[DOCID:186873tx_xxx-89]
From the Government Manual Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Page 509-512]
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005
Phone, 202-326-4000; 800-400-4272 (toll-free). Internet, www.pbgc.gov.
Board of Directors:
Chairman (Secretary of Labor) Alexis M. Herman
Members:
(Secretary of the Treasury) Lawrence H. Summers
(Secretary of Commerce) William M. Daley
Officials:
Executive Director David M. Strauss
Chief Negotiator and Director, Andrea E. Schneider
Corporate Finance and
Negotiations Department
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Joseph H. Grant
Officer
General Counsel James J. Keightley
Director, Corporate Policy and Stuart A. Sirkin
Research Department
Director, Insurance Operations Bennie L. Hagans
Department
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial N. Anthony Calhoun
Officer
Director, Contracts and Controls Marty Boehm
Review Department
Director, Financial Operations Hazel Broadnax
Department
Director, Information Resources Cris Birch
Management Department
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Management John Seal
Officer
Director, Budget Department Henry R. Thompson
Director, Facilities and Services Janet A. Smith
Department
Director, Human Resources Department Sharon Barbee-Fletcher
Director, Procurement Department Robert W. Herting
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Director, Participant and Employer Harriet D. Verburg
Appeals Department
Director of Strategic Planning Kathleen Blunt
Assistant Executive Director for Legislative and Judy Schub
Congressional Affairs
Senior Adviser Monica Healy
Director, Communications and Public Affairs Judith Welles
Department
Inspector General Wayne Robert Poll
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation guarantees payment of
nonforfeitable pension benefits in covered private-sector defined
benefit pension plans.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is a self-financing, wholly
owned Government corporation subject to the Government Corporation
Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101-9109). The Corporation, established by Title
IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1301-1461), is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of the
Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and the Treasury. The Secretary of Labor
is Chairman of the Board. A seven-member Advisory Committee, composed of
two labor, two business, and three public members appointed by the
President, advises the agency on various matters.
Activities
Coverage The Corporation insures most private-sector defined benefit
pension plans that provide a pension benefit based on factors such as
age,years of service, and salary.
The Corporation administers two insuranceprograms separately
covering single-employer and multiemployer plans. More than 42 million
workers participate in approximately 44,000 covered plans.
Single-Employer Insurance Under the single-employer program, the
Corporation guarantees payment of certain pension benefits if an insured
plan terminates without sufficient assets to pay those benefits.
However, the law limits the total monthly benefit that the agency may
guarantee for one individual to $3,221.59 per month, at age 65, for a
plan terminating during 2000, and sets other restrictions on PBGC's
guarantee. The Corporation may also pay some benefits above the
guaranteed amount depending on amounts recovered from employers.
A plan administrator may terminate a single-employer plan in a
``standard'' or ``distress'' termination if certain procedural and legal
requirements are met. In either termination, the plan administrator must
inform participants in writing at least 60 days prior to the date the
administrator proposes to terminate the plan. Only a plan that has
sufficient assets to pay all benefit liabilities may terminate in a
standard termination. The Corporation also may institute termination
proceedings in certain specified circumstances.
Multiemployer Insurance Under title IV, as originally enacted, the
Corporation guaranteed nonforfeitable benefits for multiemployer plans
in a similar fashion as for single-employer plans. However, the
multiemployer program was revised in 1980 by the Multiemployer Pension
Plan Amendments Act (29 U.S.C. 1001 note) which changed the insurable
event from plan termination to plan insolvency. The Corporation now
provides financial assistance to plans that are unable to pay
nonforfeitable benefits. The plans are obligated to repay such
assistance. The act also made employers withdrawing from a plan liable
to the plan for a portion of its unfunded vested benefits.
Premium Collections All defined benefit pension plans insured by PBGC
are required to pay premiums to the Corporation according to rates set
by Congress. The annual premium per plan participant for multiemployer
pension plans is $2.60 for plan years beginning
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after September 26, 1988. The basic premium for all single-employer
plans is $19 per participant per year. Underfunded single-employer plans
must also pay an additional premium equal to $9 per $1,000 of unfunded
vested benefits.
Sources of Information
Access to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is available through
the Internet, at www.pbgc.gov.
TTY/TDD users, call the Federal Relay Service toll-free at 800-877-
8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4000.
For further information, contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026. Phone, 202-
326-4000, or 800-400-4272 (toll-free). Internet, www.pbgc.gov.
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