Opinion letters database

PBGC answered several questions on the application of pre-MPPAA withdrawal rules.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980.  (02/12/2026)

PBGC answered several questions on the application of pre-MPPAA withdrawal rules.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980.  (02/12/2026)

PBGC answered several questions on the application of pre-MPPAA withdrawal rules.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980.  (02/12/2026)

PBGC had not yet developed regulations to allocate liability under 4064.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980. (02/12/2026)

PBGC waived part of a plan sponsor’s liability to avoid unreasonable hardship.

Withdrawn: Not helpful guidance. The specific facts of this letter might not prove illustrative of likely outcomes. As a result, this letter has been rescinded. (02/12/2026)

PBGC answered several question on the application of pre-MPPAA multiemployer termination rules.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980. (02/12/2026)

PBGC makes partition terminations on a case-by-case basis.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980.  (02/12/2026)

PBGC waived liability for an employer withdrawal because of a satisfactory indemnity agreement.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980.  (02/12/2026)

Withdrawing employer must provide PBGC with appropriate security for its share of the Plan’s insufficiency.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980. (02/12/2026)

This letter addresses a question as to whether defined benefit plans established and maintained in Puerto Rico are subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA.

Withdrawn: PBGC does not consider a plan to be covered under Title IV of ERISA where its trust is created or organized outside the U.S. and no §1022(i)(2) election has been made. (04/19/2013)

Sale of assets doesn’t in itself constitute a reportable event, but it may result in an active participant reduction.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation. ERISA Section 4043.23 – Active Participant Reduction – see examples provided  (02/12/2026)

PBGC has not yet established its contingent liability insurance program.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980.  (02/12/2026)

Plan administrator was required to perform allocation of assets. PBGC requested information to compute liability to the corporation.

Withdrawn: The guidance is out-of-date as PBGC trustees all plans in underfunded SE terminations and performs all section 4044 allocations. Also, its discussion on termination liability is outdated because, since 1986, PBGC’s employer liability claim covers all unfunded plan benefits, not just those benefits guaranteed by PBGC. (02/12/2026)

Participant reduction reportable event occurred based on facts provided.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.23 – Active Participant Reduction – see definition  (02/12/2026)

The reduction in the number of plan participants is a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.23 – Active Participant Reduction – see definition (02/12/2026)

Elimination of a death benefit is a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.22 -Amendment Decreasing Benefits Payable – Notice is waived for this event in its entirety  (02/12/2026)

Distribution of annuity contracts.

Withdrawn: This opinion letter is outdated. The procedures for a sufficient plan were amended and codified in the 1986 SEPPAA legislation and are in current PBGC standard termination regulations. (02/12/2026)

Applicability of title IV to plan terminations occurring between July 1, 1974 and September 2, 1974.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980. (02/12/2026)

Sale of divisions resulting in more than 20% reduction in number of plan participants is a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.23 – Active Participant Reduction and 4062(e) – see definitions  (02/12/2026)

Whether an annuitant is a plan participant.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation and premium filing instructions.   (02/12/2026)

Change in funding method does not constitute a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.28 Plan merger, consolidation or transfer - notice is waived for this event in its entirety  (02/12/2026)

Closing plant covering 6% of the employees in the plan is not a reportable event. Failure to pay benefits when due would be a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.23 – Active Participant Reduction and 4043.26 Inability to Pay Benefits When Due – see definitions  (02/12/2026)

Plan merger constitutes a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.28 Plan merger, consolidation or transfer - Notice is waived for this event in its entirety  (02/12/2026)

PBGC approval is not needed to merge a single employer plan into a multiemployer plan, but such a transaction would be a reportable event.

Withdrawn: Superseded by regulation.  ERISA Section 4043.28 Plan merger, consolidation or transfer - Notice is waived for this event in its entirety (02/12/2026)

Partial termination is not an insurable event.

Withdrawn: Obsolete. No longer applicable since the passage of MPPAA in 1980. (02/12/2026)