PBGC Pension Insurance Data Book 2003

The Pension Insurance Data Book 2003 was developed by the Corporate Policy and Research Department under project manager William James and produced by the Communications and Public Affairs Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
NUMBER 8, SPRING 2004

OVERVIEW

PBGC DATA BOOK AT A GLANCE

PBGC DATA AND TRENDS

SINGLE-EMPLOYER PROGRAM:

• Figure 1 Net Position of PBGC’s Single-Employer Program (1980-2003)
• Figure 2 Concentration of PBGC Claims (1975-2003)
• Figure 3 PBGC Claims by Industry (1975-2003)
• Figure 4 PBGC Claims by Funded Ratio (1975-2003)
• Figure 5 Participants and Beneficiaries Receiving PBGC Payments (1980-2003)
• Figure 6 Participants and Beneficiaries Receiving PBGC Payments by Gender and Age (2003)
• Figure 7 PBGC Benefit Payments (1980-2003)
• Figure 8 PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2003)
• Figure 9 Participants in PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2003)
• Figure 10 PBGC-Insured Participants by Participant Status (1980-2001)
• Figure 11 PBGC-Insured Participants by Industry (2002)
• Figure 12 PBGC Premium Revenue (1980-2003)
• Figure 13 PBGC-Insured Participants and Premiums by Premiums Paid (2002)

MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM:

• Figure 14 Net Position of PBGC’s Multiemployer Program (1980-2003)
• Figure 15 PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2003)
• Figure 16 Participants in PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2003)
• Figure 17 PBGC-Insured Participants by Participant Status (1980-2001)
• Figure 18 PBGC-Insured Participants by Industry (2002)

APPENDIX S: SINGLE-EMPLOYER DATA TABLES

PBGC'S SINGLE-EMPLOYER PROGRAM

Under its single-employer program, PBGC insures the pension benefits of participants in most private sector, single-employer, defined benefit pension plans. A singleemployer plan is a plan that was not established pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the plan’s participants and two or more unrelated employers. A defined benefit plan is a pension plan other than an individual account plan. In a typical single-employer defined benefit plan, benefits are based on a formula that typically includes as inputs years of service and either a flat dollar amount or the participants’ average compensation.

An insured plan pays PBGC a yearly premium of $19 per participant for pension benefit insurance coverage. Plans that are underfunded (based on PBGC premium calculations) also have to pay PBGC an additional premium of $9 per $1,000 of underfunding to cover the additional exposure they create for the insurance program.

If a plan terminates with insufficient assets to pay all promised benefits, PBGC will usually trustee the plan and become responsible for paying benefits to the plan’s participants and their beneficiaries. PBGC pays benefits according to the provisions of each individual pension plan, subject to certain guarantee limits. More than 90 percent of the participants in PBGC-trusteed plans receive all the benefits they were promised by their plan. Benefits for some participants may be cut back if 1) their benefits exceed PBGC’s maximum guarantee limit, 2) a benefit increase occurred within five years of the plan’s termination, or 3) a part of their benefit is a supplemental benefit. While few participants have their benefits reduced by any of these guarantee limits, some of those who do will experience substantial benefit cuts. PBGC will pay some nonguaranteed benefits when the plan has sufficient assets to do so or when there are recoveries from employers.

PBGC does not index benefit payments. However, by law it must increase the maximum guarantee limit each year to reflect the increase in national wages. For plans terminating in 2004, the limit is $3,698.86 per month or $44,386.32 per year for a single-life annuity beginning at age 65. The limit on the maximum guarantee is adjusted for retirement ages other than 65. The age-adjusted limit that will apply to a given participant is the limit for his or her age at plan termination, if he or she has already retired, or the limit for the age when he or she actually retires. The limit is reduced if the benefit is not paid as a single-life annuity. For example, the limit is reduced if the benefit is paid as a joint-and-survivor annuity.

• S-1 Net Financial Position of PBGC's Single-Employer Program (1980-2003)
• S-2 PBGC Premium Revenue, Benefit Payments and Expenses (1980-2003)

Claims

• S-3 PBGC Terminations and Claims (1975-2003)
• S-4 PBGC Claims (1975-2003)
• S-5 Top 10 Firms Presenting Claims (1975-2003)
• S-6 PBGC Trusteed Terminations by Fiscal Year and Size of Claim (1975-2003)
• S-7 PBGC Claims by Fiscal Year and Size of Claim (1975-2003)
• S-8 PBGC Trusteed Plans by Fiscal Year and Funded Ratio (1975-2003)
• S-9 PBGC Claims by Fiscal Year and Funded Ratio (1975-2003)
• S-10 PBGC Trusteed Plans by Size of Claim and Funded Ratio (1975-2003)
• S-11 PBGC Claims by Size of Claim and Funded Ratio (1975-2003)
• S-12 Average Claim per Vested Participant by Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-13 PBGC Trusteed Plans by Fiscal Year and Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-14 PBGC Claims by Fiscal Year and Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-15 PBGC Trusteed Plans by Size of Claim and Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-16 PBGC Claims by Size of Claim and Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-17 PBGC Trusteed Plans by Funded Ratio and Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-18 PBGC Claims by Funded Ratio and Plan Size (1975-2003)
• S-19 PBGC Claims by Industry (1975-2003)

