St. Clare’s pension crisis puts similar plans under Washington, D.C. microscope

A federal agency is taking a closer look at church-affiliated pension plans. It’s due to the St. Clare’s pension crisis in Schenectady, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara said.

The pensions of 1,100 St. Clare’s employees were wiped out more than three years ago.

Santabarbara met with staff from the Congressional Committee on Education and Workforce this week to discuss potential solutions to the ongoing crisis.

The retirees and State Attorney General Letitia James sued the diocese over the pensions, accusing them of deliberately breaking the law and ignoring a process that denied the workers the money they needed for retirement.

A judge ruled last December the lawsuits be consolidated.

Meantime, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany filed for bankruptcy last week. That has put the case on hold for now, but the diocese claims that was not the purpose for the filing.