Pascagoula, Miss.-based Singing River Health System has entered into a federal settlement that releases it from liability over its failed pension plan, according to the Sun Herald.
The last year SRHS made contributions to the pension plan was 2009. However, retirees brought lawsuits claiming they were sent documents that assured them investments were being made to the pension plan well after 2009. Another suit, brought on behalf of current and former SRHS employees, claimed the system's executives approved audits containing fraudulent material and misrepresented the pension plan's condition.
Under the settlement, SRHS will put $55 million into the pension. That represents the amount the system failed to contribute to the pension from 2009 through 2014, when plan members thought contributions were being made. The system's payment will be stretched over 35 years and includes interest, bringing the total amount SRHS will pay to $150 million, according to the report. The system will also pay pension-plan members' legal fees.
The settlement applies to all to 3,173 current and former employees who participated in the pension plan. SRHS can file the federal settlement in state court and ask for the more than 150 lawsuits pending against the system regarding the failed pension to be dismissed.
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