Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report - Highlights [5/07/10]

The GAO recently issued a detailed analysis of the status of automaker pension funding, including certain findings that are specific to the GM pension plan. As stated in the GAO report introduction, the role of the GAO is to ‘ensure the accountability of federal government for the benefit of the American people in a way that is objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair and balanced.’

The study involved interviews with officials at GM, Chrysler, a labor union, a supplier association, the Department of Treasury and Labor, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) and a review of statutes, reports and documents concerning automakers’ restructuring and pension plan funding.

You are encouraged you to read the report at the GAO website at Troubled Asset Relief Program: Automaker Pension Funding and Multiple Federal Roles Pose Challenges for the Future.

The full report, generated from a stakeholders position, as opposed to the standpoint of the retiree, is 77 pages, and is not GM-specific. We have extracted several GM-specific highlights from the report. Except where noted, the highlights are as reported in the GAO report document and are not necessarily GMRA conclusions. [Click here to read GM-specific highlights from the report]