[United States Government Manual]
[June 01, 2002]
[Pages 502-505]
[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; 800-400-4272 (toll free). Internet, www.pbgc.gov.

Board of Directors:                                 

Chairman (Secretary of Labor)                     Elaine L. Chao
Members:                                            
    (Secretary of the Treasury)                   Paul H. O'Neill
    (Secretary of Commerce)                       Donald L. Evans

Officials:                                          

Executive Director                                Steven A. Kandarian
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Management    John Seal
        Officer
    Director, Budget Department                   Henry R. Thompson
    Director, Facilities and Services             Janet A. Smith
            Department
    Director, Human Resources Department          Sharon Barbee-Fletcher
    Director, Procurement Department              Robert W. Herting
    Director, Participant and Employer            Harriet D. Verburg
            Appeals Department
    Director of Strategic Planning                Kathleen Blunt
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating     Joseph H. Grant
        Officer
    General Counsel                               James J. Keightley
    Director, Corporate Policy and                Stuart A. Sirkin
            Research Department
    Director, Insurance Operations                Bennie L. Hagans
            Department
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial     Hazel Broadnax
        Officer
    Director, Contracts and Controls              Marty Boehm
            Review Department
    Director, Financial Operations                Theodore Winter
            Department
    Director, Information Resources               Cris Birch
            Management Department
Chief Negotiator and Director, Corporate Finance  Andrea E. Schneider
        and Negotiations Department
Assistant Executive Director for Legislative and  Jim Marion, Acting
      Congressional Affairs
[[Page 503]]

Director, Communications and Public Affairs       E. William FitzGerald
        Department
Inspector General                                 Wayne Robert Poll

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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 insuranceprograms separately 
covering single-employer and multiemployer plans. More than 44 million 
workers participate in approximately 35,000 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 $3,579.55 per month, at age 65, for a 
plan terminating during 2002, and sets other restrictions on PBGC's 
guarantee. The Corporation may also pay some benefits above the 
guaranteed amount depending on the funding level of the plan and amounts 
recovered from employers.
    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 that 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 

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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.

Sources of Information

Access to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is available through 
the Internet, at www.pbgc.gov.
    TTY/TDD users, call the Federal Relay Service toll free at 800-877-
8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4000.

For further information, contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026. Phone, 202-
326-4000, or 800-400-4272 (toll free). Internet, www.pbgc.gov.

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