News Archive

PBGC table showing the present values applicable to benefits with annuity starting dates in 2026. A two-column spreadsheet version of the table is also available for convenient copying.   MORE >>

17 pages. "[T]he PBGC's disavowal of federal protection for retirees after pension risk transfers was never authorized by Congress and conflicts with both the statute and the PBGC's own 1981 position. The authors trace the legal history, legislative intent, and policy implications demonstrating that the law already requires PBGC guarantees to continue even after pension benefits are annuitized. Their analysis calls on regulators and courts to restore this 'forgotten promise' to strengthen the integrity of the U.S. pension system."  MORE >>

"As a result of the indexing rules under federal law, the guarantee limits for single-employer plans that terminate in 2026 will be 4.82% higher than the limits that applied for 2025."  MORE >>

"Both the single-employer and multiemployer plan rates have increased. [A chart] shows the rates in effect for plan years beginning in 2024, 2025, and 2026."  MORE >>

PBGC has determined the premium rates applicable for plan years beginning in 2026 in accordance with the indexing rules provided in section 4006 of ERISA.  MORE >>

"The U.S. Senate on Oct. 7 confirmed Janet Dhillon to serve as the Director of the [PBGC]. She will serve a 5-year term. Dhillon was one of 107 nominees whose en banc confirmation for a variety of offices came on the evening of Oct. 7 in a 51-47 vote."  MORE >>

"Currently, all critical requirements for retirement plans, including Form 5500 deadlines, remain unchanged during the shutdown. However, due to limited staffing, processing times may be slower than usual. [The PBGC] remains open and operational ... All regulatory and research activities are on hold, which may delay updates to provisions within SECURE 2.0. Routine [DOL] investigations, audits, and enforcement actions have also ceased and will not resume until the government reopens.... [T]he announcement of Cost-of-Living Adjustments is likely to be delayed."  MORE >>

"On August 15, 2025, PBGC published a final rule that made improvements to its regulation on termination of single-employer plans. PBGC explained in the preamble of the final rule that it was amending the criteria majority owners must meet to waive their benefits by modifying its application of the constructive ownership rules.... PBGC is making a technical correction to clarify that individuals who are majority owners through constructive ownership must meet all of the requirements under Section 4041.21(b)(2)."  MORE >>

Published Sep. 4, 2025.  Changes from the Fall 2024 PBGC Regulatory Agenda:

Added to Proposed Rule Stage:   Technical Amendments: Special Financial Assistance [1212-AB61]

Moved from Proposed Rule Stage to Final Rule Stage: Miscellaneous Updates, Clarifications, and Improvements [1212-AB51]

Added to Final Rule Stage:

• Interest Assumptions for Valuing Benefits [1212-AB62]
• Valuation of Benefits and Assets; Expected Retirement Age; Missing Participants Mortality Assumption [1212-AB63]

MORE >>

12 pages. "Although the PBGC routinely performs death matches using the SSA's DMF, the Director sought to determine whether the OIG had access to additional resources that could help identify deceased individuals not captured by the DMF -- particularly participants within the old cohort aged 100 or older.... A review of the Single-Employer Program's participant data revealed that PBGC made improper pension payments to six deceased individuals that might have been prevented if it had used Treasury's DNP system as a verification tool."  MORE >>

BenefitsLink note:  DOL initially released this Regulatory Agenda in error on Aug. 15, 2025.  See BenefitsLink summary of final Agenda publicly released on Sep. 4, 2025.  MORE >>

36 pages. "This final rule makes miscellaneous technical corrections, clarifications, updates, and improvements to several of the [PBGC's] regulations.... The major provisions of this rulemaking amend PBGC's regulations on:

• Premium Rates, by codifying the changes of the [SECURE Act] applicable to cooperative and small employer charity (CSEC) plans and certain community newspaper plans; 
• Payment of Premiums, by revising the due date for the final premium for terminating plans to be the earlier of the normal premium due date or 45 days after the date the post-distribution certification is filed;
• Termination of Single-Employer Plans, by setting due dates for the standard termination notice and notice of intent to terminate where the plan administrator has not provided a proposed termination date, and by adding additional criteria majority owners must meet to waive their benefits if they are owners through constructive ownership; and
• Termination of Multiemployer Plans, by eliminating a requirement for terminated and insolvent multiemployer plans to file withdrawal liability information."