Benefit Payment

• S-20 PBGC Benefit Payments, Payees and Deferred Payees (1980-2003)
• S-21 PBGC Payees and Benefit Payments by Date of Plan Termination (2003)
• S-22 PBGC Payees and Benefit Payments by Size of Trusteed Plan (2003)
• S-23 Total PBGC Payees and Average Benefit Payments by Gender and Age (2003)
• S-24 PBGC Retired Payees and Average Benefit Payments by Gender and Age (2003)
• S-25 PBGC Beneficiary Payees and Average Benefit Payments by Gender and Age (2003)
• S-26 Total PBGC Payees and Benefit Payments by Size of Monthly Payment (2003)
• S-27 PBGC Retired Payees and Benefit Payments by Size of Monthly Payment (2003)
• S-28 PBGC Beneficiary Payees and Benefit Payments by Size of Monthly Payment (2003)
• S-29 PBGC Payees and Benefit Payments by Industry (2003)

Coverage

• S-30 PBGC-Insured Plan Participants (1980-2003)
• S-31 PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2003)
• S-32 PBGC-Insured Plan Participants by Participant Status (1980-2001)
• S-33 PBGC-Insured Active Participants as a Percent of Private-Sector Wage and Salary Workers (1980-2001)
• S-34 PBGC-Insured Plans, Participants and Premiums by Industry (2002)

PBGC Premiums

• S-35 PBGC’s Historic Premium Rates
• S-36 PBGC Premium Revenue (1980-2003)
• S-37 PBGC Premium Revenue by Size of Plan and Type of Premium (2002)
• S-38 PBGC-Insured Plans and Participants by Total Premium Paid (2002)
• S-39 PBGC-Insured Plans and Participants by Variable-Rate Premium Status (1992-2002)

Funding Levels of Insured Plans

• S-40 Funding of PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2001)
• S-41 Funding of Underfunded PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2001)
• S-42 Funding of Overfunded PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2001)
• S-43 Concentration of Underfunding in PBGC-Insured Plans (1990-2001)
• S-44 Plans, Participants and Funding of PBGC-Insured Plans by Funding Ratio (2001)
• S-45 Various Measures of Underfunding in PBGC-Insured Plans (1990-2003)
• S-46 Funding of PBGC-Insured Plans by Industry (2001)

State Data

• S-47 Pension Funding Data for PBGC-Insured Plans by Region and State (2001)
• S-48 PBGC Pension Data by Region and State
• S-49 PBGC Maximum Guaranteed Benefits (1988-2004)

APPENDIX M: MULTIEMPLOYER DATA TABLES

PBGC'S MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM

PBGC administers a separate guarantee program for multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. Multiemployer benefit plans are established pursuant to collective bargaining agreements involving two or more unrelated employers. Multiemployer plans are common in industries such as construction, trucking, mining, the hotel trades, and segments of the grocery business. Some multiemployer defined benefit plans use a “unit benefit” formula that multiplies a participant’s years of service times a fixed dollar amount (such as $15 times the participant’s years of service) to set the monthly benefit. In most cases, plan trustees establish benefit levels but some plans set benefits in the collective bargaining process. Multiemployer plans pay PBGC a yearly premium of $2.60 per participant for benefit insurance coverage.

Unlike the single-employer program, a multiemployer plan termination does not trigger the PBGC guarantee.(PBGC trusteed 10 multiemployer plans prior to October 1980 and continues to pay monthly benefits to participants in these plans.) A terminated plan continues to pay full plan benefits so long as it has sufficient assets to do so. A plan that does not have enough assets to pay full plan benefits is allowed to reduce or suspend payment of that portion of the benefit that exceeds the PBGC guarantee level. The current PBGC monthly benefit guarantee level for multiemployer plans is 100 percent of the first $11 of the plan-designated dollar amount multiplied by the participant’s years of service under the plan plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the dollar amount multiplied by the participant’s years of service. The dollar levels in this benefit guarantee formula are not indexed. Prior to December 22, 2000, PBGC’s monthly benefit guarantee level was 100 percent of the first $5 of the dollar amount multiplied by years of service plus 75 percent of the next $15 multiplied by years of service. The revised formula increased the monthly benefit guarantee for a worker with 30 years of service in a multiemployer plan from $487.50 ($5,850 per year) to $1,072.50 ($12,870 per year).

If a plan becomes insolvent despite benefit cutbacks, PBGC will provide the plan financial assistance—typically as a loan—in an amount necessary to pay guaranteed benefits and administrative expenses. Few plans receiving financial assistance from PBGC are likely to recover sufficiently to repay all the monies lent to them. An allowance has been established on PBGC’s books to account for financial assistance that is not expected to be repaid.

• M-1 Net Financial Position of PBGC's Multiemployer Program (1980-2003)
• M-2 PBGC Premium Revenue, Benefit Payments and Expenses (1980-2003)
• M-3 PBGC Financial Assistance to Insolvent Plans (1981-2003)
• M-4 PBGC Payees and Benefit Payments (1980-2003)
• M-5 PBGC-Insured Plan Participants (1980-2003)
• M-6 PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2003)
• M-7 PBGC-Insured Plan Participants by Participant Status (1980-2001)
• M-8 PBGC-Insured Plans and Participants by Industry (2002)
• M-9 Funding of PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2001)
• M-10 Funding of Underfunded PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2001)
• M-11 Funding of Overfunded PBGC-Insured Plans (1980-2001)
• M-12 Concentration of Underfunding in PBGC-Insured Plans (1990-2001)
• M-13 Participants and Funding of PBGC-Insured Plans by Funding Ratio (2001)
• M-14 Funding of PBGC-Insured Plans by Industry (2001)
• M-15 PBGC Maximum Guaranteed Benefits (1980-2004)
• M-16 PBGC's Historic Premium Rates