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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."

Text of PBGC Request for Nominations: Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate

"The Office of the Advocate works directly with participants in defined benefit plans to ensure that they receive benefits that they are entitled to from PBGC. The Office of the Advocate also assists plan sponsors in resolving disputes and other issues with PBGC. The Advocate works independently of the PBGC Departments and reports directly to the PBGC Board of Directors.... Due to an impending vacancy, the Advisory Committee is seeking nominations for the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate position."

Text of PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate 2015 Annual Report (PDF)

30 pages. Participant Issues: [1] Complex benefit entitlement and omitted participant cases; [2] Consultation with the Participant Advocacy Groups and PBGC; and [3] Interagency coordination and participant benefit entitlements. Plan Sponsor Issues: [1] PBGC must improve relations with plan sponsors; [2] Premiums and premium penalties need a fresh look; [3] PBGC's early warning program; and [4] Reportable events regulations.

2019 Annual Report of the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

25 pages. "The Office of the Advocate is currently pursuing a Pension Plan Registry project which would provide a tracing service so participants and plan sponsors can track what happened to a pension plan." [Other topics: statutory authorization, participant issues, plan sponsor issues, and multiemployer pension issues.]

2016 Annual Report of the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

25 pages. "[N]otable themes emerge in the challenges participants and plan sponsors encounter with PBGC such as: [1] Interactions with PBGC are adversarial and defensive, rather than collaborative and businesslike, in working toward a mutually agreeable resolution; [2] There is a lack of transparency in working with PBGC to understand the corporation's assumptions, resulting in costly and time-consuming interactions with the agency which can go on for months and even years; [3] PBGC is unwilling to exercise judgment and discretion with participant claims and sponsor penalties, relying almost exclusively on automatic and mechanical-like approaches; and [4] PBGC demands documentation, costly analysis, and historical records that businesses, governmental entities, or participants rarely, if ever, retain."

2024 Annual Report of the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

45 pages. "In 2024, the Office of the Advocate observed larger interrelated themes occurring across multiple departments at PBGC that affected participant and plan sponsor experiences with the agency.... [1] Strengthen escalation procedures and increase supervisory involvement in complex issues ... [2] Improve written procedures to document existing practices and procedures, clarify employee discretion, and promote transparency ... [3] Evaluate and enhance communication practices."

2017 Annual Report of the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

44 pages. "New to this report ... is a pension de-risking study commissioned by the Office of the Advocate at the request of plan sponsors. The study focuses on PBGC and Congressional actions that may slow pension de-risking activity, and highlights the drivers and causes of de-risking. This study found that reducing PBGC single-employer premium levels or stemming their rapid growth is likely to decrease risk transfer activity."

2023 Annual Report of the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

35 pages. "One unfortunate underlying theme in both participant and plan sponsor encounters with the agency is an overall sense of mistrust by agency personnel who interface with the regulated community on a routine basis.... The agency has an extraordinary $44.6 billion surplus that is far in excess of anything that the agency needs.... [T]he agency has not shown leadership to help policymakers and legislators come to terms with options to relieve this extraordinary financial burden that is driving plan sponsors from the defined benefit structure, threatening the retirement security of upcoming generations who lack the economic security of a lifetime income in retirement. "

Text of 2018 Annual Report of the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

45 pages. "[Participants and plan sponsors] have observed and still often note long delays ... confusing and contradictory exchanges ... and difficulties when an issue transcends multiple departments within the agency.... [Given] rising premiums and the dwindling premium payer base as sponsors de-risk their defined benefit plans, the agency must be mindful of the resources it uses when pursuing plan sponsors for prolonged periods of time, such as during protracted negotiations in the distress termination process."

2020 Annual Report of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate (PDF)

21 pages. "Some of the concerns discussed in this Report, such as breakdowns in processes and procedures, have been satisfactorily resolved through diligent efforts by PBGC ... However, there are still certain areas which require immediate action by PBGC, such as the management of aging cases and the use of a cost-benefit analysis in longstanding matters where dollars expended by the agency far exceed the value of the benefit or the amount of recovery.... In addition to describing participant and plan sponsor activities, this Report discusses the Office of the Advocate's latest initiative, the Pension Plan Registry Project. The Project seeks to create a tool which will allow participants to search for information about the genealogy and history of a pension plan."