[Also see subsequent Correcting Amendments]  MORE >>

"PBGC OIG investigated the Trucking Employees of North Jersey and determined the plan included 89 deceased participants among the more than 6,100 plan participants used in the plan's SFA application.... [B]ecause of the inclusion of deceased participants, the Trucking Employees of North Jersey's SFA payment was overstated by approximately $7.6 million. The Board of Trustees for the Trucking Employees of North Jersey fully cooperated with PBGC OIG's investigation and voluntarily repaid the entirety of the excess SFA funds on July 2, 2025."  MORE >>

"The Office of the Inspector General has announced that it is about to begin an examination of PBGC oversight of small, single-employer pension plans.... The OIG is conducting the review in order to determine if the PBGC adequately reviewed trusteed small, single-employer pension plans."  MORE >>

"Objective: To determine if PBGC adequately reviewed trusteed small, single- employer pension plans. Entrance conference discussion topics: [1] What is PBGC's process for identifying and processing potential fiduciary breach or related fraud cases? [2] What threshold does PBGC use to define small, single-employer plans? [3] How do PBGC's processes for trusteeing plans through final benefit determinations differ for small plans compared to other plans?"  MORE >>

"Originally, terminated pension plans were not expected to qualify for special financial assistance ... The recent ruling reinterpreted that restriction, allowing previously excluded terminated and insolvent plans to resubmit applications.... [An] estimated 123 terminated plans, many with extensive outstanding liabilities, could ... cost approximately $6 billion, including $3.5 billion to repay the PBGC's earlier loans to approximately 91 terminated plans, which the inspector general's letter described as a potential waste." [Bd. of Trustees of the Bakery Drivers Local 550 and Industry Pension Fund v. PBGC, No. 23-7868 (2d Cir. Apr. 29, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Given the Appeals Court's decision that terminated plans are eligible for SFA, there is a significant risk that a majority of the 123 terminated/insolvent plans will apply for SFA, estimated to be $6 billion, that PBGC and other government entities had not anticipated. Further, within these payments several billion dollars in taxpayer funds may be wasted on repayments [from SFA funds] to PBGC [for loans previously granted as traditional financial assistance] ... PBGC also risks approval of plans' applications by default due to the volume and time needed to properly review applications." [Bd. of Trustees of the Bakery Drivers Local 550 and Industry Pension Fund v. PBGC, No. 23-7868 (2d Cir. Apr. 29, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Overall, the FY 2026 budget requests $181 million, compared to $191 million for FY 2025. The total full-time employee count would drop from 687 to 640 for FY 2026. Additionally, the [PBGC] is requesting $18 million less in administrative expenses or the equivalent of 85 full-time employees."  MORE >>

"At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on June 3, Janet Dhillon -- nominated by President Trump on March 10 to be the new Director of the [PBGC] -- addressed committee members' questions and pledged to work with Congress in pursuing the agency's mission."  MORE >>

"[T]he Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to favorably report the nomination of Janet Dhillon to serve as the Director of the [PBGC] by a vote of 12-11.... [Chairman Sen. Cassidy said,] 'We need a fresh perspective leading PBGC. Someone who will reform the agency to better serve the American people. Ms. Dhillon is committed to this mission.... Ms. Dhillon's experience and strong vision make her the right person to get PBGC back on track.' "  MORE >>

"The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is set to vote on the nomination of Janet Dhillon to serve as the next Director of the [PBGC]. The vote will come on May 15.... [R]eportedly there will be no hearing concerning her nomination before the committee votes."  MORE >>

"[W]hile the number of plans for which the PBGC served as trustee under the Single-Employer Program in FY 2024 were roughly half that of the year before, the amount of revenue involved in claims on the program was higher.... In fact, the amount of money involved in FY 2024 -- even though the number of plans making claims and involved in trusteeship were half of what there were in FY 2023 -- was five times more than the amount of money involved in FY 2023."  MORE >>

Topics include: [1] Reportable Events Experience. [2] Standard Termination Audit Experience. [3] De-Risking. [4] Missing Participants Program Experience. [5] SFA Program. [6] Regulatory Agenda. [7] Premiums.  MORE >>

"PBGC staff reported that it received fewer reportable event notices in Fiscal Year 2023 (ending Sept. 30, 2023) than in any prior year ... PBGC staff addressed common errors detected in standard termination audits ... PBGC continues to receive Missing Participants Program filings at a steady pace.... PBGC has approved SFA payments to 72 plans in the amount of approximately $53.9 billion, and that there are currently 20 applications under review with requests totaling $14.3 billion."  MORE >>

"The court acknowledged the PBGC's concerns about administrative challenges and potential increased eligibility beyond [CBO] estimates. However, it reiterated that it must interpret the statute as enacted by Congress, which did not include a per se exclusion for terminated plans. The court also noted that Congress explicitly excluded terminated plans in another part of the SFA eligibility section (29 U.S.C. Section 1432(b)(1)(D)), suggesting that its absence in Section 1432(b)(1)(A) was intentional." [Bd. of Trustees of the Bakery Drivers Local 550 and Industry Pension Fund v. PBGC, No. 23-7868 (2d Cir. Apr. 29, 2025)]  MORE >>