[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

[[Page 646]]

    Director, Participant and Employer            Harriet D. Verburg
            Appeals Department
    Director, Procurement Department              Robert W. Herting

------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[[Page 647]]



[[Page 648]]

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------