Benefits Forward

In response to communications from American Airlines to its employees regarding concerns in the event it should terminate its pension plan, the PBGC has written its own communication and analysis. Document Excerpt WASHINGTON—The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation today pushed back on misleading statements to American Airlines employees by its management about their pension plans. Link [...]

The PBGC has revised its rules to reflect the interest rate to be used in paying benefits from a terminated plan in February, 2012. Document Excerpt This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in February [...]

The PBGC releases a policy statement on accepting and responding to amended premium filings based on recharacterizations of contributions. Document Excerpt This policy statement addresses PBGC’s policy on accepting and responding to amended premium filings based on recharacterization of contributions. Recharacterization of contributions refers to a situation in which contributions originally designated as being for [...]

The PBGC has released the applicable interest rates for lump sums payable in January, 2012. Document Excerpt The immediate interest rate for valuing lump sum payments for the month of January 2012 is 1.25%. The deferred interest rate I1 is 4.00%, I2 is 4.00%, and I3 is 4.00%. (The immediate interest rate for December 2011 [...]

The PBGC amends its final rule on the interest rate used for valuing and paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the PBGC. Document Excerpt This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under [...]

PBGC issues Technical Update 11-1 which extends the reportable events guidance of Technical Update 10-4 through the 2012 plan year. Document Excerpt This Technical Update 11-1 provides Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) guidance for plan years beginning in 2012 on compliance with the reportable events requirements of section 4043 of the Employee Retirement Income Security [...]

The PBGC amends its Allocation of Assets regulation by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for plans undergoing a distress termination. Document Excerpt This rule amends Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans [...]

The PBGC releases the maximum monthly benefit subject to its guaranty for 2012. Document Excerpt Examples of the maximum guarantee are shown in the tables below. Each table applies to a given calendar year. The maximum guarantee is set by law and it is updated each calendar year. The maximum guarantee applicable to a plan [...]

The PBGC has released the interest rate applicable for December lump sums. Document Excerpt The immediate interest rate for valuing lump sum payments for the month of December 2011 is 1.50%. The deferred interest rate I1 is 4.00%, I2 is 4.00%, and I3 is 4.00%. (The immediate interest rate for November 2011 was 1.50% for [...]

The PBGC reports a record $26 Billion dollar deficit for 2011. Document Excerpt WASHINGTON—The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation today released its annual report for fiscal year 2011, which shows the agency’s deficit increased to $26 billion as of year-end, a $3 billion increase from the $23 billion reported last year. This is the largest deficit [...]