Chapter President’s Message
Joe Sciulli
Chapter President
June 2026
As a Nokia Pension Plan beneficiary, you recently received a copy of the Annual Funding Notice (AFN). Here are some things to consider about this latest issue:
- The important numbers are on the first page and represent much more timely data as of 12/31/2025. Previously, the data on assets were 16 months old. This is the result of NRLN’s work with the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Help, Labor, Education and Pensions (HELP) in 2022. Click here to get the full story.
- Nokia’s two pension funds have merged, with no negative effect.
- After covering all future liabilities, the plan has a surplus of $6 billion. That surplus belongs to Nokia but can only be used for the benefit of beneficiaries as long as the plan is in effect. In similar situations recently, companies have terminated their pension plans by purchasing an annuity from an insurance company. In this arrangement, the insurance company takes on the plan’s liabilities and sufficient assets, becomes the plan administrator. The plan beneficiaries continue to receive benefits but lose the protections afforded by the Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation (PBGC).
The NRLN is working with committee staff members on Capitol Hill with an eye toward the 2027 congressional legislative session when there is the potential for a Secure 3.0 pension legislation. We are advocating that an annuity contract should include full reinsurance of the monthly benefit itself. We maintain only a group annuity contract that requires independent, third-party reinsurance by a highly rated insurance company can reliably replace the Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporations’ (PBGC’s) protections for pension plan participants.
Further, you may recall that prior to 2022, the NRLN had lobbied that companies with
pension surplus more than 110% should be allowed to use surplus funds above 110%
to pay retiree benefits such as life insurance. The limit was 125%. Following passage of
this legislation Nokia applied millions of its plan surplus to fund up our life insurance
trust. Many companies have cancelled life insurance coverage. We have learned that
while trust liabilities are $700-$800 million there are $400 million in assets, enough to
last about another 8-9 years. Unless assets values decline severely, Nokia could have
an opportunity to apply more pension plan surplus later.
Your contribution of $35, $50, $75 or more per year will assist us in pursuing legislation in Congress. NRLN is a non-profit organization. Because NRLN lobbies, contributions to NRLN are not tax deductible. AREF: The AREF is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. Donations ARE tax deductible.
WELCOME!
A few hundred members discovered that they were no longer on our mailing list and re-subscribed by going to EMAIL SIGNUP .
Happy to have you back.
SPECIAL NOTICES TO MEMBERS
Lots of Benefits information on our Chapter Benefits Team pages.
Lots of Benefits information on our Chapter Benefits Team pages.Nokia Benefits Website
Retirees can use the YBR website for benefit-related activities such as:
- Enrolling in Nokia’s health and welfare plans (e.g., medical and dental);
- Making and/or changing Nokia Savings/401(k) Plan elections;
- Updating dependent or beneficiary information
- Projecting pension benefits and/or electing to commence pension benefits.
Nokia Benefits Resource Center (NBRC)1-888-232-4111
International Long Distance 1-212-444-0994
https://digital.alight.com/nokia
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The entire NRLN 2026 legislative program is available by clicking here. In particular, these issues of interest to our members are being pursued by the NRLN:
Pension Plan De-risking:
More companies are doing “de-risking” (Pension Risk Transfer) of their pension plans by purchasing annuities from third party insurance companies. This strips retirees of federal law protections. Foremost among protections that the NRLN wants to become law is our statute proposal that an annuity contract must include full reinsurance of monthly benefit payments. Only a group annuity contract that requires independent, third-party reinsurance with a highly rated insurance company can protect pension plan participants.
Social Security
will only be able to pay 100% of total benefits until 2035. Afterward, income will only be sufficient to pay 83% of benefits. The NRLN supports closing the funding gap by making all wages subject to the payroll tax. Social Security’s Chief Actuary said eliminating the taxable maximum would close about 70% of the shortfall and ensure solvency until 2060.
Medicare
will be able to pay 100% of benefits until 2036. Afterward, reserves will be depleted, and income will only be able to pay 89% of benefits. The NRLN advocates Congress stop listening to healthcare insurance lobbyists and properly fund Medicare.
The NRLN continues to lobby members of Congress against the high cost of healthcare shifted to retirees and the unfairness of the chronic illness subsidized benefits that are being denied to 27 million original Medicare Parts A and B participants. NRLN’s proposal equalizes chronic benefits for all over age 65.
NRLN wants legislation to end pay-for-delay and other brand-name drugmakers’ tactics that keep generics off the market. We support bills to allow Americans to import prescription drugs from Canada.
Corporate Mergers:
We have gone through the corporate mergers with Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia. The NRLN has developed a whitepaper and is lobbying Congress for legislation to protect retirees in corporate mergers, acquisitions and spin-off.
How we run our money: Nokia
In the article below, Arto Sirvio, Nokia’s director of pensions, tells Carlo Svaluto Moreolo how the communication and information technology company manages a large portfolio of pension plans. Reprinted from January 2018. In a world where corporate behavior comes under closer scrutiny, the way companies treat current and past employees is critical. Ensuring they are financially secure in retirement is not something that can be overlooked by management boards. But for a company such as Nokia, which has about 100,000 staff and more than 200,000 retired employees, pensions can become a great challenge.
Click here for the full article.
CLICK THIS IMAGE TO SEE THE SURVEY
Stay healthy in 2026
This is the time of year for resolutions. For retirees, let me suggest that the most important resolution you can make for the year 2026 is STAY ON YOUR FEET!
This simple phrase has two meanings and they are both relevant.
- First, try to spend more of your time moving around rather than sitting.
- The second, avoid falls. Falls are a main cause of morbidity and disability in the elderly.
More than one-fourth of persons 65 years of age or older fall each year, and in half of such cases the falls are recurrent. The risk doubles or triples in the presence of cognitive impairment or history of previous falls.
Read all about it here.
Another article from the Mayo Clinic outlines some simple tips for avoiding falls.
Joe Sciulli
Chapter President
Joe Sciulli, Vice President – Information Technology/Databases CHAPTER PRESIDENT | Joe began his career with Western Electric in 1957 as a field engineer in the Defense Activities Division, which served as the prime contractor for the SAGE Air Defense System and had responsibility for installation and system testing of the system nationwide. He worked in computer and information technology assignments in Kansas City and Newark, NJ. In 1974 he moved to the Chicago area where he was responsible for the startup of the Niles, MI, Materials Management Center and nationwide planning for Western Electric’s installation force. In 1977, he became Director of Operations for the Central Region, and in 1979 moved to the Denver Works, where he was Director of Manufacturing. In 1982, he became Executive Vice President of the Teletype Corporation in Skokie, Il. Subsequently he served as Operations Vice President for AT&T’s computer business. He has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and attended the Sloan School at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He retired in 1989 and served as a Director and webmaster for the Lucent Retirees Organization for 18 years. He lives in Elgin, IL.
