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PBGC Rules for Standard Terminations Leave Questions for Future Guidance, Speaker Says (PDF)

Excerpt: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation takes a dim view of employers that purchase annuities at a favorable price before initiating a standard termination process to end their pension plan, an employee benefits attorney said Oct. 10 at an American Law Institute-American Bar Association Conference. 'PBGC tends not to like the idea of purchasing irrevocable commitments and then doing a standard termination as an afterthought,' said attorney Harold Ashner, [a partner at Keightley &Ashner]. [Click on the title link under 'Items of Interest' on the target page.]

PBGC Plays a Stronger Hand in Economy Weakened by Frequent Bankruptcies (PDF)

"The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is aggressively using its statutory options for managing the agency's pension insurance programs and guaranteeing its own solvency ahead of creditors' claims under the federal bankruptcy code, according to employee benefits attorneys and the agency. An emerging view among employers and practitioners is of a PBGC increasingly inclined to intervene when employers close down operations at any of their facilities."

PBGC Reportable Events Rule Would Interfere With Credit Marketplace, Commenters Say (PDF)

Excerpt: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's proposed reportable events rule would seriously interfere with credit arrangements between companies that sponsor defined benefit pension plans and their lenders, according to comments received by PBGC and in interviews by BNA .... ['Click on the link under 'Items of Interest' on the target page.]

PBGC Developing Proposed Regulation on Downsizing Liability Section of ERISA (PDF)

Excerpt: Attorney Harold J. Ashner, former PBGC assistant general counsel for legislation and regulations, has been warning for some time that PBGC has been stepping up its enforcement of Section 4062(e) and that employers should be considering that as a possible cost when considering a cessation of a facility and the reduction of its workforce[.]

Benefit Practitioners Suggest Candidates for President's Regulatory Review Initiative (PDF)

A regulation that ranked high on a short list mentioned by benefit practitioners is a PBGC proposed regulation [that] would increase pension plan liabilities and reporting requirements for single-employer defined benefit plan sponsors that downsize their business operations for various reasons, causing job losses affecting more than 20 percent of active participants in the employer's qualified plan. [Click on the link under 'Items of Interest' on the target page.]

Practitioners Call for Careful Implementation to Avoid Standard Termination Timing Traps (PDF)

2 pages. Click on the top link in the right-hand column of the target page. Excerpt: The Pension Protection Act's changes to the minimum lump-sum valuation rules need to be carefully implemented in the context of standard terminations, practitioners told BNA Sept. 12.... Although PBGC rules permit benefit reductions based on a post-termination amendment to the extent the amendment is necessary to maintain a tax-qualified status, PBGC in a number of standard termination audits concluded that [GATT lump-sum amendments] were adopted too late for Title IV purposes, even though they were timely for plan qualification purposes.

Investment Policy on PBGC's Agenda; Practitioners Call for More Aggressive Mix (PDF)

3 pages; on the target page, click on the link having the title shown above. Excerpt: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has contracted with an outside investment adviser to review the agency's assets and liabilities in light of the best investment practices and asset allocations of similar institutions, John H. Hanley, director of PBGC's Legislative and Regulatory Department, said in discussing issues the agency will be dealing with in 2008.

PBGC Announces New Investment Policy in What Practitioner Calls a 'Dramatic' Shift (PDF)

"Notable is the allocation to private equity, a sector that has chosen to terminate defined benefit plans and pass liabilities to PBGC in the past when they have taken companies private, Dallas Salisbury said. 'This will lead PBGC to be invested more like a pension fund and less like an insurance company,' he said."

Attorney Discussion of Effect Kennedy Decision Might Have on Drafting of Plan Documents (PDF)

Excerpt: "In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent adoption of the 'plan documents' rule, plan administrators and sponsors should draft explicit plan language addressing whether they will honor extrinsic waivers of benefits contained in divorce decrees, an attorney discussing the implications of the case said March 4 in an audioconference sponsored by the American Law Institute-American Bar Association." [Click on the link under 'Items of Interest' on the target page.]

Employer Groups Ask PBGC to Cease Enforcement of 4062(e) Proposed Rule on Employer Liability (PDF)

The groups requested that PBGC suspend all enforcement actions that are based on the proposed regulations and void any agreements entered into based on the proposed regulations. [See title under items of interest on the target page.]