To participate in the Webcast of your choice, click on one of the following links to reach the registration page and provide the information requested prior to the Webcast: 

• Register for Webcast on Tuesday, September 23, 2008  (2:00 to 3:15 pm Eastern time)
• Register for Webcast on Thursday, September 25, 2008  (2:00 to 3:15 pm Eastern time) 

2008 Premium Filings:  For plan years beginning in 2008, both Comprehensive and Estimated Flat-rate Filings can now be electronically filed via our premium e-filing application called My Plan Administration Account (My PAA).  For details about the information that must be submitted in the 2008 Comprehensive Filing, refer to the Comprehensive Filing instructions that are on our Web site.  For information about how to e-file, review the My PAA Page  (e.g., FAQs, E-Filing Tips and User Demos).  Note that the earliest Comprehensive Filing due date for 2008 calendar year plans is October 15, 2008.  (7/25/08) 

Administrative Review of Agency Decisions Final Rule:  On July 3, 2008, PBGC published a final rule that amends its regulation on Rules for Adminstrative Review of Agency Decisions (29 CFR part 4003) to clarify that the agency's Appeals Board may refer certain categories of appeals to other PBGC departments for a written response and to make other minor changes in the rules. (07/03/08)

Proposed Rule on Treating Bankruptcy Filing Date as Plan Termination Date:  On July 1, 2008, PBGC published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would implement a Pension Protection Act of 2006 change to the benefits PBGC pays.  Under PPA 2006, when an underfunded pension plan terminates during the bankruptcy of the plan sponsor, the date that the sponsor's bankruptcy petition was filed is treated as the plan's termination date for purposes of determining (1) the amount of benefits PBGC guarantees, and (2) the amount of benefits in priority category 3 in the asset allocation.  The statutory change applies if the bankruptcy petition was filed on or after September 16, 2006.  Comments on the proposed rule are due September 2, 2008. (07/01/08)

PBGC Publishes Final Rule Amending Its Bylaws:  On May 23, 2008, PBGC published in the Federal Register a final rule that amends PBGC's bylaws.  The bylaws define the roles of the new statutory Director, the Board, and the Board Representatives. (05/23/08)

PBGC Form 200 questions:  On April 15, 2008, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service published proposed regulations providing guidance on the determination and payment of minimum required contributions under the new funding rules enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.  The new regulations are proposed to be effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, but plan sponsors may rely upon them for plan years beginning in 2008.  For a calendar year plan required to make quarterly installments, the first installment for the 2008 plan year was due April 15, 2008. Whenever there is a failure to make a required payment and the total of unpaid balances including interest exceeds $1 million, the plan sponsor must file PBGC Form 200 (Notice of Failure to Make Required Contributions) within 10 days of the due date for the required payment.  Sponsors with questions about PBGC Form 200 filing requirements should contact Scot McCulloch of PBGC's Department of Insurance Supervision and Compliance, at (202) 326-4070 x 3033 or mcculloch.scot@pbgc.gov. (04/16/08)

Waiver for Small Employer Reporting of Missed Quarterly Contributions:  On March 24, 2008, PBGC issued Technical Update 08-2, which waives reporting under PBGC's reportable events regulation of missed quarterly contributions for plan years beginning in 2008 for certain small employers. (3/24/08)

Proposed rule on Multiemployer Plan Withdrawal Liability: On March 19, 2008, PBGC published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would implement changes under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) to the withdrawal liability methods for multiemployer plans and make other changes to the multiemployer program under PBGC’s regulatory authority. For example, the rule would implement the PPA "fresh start" option for determining withdrawal liability. Comments on the proposed rule are due May 19, 2008. (3/19/08)

4010 filing deadline extension: On February 21, 2008, PBGC issued Technical Update 08-1, which grants an automatic one-day extension of the 4010 filing deadline where the 105-day reporting period includes February 29, 2008. See section 4010 of ERISA and 29 CFR part 4010. For example, for a calendar year filer, this Technical Update extends the filing deadline from Monday, April 14, 2008 to Tuesday, April 15, 2008. (2/21/08)

Proposed rule on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting (ERISA section 4010): On February 20, 2008, PBGC published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would implement changes to PBGC's regulation on annual financial and actuarial information reporting (part 4010) as required under the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The proposed rule, which would provide guidance on how to determine whether a 4010 filing is required under the PPA 2006 changes, would waive reporting in certain cases for controlled groups with aggregate underfunding of $15 million or less. It also would specify that the new rules are applicable to information years beginning after 2007; modify the standards for determining which plans are exempt from reporting actuarial information; revise the actuarial information requirements to conform with other PPA changes; and provide other clarifications. The first reports under the new rules would generally be due April 15, 2009. Comments on the proposed rule are due April 21, 2008. (2/20/08)

