oversight model requires consensus between the union and contributing employers on all fiduciary decisions.
Does the Local 172 Pension Fund disclose its assets under management or asset allocation?
No. The fund does not publicly disclose assets under management, a specific asset allocation, or a breakdown of external manager commitments. Investors evaluating the fund must rely on regulatory filings — including the plan's Form 5500 annual return — which provide a high-level snapshot of plan assets, liabilities, and funding status. Direct AUM disclosure is not a standard practice for Taft-Hartley plans.
Is the Local 172 Pension Fund a state or municipal pension plan?
No. The fund is a private-sector, multiemployer defined-benefit plan that is not part of any state or municipal retirement system. It provides retirement income exclusively to participants of the collective bargaining agreements between UA Local 172 and the signatory plumbing, pipefitting, and HVAC contractors that employ them. It is not a public fund subject to state-level sunshine laws.
Which geographic region does the Local 172 Pension Fund cover?
The fund serves members of UA Local 172, whose jurisdiction covers northern Indiana — anchored by South Bend and Mishawaka — and portions of southwestern Michigan. The union's signatory contractors perform commercial, industrial, and residential piping and HVAC work within that territory. Both the labor pool and the contributing employers are concentrated in that Midwest footprint.
Does the Local 172 Pension Fund maintain a separate philanthropic foundation or operating company?
No. The fund is a pure defined-benefit plan. It does not operate a charitable foundation, a co-investment vehicle, a real-asset subsidiary, or a related family office — it is a single-purpose vehicle focused exclusively on delivering pension benefits to Local 172's retired plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians.
What is a Taft-Hartley multiemployer plan, and why does it matter for an allocator reviewing this fund?
A Taft-Hartley plan is a collectively bargained, jointly trusteed pension fund that pools contributions from multiple unrelated employers under a single trust. For an allocator, the key implication is governance: no single sponsor can unilaterally change contribution rates, benefit levels, or investment policy. All decisions require labor-management consensus, which tends to produce conservative, liability-driven investment approaches distinct from corporate or public single-sponsor plans.
Where can I find the most recent Form 5500 for the Local 172 Pension Fund?
The fund is required to file Form 5500 annually with the U.S. Department of Labor. The filing — which includes the plan's year-end asset totals, cash flows, trustee compensation, and a schedule of reportable transactions — is available through the DOL's EFAST public-search portal. The plan's EIN and plan number can be confirmed with the fund's administrative office at the South Bend address.
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.
Need institutional-grade insight on pension funds?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: