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CRS Reports: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a Primer

"PBGC runs two distinct insurance programs: one for single-employer pensions and a second for multiemployer plans.... PBGC maintains separate reserve funds for each program." [CRS 95-118 updated Jun. 18, 2026; also available: CRS IF10492, PBGC: an Overview]  MORE >>

Text of PBGC Final Regs: Examination and Copying of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Records

"This rule provides for an electronic reading room for records, expands the categories of records in the reading room, updates the standard for disclosure, requires additional notice to requesters about FOIA resources, extends the appeal deadline, and places restrictions on fees."  MORE >>

First Annual Report of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PDF)

39 pages. "PBGC staff are widely considered a dedicated group of professionals who conduct themselves with integrity and a passion for their work.... [F]our areas where improvement is needed. The first is communication ... Second, is process, or rather a lack of process for handling those participant and plan sponsor issues that don't nicely fit into routine transactions that PBGC performs quite well, like the actual payment of benefits ... Thirdly, there is lack of coordination among and between PBGC departments which has profound effects on servicing plan sponsors and participant ... Fourth and perhaps most importantly, is the observation by plan sponsors and participants and their advocates that relates to a growing adversarial and over-reaching approach by PBGC which can in the long-term affect the retirement security of millions of Americans."  MORE >>

2012 Premium Payment Instructions from Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PDF)

75 pages, including appendices. "The filing requirements for 2012 are almost identical to the filing requirements for 2011.... The per-participant flat-rate premium rates for 2012 remain at $35 for single-employer plans and $9 for multiemployer plans."  MORE >>

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Annual Management Report for Fiscal Year 2009 (PDF)

99 pages. Excerpt: [Some of the Fiscal Year 2009 Financial Statement Highlights are as follows:] PBGC's combined financial condition declined by $10.80 billion, increasing the Corporation's deficit to $21.95 billion as of September 30, 2009, from $11.15 billion as of September 30, 2008. PBGC's portfolio achieved a return on investment of 13.2%. The single-employer program's net position declined by $10.40 billion, increasing the program's deficit to $21.08 billion. The multiemployer program's net position declined by $396 million, increasing that program's deficit to $869 million. The primary factors in the single-employer program's net loss included a charge of $10.55 billion due to an unfavorable change in interest factors, $4.23 billion in losses from completed and probable terminations, $3.92 billion in charges due to passage of time, and $383 million of administrative and other expenses. These factors were offset by $6.33 billion in investment income, $1.82 billion in net premium income, and a credit of $573 million from actuarial adjustments.

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Shortfall Triples at U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Excerpt: The federal agency that backstops corporate pension plans reported that its deficit tripled in the last six months, to $33.5 billion. Despite the shortfall, the agency said it has enough assets to pay benefits for many years, even if the holder of one of the largest retirement programs, General Motors Corp., were to file for bankruptcy. The news came as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s former director invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to lawmakers' questions about possible mismanagement under the Bush administration. The PBGC's inspector general last week issued a report saying that the former director had violated prohibitions on contacting bidders that were seeking investment contracts.  MORE >>

Present Law and Background Relating to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PDF)

42 pages. Excerpt: The Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives has scheduled a [September 24, 2008] public hearing on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ('PBGC'). This document, prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, provides a description of present law regarding the PBGC.  MORE >>

CBO Director's Blog on April 24 Letter Issued on Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Excerpt: CBO issued a letter today reviewing a new investment policy recently adopted by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). As part of its analysis, CBO reviewed the assumptions underlying PBGC's decision and assessed the revised policy's potential for affecting the corporation's ability to meet its obligation to retirees and for increasing costs to taxpayers.

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Guaranteed Trouble: The Economic Effects of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Excerpt: This paper examines the economic rationale for, historical experience of, and current pressures facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).... The paper then discusses potential ways to reform the PBGC so that it operates more in concert with basic economic principles.

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Addressing the Insolvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PDF)

6 pages. Excerpt: The inherent structural risks of having the government insure -- through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) -- the future commitments of defined benefit pension plans has resulted in a reported deficit of $23 billion. The present value of the long-term cash deficit has been estimated at $92 billion.  MORE >>

Addressing the Insolvency of the Government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Excerpt: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is not a household name, but it should be. By protecting some individual pension beneficiaries it has become exposed to huge financial risks and has put all American taxpayers at risk.

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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Has New Logo

The new logo:

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Testimony: Estimating the Costs of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PDF)

13 pages. Statement of Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, June 9, 2005.

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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Restructures and Adds Department

Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has reorganized its corporate structure, creating a new Insurance Program Department and making several personnel changes. In a statement, the agency said the changes are designed to improve customer service and its ability to respond to developments in the current business environment."

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News That Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Will Diversify Portfolio to Include More Equities Ought to Concern Taxpayers

Excerpt: The PBGC is a quasi-government agency -- a 'federal corporation' -- created in 1974 to guarantee pension benefits for U.S. workers and retirees. Operating as both an insurance business and pension fund, it is financed by corporate premiums and the assets it inherits when taking over failed pension plans. By the end of last year, the agency had amassed a $14 billion deficit, and the new policy is designed to erase that red ink with higher investment returns.

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CRS Report: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation -- A Primer (PDF)

24 pages. "In FY2017, PBGC insured nearly 24,000 DB pension plans covering about 40 million people. It paid or owed benefits to 1.5 million people. PBGC is the trustee of 4,845 single-employer plans. PBGC provided financial assistance to 72 multiemployer pensions. PBGC pays a maximum benefit to plan participants. Most workers in single-employer plans taken over by PBGC and multiemploy er plans that receive financial assistance from PBGC receive the full pension benefit that they earned." [Report 95-118, Mar. 20, 2018]  MORE >>

CRS Report: A Primer on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PDF)

21 pages. "In FY2015, PBGC insured about 23,600 DB pension plans covering about 40 million people. It paid or owed benefits to 1.5 million people. PBGC is the trustee of 4,706 single-employer plans. PBGC provided financial assistance to 57 multiemployer pensions.... Most workers in single-employer plans taken over by PBGC and multiemployer plans that receive financial assistance from PBGC receive the full pension benefit that they earned." [Report 95-118, Nov. 3, 2016]

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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Who Will Guarantee This Guarantor?

"Defined-benefit pension plans are very difficult to finance successfully: That is why so many of them, both private and public, are deeply underfunded. It is also why they are a disappearing financial species.... [H]ere was a 'big idea' of a half century ago: Let's have the government guarantee these pension plans! ... Politically, it was a brilliant idea, especially if you wanted to negotiate pensions which companies could not afford. Financially, it was a less good idea ... the law requires that the PBGC 'be self-financing.' So far, the PBGC has 'self-financed' itself into a $26 billion hole."

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Is Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Defined Benefit Pension Plan Insurance System a Liability?

Excerpt: The press coverage afforded companies whose pension plans are at risk, such as United, combined with the mounting deficits at the PBGC, has caused many to doubt the viability of the private pension system. However, the system's prospects are looking up. The economic rebound and temporary legislative relief will help all but the most troubled pensions revive, and this bodes well for the PBGC's long-term survival.

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Audio: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Financial Troubles Deepen with United Terminations

Excerpt: The government corporation that insures pensions for 35 million Americans is facing a serious financial shortfall of $23 billion. The deficit increased when United Airlines was allowed to transfer its pension obligations to the government. Now there's concern that taxpayers could face a costly bailout if other companies follow United's lead.  MORE >>