This page has not been translated. Please go to PBGC.gov's Spanish home page for more information available in Spanish.
Esta página no ha sido traducida. Por favor vaya a la página principal del sitio de español de PBGC para ver información disponible en español.
Guidance documents database
The documents listed below are PBGC’s guidance documents. The contents of these documents do not have the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract, and are not meant to bind the public in any way. These documents are intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
If you would like to comment on an existing guidance document, please submit your comment, including your contact information, to the General Counsel at GuidanceComments@pbgc.gov or at Regulatory Affairs Division, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Office of the General Counsel, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101.
| Title | Issuance Date | Agency Identifier (indexed field) | Topics | Summary | Posted Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion Letter 81-040 | 12-9-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-40 | Governmental plan, Coverage | Plan does not meet the Governmental plan coverage exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 81-024 | 8-21-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-24 | Residual assets | Addresses the distribution of residual assets to an employer. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-013 | 1-6-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-13 | Individual account plan, Coverage | Individual account plan is exempt from coverage |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 77-160 | 8-30-1977 | PBGC Op Let 77-160 | Allocation of assets | Following plan terms, the plan may be charged for reasonable termination-related expenses for which the plan is responsible. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 85-027 | 12-2-1985 | PBGC Op Let 85-27 | Pre-MPPAA withdrawals, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Discusses how pre-MPPAA withdrawals affect the calculation of the annual withdrawal liability payment. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 88-008 | 5-2-1988 | PBGC Op Let 88-08 | Withdrawal, Construction industry, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses determining the date of a construction industry employer's withdrawal from a multiemployer plan in the context of a labor dispute. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 76-117 | 11-3-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-117 | Termination | No plan termination occurred when subsidiaries ended plan participation. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-015 | 1-24-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-15 | defined contribution plans, Coverage | Defined contribution plans are not covered plans under Title IV. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 94-005 | 9-27-1994 | PBGC Op Let 94-05 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability, Unfunded vested benefits | Addresses whether the amount of a multiemployer plan’s unfunded vested benefits may be retroactively corrected when a computational error resulted in overassessment and overpayment of withdrawal liability. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 74-027 | 12-13-1974 | PBGC Op Let 74-27 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | PBGC could not determine that an employer engaged in services different than those specified in 4021(c) was a professional service employer. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 83-001 | 1-4-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-1 | Investigatory authority | PBGC not subject to state divorce court; PBGC’s authority is limited by the terms of title IV of ERISA and therefore the PBGC cannot submit to the state court's jurisdiction. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 81-038 | 11-18-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-38 | Termination | Initial determination that notice of intent to terminate not valid where not issued by plan administrator, where company argued it was de facto plan administrator but plan clearly identified board to be created as plan administrator. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 84-005 | 5-21-1984 | PBGC Op Let 84-05 | sale of assets, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | States the conditions that must be met for the sale of assets exception to withdrawal liability to apply; buyer did not comply with the bond/escrow and sale contract requirements. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-106 | 11-14-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-106 | Individual account plan, Coverage | Plan is not an Individual account plan because it does not provide for individual accounts for each participant. Plan is covered under Title IV. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 82-020 | 7-27-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-20 | Multiemployer | A letter of credit can satisfy the bond or escrow requirement of the trucking industry exemption from withdrawal liability. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 85-025 | 10-11-1985 | PBGC Op Let 85-25 | Asset reversion, Termination | Implementation guidelines do not generally apply to a transfer of assets from a single-employer plan to a multiemployer plan, followed by the termination of the single-employer plan, but because plan termination is a prerequisite to a reversion of plan assets to an employer, PBGC will not recognize a plan termination when it is intended as a means to recover surplus plan assets without satisfying termination requirements. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 77-161 | 8-30-1977 | PBGC Op Let 77-161 | Allocation of assets, Substantial owners plan | A proposal to allocate post termination gains in plan assets to increase a participant’s benefits is not permissible. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 77-131 | 2-11-1977 | PBGC Op Let 77-131 | Employer liability | PBGC examines financial information of an employer and all trades or businesses under the same common control to assess the employer’s hardship or necessity for deferred payments to meet liability. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 88-007 | 5-2-1988 | PBGC Op Let 88-07 | sale of assets, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses the “unrelated party” requirement for the sale of assets exception to withdrawal liability. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 86-012 | 5-23-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-12 | Partial Withdrawal, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses calculation of the annual withdrawal liability payment amount of an employer that incurred successive partial withdrawals. PBGC subsequently adopted a rule addressing the issue. (See 29 CFR part 4206.) |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 86-020 | 9-29-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-20 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses abatement rules for employers that reenter a multiemployer plan. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-043 | 6-25-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-43 | Substantial owners plan, Coverage | A plan with one participant who is a substantial owner is not covered. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 88-010 | 12-12-1988 | PBGC Op Let 88-10 | Benefit guarantee | PBGC recognizes pension credits for discharged employees found to have been illegal discharged and reinstated for the period after the illegal discharge and ending with the date of plan termination. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 76-031 | 3-3-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-31 | Allocation of assets, Benefit guarantee | Section 4044 asset allocation rules take precedence over any contrary plan provisions. |
2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 74-019 | 12-13-1974 | PBGC Op Let 74-19 | Coverage | A tax qualified defined benefit plan is covered. |
2-28-2020 |