Rocky Mountain UFCW Unions and Employers Pension Plan

Rocky Mountain UFCW Unions and Employers Pension Plan

The Rocky Mountain UFCW Unions and Employers Pension Plan operates as a defined-benefit multi-employer plan under the Taft-Hartley Act, with contributions negotiated through collective bargaining agreements covering retail food and meat industry workers. Steve DiCroce serves as Principal Officer and Trustee. The plan's participant base draws primarily from Kroger-owned King Soopers and City Market locations, as well as Albertsons-operated Safeway stores, with UFCW Local 7 as the bargaining representative. This concentration in frontline grocery labor creates a distinct demographic profile — older workers with consistent service years, requiring the plan to prioritize income stability and capital preservation. The plan's investment strategy balances public equities, fixed income, and a growing alternatives allocation spanning real estate, private credit, and hedge fund commitments. Specific alternative positions are not publicly disclosed, but Taft-Hartley plans of this size typically access alternatives through commingled fund structures rather than direct co-investments. The geographic footprint tracks the UFCW Local 7 jurisdiction, primarily Colorado and Wyoming, though the investment portfolio itself holds no geographic restriction. Zenith American Solutions provides third-party administration, separating the plan's operational governance from its investment function. The plan's trustee structure includes both union and employer representatives as required by ERISA and Taft-Hartley rules. In May 2024, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation reported multi-employer plan funded ratios that varied widely across the UFCW network, though no plan-specific update was publicly released. Rocky Mountain UFCW's most recent available Form 5500, a federal disclosure filing, confirms contributions from the Kroger and Albertsons entities cited above. Structurally, the plan differs from corporate or public pension funds in one critical respect — the board of trustees includes equal representation from labor and management, meaning investment policy must satisfy two constituencies with sometimes divergent time horizons.