    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2006]
    [Pages 499-502]
    [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; 800-400-7242. Internet, www.pbgc.gov.
    Board of Directors:

    Chairman (Secretary of Labor)                     Elaine L. Chao
    Members:
        (Secretary of the Treasury)                   John W. Snow
        (Secretary of Commerce)                       Carlos M. Gutierrez

    Officials:

    Executive Director                                Vince K. Snowbarger,
                                                              Acting
    Office of Risk Assessment                         Justen Carter, Acting
    Chief Technology Officer                          Rick Hartt
    Chief Administrative Officer                      Stephen E. Barber
        Director, Budget Department                   Henry R. Thompson
        Director, Facilities and Services             Patricia Davis
                Department
        Director, Human Resources Department          Michele Pilipovich
        Director, Procurement Department              Robert W. Herting
        Director, Strategic Planning and              Wilmer Graham
              Evaluation Department
    [[Page 500]]

    Chief Operating Officer                           William Hulteng,
                                                              Acting
        Director, Benefits Administration             Bennie L. Hagans
                and Payment Department
        Director, Insurance Program                   Terrence M. Deneen
                Department
    Chief Financial Officer                           James Gerber
        Director, Contracts and Controls              Martin Boehm
                Review Department
        Director, Financial Operations                Theodore J. Winter,
                Department                                    Jr.
    General Counsel                                   Judith Starr
    Deputy Executive Director, Office of Policy and   Vincent K. Snowbarger
            External Affairs
        Director, Communications and Public           Randy Clerihue
                Affairs Department
        Director, Legislative and Regulatory          John Hanley
                Department
        Director, Policy, Research, and               Dave Gustafson, Acting
                Analysis Department
    Inspector General                                 Robert L. Emmons

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    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation protects the pension benefits
    of more than 44 million Americans who participate in defined-benefit
    pension plans sponsored by private-sector employees.

    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) 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 investment issues.

    Activities

    Coverage  The Corporation insures most private-sector defined benefit
    pension plans, which 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 44 million
    workers and retirees participate in more than 30,300 covered plans.
    Single-Employer Insurance  Under the single-employer program, the
    Corporation guarantees payment of basic 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 $3,971.59 per month for a 65-year-old
    individual in a pension plan that terminates in 2006. The law also sets
    other restrictions on PBGC's gaurantee, including limits on the insured
    amount of recent benefit increases. In certain cases, 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 sponsor may terminate a single-employer plan in a standard
    termination if the plan has sufficient assets to purchase private
    annuities to cover all benefit liabilities. If a plan does not have
    sufficient assets, the sponsor may seek to transfer the pension
    liabilities to the PBGC by demonstrating that it meets the legal
    criteria for a distress termination. 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

    [[Page 501]]

    benefit liabilities may terminate in a standard termination. The
    Corporation also may institute termination of underfunded plans in
    certain specified circumstances.
    Multiemployer Insurance  Under title IV, as 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 provides financial assistance to multiemployer 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 $8 for plan years beginning after September 26, 1988.
    The basic premium for all single-employer plans is $30 per participant
    per year. Underfunded single-employer plans must also pay an additional
    premium equal to $9 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits. A
    termination premium of $1,250 per participant per year applies to
    certain distress and involuntary plan terminations occurring on or after
    January 1, 2006, payable for 3 years after the termination.

    Sources of Information

    Access to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is available through
    the Internet at www.pbgc.gov.
        TTY/TDD users may 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 800-400-7242. Internet, www.pbgc.gov.

    [[Page 502]]

    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T206692.056

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