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Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - May 24, 2018 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Department of Labor
Alex Acosta, Secretary of Labor and Chair of the PBGC Board of Directors
Preston Rutledge, Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Tim Hauser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Nick Geale, Chief of Staff

Department of the Treasury
Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury
Christopher Campbell, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions
Philip Quinn, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Financial Institutions Policy
Daniel Dorman, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Financial Institutions

Department of Commerce
Wilbur Ross, Secretary of the Department of Commerce
Karen Dunn Kelley, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
Regina Powers, Economist, Economics and Statistics Administration
Rick Lattimer, Policy Analyst, Economics and Statistics Administration
Ken White, Policy Analyst, Economics and Statistics Administration

PBGC
Tom Reeder, Director
Judith Starr, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board
Bob Scherer, Chief Information Officer
Michael Rae, Deputy Chief Policy Officer
Edgar Bennett, Director, Budget Department
Jensen Chan, Acting Director, Policy and Research Department
Christopher Bone, Actuary, Policy and Research Department
Joseph Grant, Senior Advisor

PBGC Office of Inspector General
Bob Westbrooks, Inspector General
Nick Novack, Deputy Inspector General

PBGC Office of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Constance Donovan, Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Camille Castro, Associate Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate

The Chair opened the meeting, welcomed the attendees and summarized the agenda: the Director’s Report, review and approval of the FY 2017 Projections Report and the Inspector General’s Report. Noting that the President has nominated a new director for the PBGC, the Chair expressed the Board’s appreciation to Director Reeder for his distinguished career in public service and his willingness to remain pending his successor’s confirmation. The Chair next solicited a motion to approve the minutes of the March 8 Board meeting, which was made, seconded and passed, and instructed PBGC to post the minutes to its website. The meeting then proceeded in accordance with the established agenda (Attachment 1).

Director Reeder described the May 17 hearing of the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans, at which he testified about the looming insolvency of the PBGC multiemployer insurance program, the Administration’s premium proposal to address it, and the need for Congress to act given the dire consequences to participants. He discussed with the Board the technical assistance PBGC is providing the Committee to help determine the effects of various proposals under consideration.

The Chair then turned to a discussion of the FY 2017 Projections Report. Director Reeder explained this year’s report shows trends very similar to last year’s. The changes are an acceleration in the pace of improvement in the financial condition of the single-employer program and more precision on the insolvency date of the multiemployer program. In response to the Chair’s question, Director Reeder explained that increased premiums and an unexpected low level of claims are the main reasons for the acceleration in the improvement of the single-employer program. The Chair then offered a motion to approve, absent any material changes, the transmittal of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s FY 2017 Projections Report to the President, the Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The motion was seconded and passed. The Chair noted that the FY 2017 Projections Report will be transmitted to the President, the Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), following the correction of any technical errors. Corrections must be agreed to among the Board Representatives.

Inspector General Bob Westbrooks next reported on activities of his office in preventing and detecting fraud, including identifying deceased participants receiving benefits, the successful prosecution of one fraud case involving premium recovery, and the coordination on a fraud case with the Department of Labor. He observed that open audit recommendations are at a very low level, and that he views the need to implement an insider threat program as the most critical recommendation for PBGC management to address. In response to a question from the Chair, the Inspector General stated that, while he does not have data points on the PBGC’s progress in data security, he sees that the commitment is there.

There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and passed.

 

 

 

Attachment 1

 

AGENDA

 

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OF THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION (PBGC)

 

May 24, 2018

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Conference Call

 

 

  1. Introduction by Secretary Acosta
  2. Director’s Report
  3. Discussion and Approval of the FY 2017 Projections report
  4. OIG Update
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