    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2007]
    [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 or 800-400-7242 (toll free). Internet, www.pbgc.gov.
    Board of Directors:

    Chairman (Secretary of Labor)                     Elaine L. Chao
    Members:
        (Secretary of the Treasury)                   Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
        (Secretary of Commerce)                       Carlos M. Gutierrez

    Officials:

    Director                                          Vincent K. Snowbarger,
                                                              Acting
    Chief Information Officer                         Jon H. Baake, Acting
    Chief Management 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              Susan Taylor

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        Director, Strategic Planning and              Wilmer Graham
                Evaluation Department
    Chief Operating Officer                           Richard Macy
        Director, Benefits Administration             Bennie L. Hagans
                and Payment Department
    Chief Insurance Program Officer                   Terrence M. Deneen
        Chief Counsel                                 Israel Goldowitz
        Director, Department of Insurance             John Spencer
                Supervision and Compliance
    Chief Financial Officer                           Theodore J. Winter,
                                                              Jr., Acting
        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           Jeffrey Speicher,
                Affairs Department                            Acting
        Director, Legislative and Regulatory          John Hanley
                Department
        Director, Policy, Research, and               Dave Gustafson
                Analysis Department
    Inspector General                                 Robert L. Emmons

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    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation protects the pension benefits
    of nearly 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), operates in accordance with policies
    established by its Board of Directors, which consists 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. Nearly 44 million
    workers and retirees participate in about 30,330 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 $4,125.00 per month for a 65-year-old
    individual in a pension plan that terminates in 2007. The law also sets
    other restrictions on PBGC's guarantee, 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

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    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 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. The basic premium for all single-employer plans is
    $31 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.

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    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T211657.058

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