[United States Government Manual]
[May 30, 1997]
[Pages 645-648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005
Phone, 202-326-4000
Board of Directors:
Chairman (Secretary of Labor) Alexis M. Herman
Members:
(Secretary of the Treasury) Robert E. Rubin
(Secretary of Commerce) William M. Daley
Officials:
Executive Director John Seal, Acting
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Nell Hennessy
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Joseph H. Grant
Officer
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial N. Anthony Calhoun
Officer
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Management Kathleen Blunt, Acting
Officer
Assistant Executive Director for Legislative and Judy Schub
Congressional Affairs
Director, Budget Department Henry R. Thompson
Director, Communications and Public Judith Welles
Affairs Department
Director, Contracts and Controls Dale Williams
Review Department
Director, Corporate Finance and Andrea E. Schneider
Negotiations Department
Director, Corporate Policy and Stuart A. Sirkin
Research Department
Director, Facilities and Services Janet A. Smith
Department
Director, Financial Operations Edward Knapp
Department
General Counsel James J. Keightley
Director, Human Resources Department Sharon Barbee-Fletcher
Director, Information Resources Cris Birch
Management Department
Inspector General Wayne Robert Poll
Director, Insurance Operations Bennie L. Hagans
Department
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Director, Participant and Employer Harriet D. Verburg
Appeals Department
Director, Procurement Department Robert W. Herting
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation guarantees payment of
nonforfeitable pension benefits in covered private-sector defined
benefit pension plans.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is a self-financing, wholly
owned Government corporation subject to the Government Corporation
Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101-9109). The Corporation, established by Title
IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1301-1461), is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of the
Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and the Treasury. The Secretary of Labor
is Chairman of the Board. A seven-member Advisory Committee, composed of
two labor, two business, and three public members appointed by the
President, advises the agency on various matters.
Activities
Coverage The Corporation insures most private-sector defined benefit
pension plans that provide a pension benefit based on factors such as
age, years of service, and salary.
The Corporation administers two insurance programs separately
covering single-employer and multiemployer plans. More than 42 million
workers participate in approximately 55,000 covered plans.
Single-Employer Insurance Under the single-employer program, the
Corporation guarantees payment of certain pension benefits if an insured
plan terminates without sufficient assets to pay those benefits.
However, the law limits the total monthly benefit that the agency may
guarantee for one individual to $2,642.05 per month, at age 65, for a
plan terminating during 1996, and sets other restrictions on PBGC's
guarantee. The Corporation may also pay some benefits above the
guaranteed amount depending on amounts recovered from the employer
responsible for the plan.
A plan administrator may terminate a single-employer plan in a
``standard'' or ``distress'' termination if certain procedural and legal
requirements are met. In either termination, the plan administrator must
inform participants in writing at least 60 days prior to the date the
administrator proposes to terminate the plan. Only a plan which has
sufficient assets to pay all benefit liabilities may terminate in a
standard termination. The Corporation also may institute termination
proceedings in certain specified circumstances.
Multiemployer Insurance Under title IV, as originally enacted, the
Corporation guaranteed nonforfeitable benefits for multiemployer plans
in a similar fashion as for single-employer plans. However, the
multiemployer program was revised in 1980 by the Multiemployer Pension
Plan Amendments Act (29 U.S.C. 1001 note) which changed the insurable
event from plan termination to plan insolvency. The Corporation now
provides financial assistance to plans that are unable to pay
nonforfeitable benefits. The plans are obligated to repay such
assistance. The act also made employers withdrawing from a plan liable
to the plan for a portion of its unfunded vested benefits.
Premium Collections All defined benefit pension plans insured by PBGC
are required to pay premiums to the Corporation according to rates set
by Congress. The annual premium per plan participant for multiemployer
pension plans is $2.60 for plan years beginning after September 26,
1988. The basic premium for all single-employer plans is $19 per
participant per year. Underfunded single-employer plans must also pay an
additional premium equal to $9 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits,
subject to a cap that will be phased out by the end of 1997.
Sources of Information
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation provides information
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electronically through the Internet, at http://www.pbgc.gov/.
For further information, contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026. Phone, 202-
326-4000.
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