Serves over 138,000 retirees; funding from 2021 American Rescue Plan Act
By Mairead Glowacki, Communications Director, Office of Congressman Mark DeSaulnier
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, April 2, 2026, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced that the Northern California UFCW Plan, which is based in Concord, California, a city he represents, will receive $2.6 billion in pension relief funding made possible by the Democrat-passed $1.9 trillion COVID-relief American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that the Congressman was proud to vote for in 2021. This funding will enable the plan to continue to pay retirement benefits for its 138,516 participants in the service industry without reduction for many years into the future.
“In the midst of the COVID epidemic, Democrats fought tooth and nail to protect the lives and livelihoods of working Americans and their families, ultimately passing the American Rescue Plan to prevent cuts to the hard-earned benefits of retirees and workers. This funding, that will benefit hundreds of thousands of workers and retirees, including those here in our district, is a direct result of those efforts and I am proud to have helped bring this money home,” said DeSaulnier.
The application for this funding was submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the UFCW – Northern California Employers Joint Pension Plan (Northern California UFCW) and approved by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The SFA Program provides funding to severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans and will ensure that millions of America’s workers, retirees, and their families receive the pension benefits they earned.
Rep. DeSaulnier is a senior member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce where he is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
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