Federal officials are looking into the St. Clare's pension collapse.
Over 1,100 health care professionals who worked at the former St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady lost some or all of their retirement savings when the pension fund dried up in 2019 following a move to drop the fund's federal pension insurance protection in the 1990s.
Democratic state Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara says because federal laws preempt most potential state regulations regarding pensions, he's encouraged to see federal interest in St. Clare's.
"There's an ongoing investigation by the Government Accountability Office in Washington D.C., on the status of church affiliated pension plans nationwide," said Santabarbara. "Part of why that investigation was underway, it's because of the coverage that the St. Clare's pension crisis has attracted here in the city of Schenectady."
The pensioners worry that the Albany Diocese’s bankruptcy declaration last week will further endanger their legal battle.