U.S. Department of Labor
Martin J. Walsh, Secretary of Labor, and Chair, PBGC Board of Directors
Ali Khawar, Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Josh Orton, Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary
Mary Beech, Chief of Staff, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Nicole Swift, Senior Employee Benefits Law Specialist, EBSA
Ashley Piatt, Employee Benefits Law Specialist, EBSA
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury
Benjamin Harris, Counselor to the Secretary
David Lebryk, Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Performing the Delegable Duties of the Under
Secretary for Domestic Finance
Steven Seitz, Director, Federal Insurance Office, Performing the Delegable Duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions
W. Moses Kim, Director, Office of Financial Institutions Policy
Philip Quinn, Senior Financial Analyst, Office of Financial Institutions Policy
Carol Weiser, Benefits Tax Counsel
U.S. Department of Commerce
Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Stephen Kunze, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Performing the Non-exclusive Functions and
Duties of the Chief Financial Officer
Kim Peyser, Deputy Chief of Staff
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Gordon Hartogensis, Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Russ Dempsey, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board
Kristin Chapman, Chief of Staff
Michael Rae, Acting Chief Policy Officer
Patricia Kelly, Chief Financial Officer
David Foley, Chief of Benefits Administration
Alice Maroni, Chief Management Officer
Karen Morris, Chief of negotiations and Restructuring
Chief Information Officer, Robert Scherer
Brenecia Watson, Director of Equal Employment Opportunity
Latreece Wade, Risk Management Officer
Ross Marcelin, Deputy Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring
Tyler Hernandez, Senior Advisor, Office of Policy and External Affairs
PBGC Office of Inspector General
Nick Novak, Acting Inspector General
John Seger, Assistant Inspector General for Audits
PBGC Office of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Constance Donovan, Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Camille Castro, Senior Associate Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
The Chair called the telephonic meeting to order and welcomed the attendees.
The Chair recognized PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis. Director Hartogensis reported on
PBGC’s mission-related work during the COVID-19 pandemic — including preserving plans
and protecting pensioners, paying timely and accurate benefits, and maintaining high standards
of stewardship and accountability. The Director also reported that in the last fiscal year, PBGC
provided over 984,000 retirees in single-employer plans more than $6.1 billion in benefits,
processed nearly 28,000 new benefit applications, and handled more than 556,000 customer
calls. He mentioned work related to the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, which created a new,
separate role for PBGC with respect to certain financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under
ARP, Congress established a Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program for qualifying
multiemployer plans and PBGC is focused on preparing a program and regulation, in
coordination with board agencies. Director Hartogensis also highlighted PBGC’s continued
efforts to improve transparency and accountability across the agency, as well as, efforts to
improve systems and processes to best serve customers.
Next, Director Hartogensis turned to the PBGC leadership team for each to provide an
introduction and brief overview of their respective departments.
An overview of the ARP implementation was provided by Michael Rae and Ross Marcelin. The
overview included a discussion of the SFA application process, restrictions and conditions,
particular noteworthy issues, PBGC modeling and expected results, stakeholder input and a
process update. The Chair emphasized the importance of ensuring that the special financial
assistance program is prudently structured and provides much-needed relief for workers and
retirees.
The Inspector General noted his full written report had been provided and commented on a few
items, including the kick-off of the fiscal year 2021 financial statement audit. Next the Inspector
General noted open recommendations have decreased since 2015 and observed that the average
age of recommendations has declined. He concluded by commenting that PBGC has made
significant progress on IT security.
The Chair thanked Director Hartogensis and commended him and PBGC staff for their efforts
this year and adjourned the meeting.
AGENDA
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION (PBGC)
Thursday, May 20, 2021
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Zoom
- Introduction by Secretary Walsh
- Director’s Report
- Introduction of PBGC Executive Leadership
- American Rescue Plan Implementation – Special Financial Assistance
- OIG Update