[United States Government Manual]
[September 15, 2009]
[Pages 489-492]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005
Phone, 202-326-4400 or 800-736-2444 (toll free). Internet, www.pbgc.gov.
Board of Directors:                                 

Chairman (Secretary of Labor)                     Hilda L. Solis
Members:                                            
(Secretary of the Treasury)                       Timothy F. Geithner
(Secretary of Commerce)                           Gary F. Locke

Officials:                                          

DIRECTOR                                          Vincent K. Snowbarger, 
                                                          Acting
Deputy Director, Operations                       Vincent K. Snowbarger
Director, Communications and Public Affairs       (vacancy)
Director, Legislative and Regulatory              John Hanley
Director, Policy, Research and Analysis           David Gustafson
Deputy Director, Policy                           (vacancy)
Chief of Staff                                    (vacancy)
Chief Information Officer                         Patsy A. Garnett
Chief Management Officer                          Stephen E. Barber
Director, Budget                                  Edgar Bennett
Director, Facilities and Services                 Patricia Davis
Director, Human Resources                         Arrie Etheridge
Director, Procurement                             Steve Block, Acting

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Director, Strategic Planning and Evaluation       Wilmer Graham
Chief Operating Officer                           Richard Macy
Director, Benefits Administration and Payment     Bennie L. Hagans
Chief Investment Officer                          John H. Greenberg
Chief Insurance Program Officer                   Terrence M. Deneen
Chief Counsel                                     Israel Goldowitz
Director, Insurance Supervision and Compliance    Joseph House
Chief Financial Officer                           Patricia Kelly
Director, Contracts and Controls Review           Martin Boehm
Director, Financial Operations                    Theodore J. Winter, 
                                                          Jr.
General Counsel                                   Judith Starr
Inspector General                                 Rebecca Anne Batts

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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 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 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), 


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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 800-736-2444.

For further information, contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026. Phone, 202-
326-4400 or 800-736-2444. Internet, www.pbgc.gov.

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