VRP Interest Rates under PPA:  On January 15, 2008, PBGC posted the variable-rate premium interest rates for plan years beginning in January 2008 on its Web site. This is the first set of rates under the new interest rate methodology established by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 for determining the present value of vested benefits for purposes of the variable-rate premiums. (01/15/08)

PBGC Discontinuing Routine Federal Register Notices of Interest Rates:  On January 15, 2008, PBGC published a notice informing the public that the routine Federal Register notices of PBGC interest rates and assumptions to be used under parts 4006, 4007, 4062, 4219, and 4281 of PBGC regulations have been discontinued. These include the variable rate premium interest rates . These rates and assumptions are published elsewhere (or can be derived from rates published elsewhere) and are also available in the Interest Rates section of the Practitioners page on PBGC's Web site, www.pbgc.gov. (01/15/08)

Premium Final Rule:  On December 17, 2007, PBGC published a final rule amending PBGC's premium regulations to implement certain provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that are effective beginning in 2006 or 2007.  The provisions that are implemented by this rule change the flat premium rate, cap the variable-rate premium for plans of certain small employers, and create a new "termination premium" that is payable in connection with certain distress and involuntary plan terminations. (12/17/07)

Benefit Restrictions - Present Value of PBGC Maximum Guarantee:  The Pension Protection Act of 2006 provides that, generally beginning in 2008, single-employer plans that are between 60 and 80 percent funded may not pay lump sums or other accelerated distribution forms with values in excess of: (1) 50 percent of the amount that would be paid absent the restriction or, if smaller (2) the present value of PBGC's maximum guarantee computed under PBGC guidance.  On December 17, 2007, PBGC posted a table showing the present value of PBGC's maximum guarantee for 2008 and issued Technical Update 07-04 providing information on how the table was developed and how it should be used. (12/17/07)

Disclosure of Termination Information Proposed Rule:  On December 5, 2007, PBGC published a proposed rule to implement section 506 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which amends sections 4041 and 4042 of ERISA.  These amendments require that a plan administrator disclose information it has submitted to PBGC in connection with a distress termination filing, and that a plan administrator or plan sponsor disclose information it has submitted to PBGC in connection with PBGC-initiated termination.  The new provisions also require PBGC to disclose the administrative record in a PBGC-initiated termination.  The disclosures must be made to an affected party upon request.  Comments on the proposed rule are due February 4, 2008.  (12/05/07)

Minimum Lump Sum Assumptions for Terminating Single-Employer Plans; Pension Protection Act 2006:  On December 3, 2007, PBGC issued Technical Update 07-3 , which provides guidance on lump sum calculation issues for single-employer plans that terminate in standard terminations (and in certain distress terminations) pursuant to ERISA section 4041. In particular, the Technical Update provides that if a plan terminates before the effective date of Pension Protection Act of 2006 changes to the interest rate and mortality table used in determining minimum lump sum values, the pre-PPA assumptions apply for determining lump sum payments made on or after that effective date. (12/03/07)

Expected Retirement Age Update: On November 30, 2007, PBGC published a final rule amending its valuation regulation by substituting a new table for selecting a retirement rate category.  The new table applies to any plan being terminated either in a distress termination or involuntarily by the PBGC with valuation date falling in 2008.  (11/30/07)

2008 Maximum Guarantee:  On November 30, 2007, PBGC published a final rule amending its benefits payment regulation by updating the maximum guaranteeable monthly benefit table for 2008.  The maximum guaranteeable monthly benefit for 2008 is $4,312.50 (as compared with $4,125 for 2007).  (11/30/07)

Transitional Guidance on 4010 and 4043 Reporting Requirements: On November 28, 2007, PBGC issued Technical Update 07-2, providing guidance on the applicability of changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) as they relate to PBGC's regulations on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting (29 CFR part 4010) and Reportable Events and Certain Other Notification Requirements (29 CFR part 4043).  For example, the Technical Update states that PBGC interprets the PPA 2006 amendments to ERISA section 4010 as applying to information years beginning after 2007, which means that the $50 million gateway test is still used to determine whether a 4010 filing is required for information years beginning in 2007.  In addition, the Technical Update provides guidance on how to determine vested benefits and UVBs for purposes of reporting waiver requirements and the advance notice filing threshold test under part 4043 for event years beginning in 2008.  The PBGC revised this Technical Update on December 7, 2007 (corrected December 15, 2007).  (12/15/07)

Notice of Revisions to 2008 Form 5500: On November 16, 2007, the Department of Labor, the Department of Treasury, and PBGC published a Notice of Adoption of Revisions to Annual Return/Reports in the Federal Register, at 72 FR 64731.  The Notice contains revisions required by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report forms that are filed for employee benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code.  Some of the forms revisions will apply on a transitional basis for the 2008 reporting year.  All of the forms revisions, including a new Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan, will be fully implemented for the 2009 reporting year as part of the switch under the ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST) to a wholly electronic filing system (EFAST2).  (11/16/07)