Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - September 21, 2017 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Department of Labor

Alex Acosta, Secretary of Labor and Chair of the PBGC Board of Directors
Tim Hauser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Nick Geale, Acting Solicitor of Labor
Teresa Bloom, Acting Division Chief, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Nicole Swift, Employee Benefits Law Specialist, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Graham Boone, Detailee, Employee Benefits Security Administration

Department 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
Brad Burke, Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
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
Ann Orr, Chief of Staff
Michael Rae, Deputy Chief Policy Officer
Bob Scherer, Chief Information Officer
Alice Maroni, Chief Management Officer
Chris Bone, Policy Research and Analysis Department

PBGC Advisory Committee

Robin Diamonte
Henry Eickelberg
Regina Jefferson
Joyce St. Clair
Babette Ceccotti (consultant)

PBGC Office of Inspector General
Bob Westbrooks, 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

A quorum being present, the Chair convened the meeting.  He welcomed the attendees, and expressed his appreciation for the participation of the Advisory Committee with its diversity of perspectives.  The Chair invited a motion to approve the minutes of the September 8 meeting.  A motion was made, seconded and passed, and the Chair instructed PBGC to post the minutes on its website.  The meeting then proceeded in accordance with the established agenda (Attachment 1).

Inspector General Westbrooks reviewed his office’s successful efforts in referring fraudulent benefit recipients for criminal prosecution as well as in identifying potentially ineligible benefit recipients to PBGC management.  He updated the Board on cybersecurity and audit recommendation issues, and advised that he had routine auditor communications to share during the executive session.

Director Reeder addressed the looming insolvency of the multiemployer insurance program.  He updated the Board on the status of recent partition and suspension cases under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA).  Director Reeder discussed the various proposals that have been circulating publicly and analytic work being done by PBGC and Board staff in anticipation of briefing the Board.  He and the Chair discussed possible timelines for briefing the Board.

Advisory Committee Member Eickelberg observed that the problem is very tough as the liabilities of troubled multiemployer plans are so far in excess of their assets that asset returns cannot close the gap and raising premiums too much will accelerate the exit of healthy employers.

Advisory Committee Chair Diamonte discussed the work of the Advisory Committee, after noting the existence of three vacancies, with a fourth arising in February 2018.  She briefed the Board on the Advisory Committee’s activities, including providing advice on asset-liability matching in PBGC’s fixed income portfolio, on the Smaller Asset Managers pilot program, and on PBGC’s Missing Participants regulation.  She further advised the Board of areas the Committee could help with in the future.

The Chair recognized the need to address the vacancies.  He thanked the Committee for its work and noted the importance of its role.

The Board then went into executive session, first with the Inspector General and subsequently among themselves.  The meeting adjourned.  

Attachment 1

AGENDA

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OF THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION (PBGC)

September 21, 2017

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM