Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protects the retirement incomes of American workers in private-sector defined benefit pension plans by encouraging the continuation and maintenance of the plans, providing timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits, and keeping pension insurance premiums at a minimum.

In July 2003, GAO designated PBGC's single–employer pension insurance program—its largest insurance program—as "high risk" due to the financial risk that it faces ("high–risk" programs, in GAO's view, are in need of transformation). The program remains on the list today, as noted in our 2009 high–risk series report.

Full report of GAO-09-271 (PDF)