Reportable events

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 75-91 July 15, 1975 RE FERENCE: [*1] 4041 Termination by Plan Administrator404 3(b)(2) Reportable Events. Amendment Decreasing Benefits OP INION: This i s in response to your July 3, 1 975 letter to the Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit GuarantyCo rporation ("PBGC") in which you inquired if a reduction in pension benefits is considered a plan termination. Under Title IV of th e Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), which establishes th e PBGC,the "reducti on" that you describe in your letter does not const itute a termination. However, it does appear to co nstitutea "repor table event" under ERISA, § 4043(b). As su ch, the plan administrator of your pension plan should notify thePB GC of the adoption of the proposed change within 30 days from the date of the adoption. (ERISA, § 4043(a)). I hop e this information has been helpful to you. Henry Rose Ge neral Counsel

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 75-115 May 30, 1975 RE FERENCE: [*1] 4041 Termination by Plan Administrator404 3. Reportable Events OP INION: This i s in response to your letter of Dece mber 18, 1974 in which you advise of a c hange in insurance carriers fora pen sion program covering office employees of your firm. As you recogni ze, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 this Corporation must be notified10 days in advance of any proposed termination of a covered pension plan, and certain procedures apply in t heeven tuality of terminati on. In addition there are events with respe ct to a plan which must be reported to this Corporation. One such report able event is an amendment to a pension plan which reduces the benefit payable with respect to any parti cipant. As yo u indicate, however, the subsitution of one insurance carrier for another is not, without more, a"termination" that mus t be preceded by notice to this Corporation. Nor is it a "reportable event." Under the cir cumstances, of course, you are not "out of line in any way . . . ." I am en closing, for you information, a summary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 197 4, as it pertains to the funct ions of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and your obligations under [*2] those provisionsof the Ac t. Your interest in bringin g this matter to our attention is ap preciated. If you have any further questions pleaseadv ise. Steven E . Schanes Acting Executive Director

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 76-24 Februa ry 14, 1976 RE FERENCE: [*1] 2 08 Mergers, Consolidations and other Transfers of Plan Assets404 3(b)(8) Reportable Events. Mergers, Consolidations & other Transfers of Plan Assets OP INION: This is in r esponse to your recen t inquiry concerning the pension benefits of * * * which inq uiry was forwarded tothis Co rporation on * * * by the Labor-Management Services Administration of the Department of Labor. * * * i s a participant of the * * * Salari ed Pension Plan (hereinafter "Company Plan"), a single employer plan, which is awaiting merger into the (he reinafter "Union Plan"), a multiemployer plan. The delay in * * * pension benefits iscaused by the fact that the i nsurance comp any which administers the funds of the Company Plan will not transfer thosefunds to the Union Plan without the approval by this Corporation of the merger. Secti on 208 of t he Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (here inafter "Act") provides in pertinent part that two pension plans may not merge unles s each participant would be entitled to a pension benefit after merger equalor great er in value t han before the merger. The Act fu rther provides that the above requirement applies to multiemployerplans only to the extent determined by this [*2] Corporation. It is this Corporation's position that until it issues regulations relating to Act § 208, t he constraints of that sectiondo not apply to the merger of a single employer plan int o a multiemployer plan. Therefore, the proposed merger heredoe s not require the prior approval of this Corporation. If thi s Corporation had been previously advi sed of the proposed merger, the relevant parties would have beeninf ormed that approval by thi s Corporation was not necessary and the delay in the proposed merger could have been avoide d. Ho wever, the records of this Corporation indicate that it received no communicatio

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 76-33 March 5, 1976 RE FERENCE: [*1] 404 3(b)(8) Reportable Events. Mergers, Consolidations & other Transfers of Plan Assets OP INION: This is in response to your letter of February 10, 1976. Yo u indicate that four corporations are merging into twocorporations and th at, subsequently, the single employer, defined benefit plans of each of the corporations ar e merging into two plans. That is, the assets and liabilities of the merging corporations' plans are bein g transferred into a sing le planto be mainta ined by the resultant single corporation. You ask whether this consti tutes a reportable event or planter mination unde r Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the "Act"). W e assume that theplans are covered by § 4021 of the Act. As * * * of my st aff indicated by telephone on February 27, 1976, there appear to be two plan mergers reportableunder § 4043 (b) (8) of the Act. Accordingly, notices must be submitted of the Office of Progra m Operations - Divi sionof Plan Review of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") whithin 30 days after the plan administrator knows or ha s reason to know of the events' occurrences. But the mergers described in your let ter and on the telephone to * * * do [*2] not constitute "terminations" under Title IV of the Act. We hop e this is of assistance. Enclosed, pursuant to your discussion with * * * is a cop y of the Notice of Intent toTe rminate Regulation. George B . Driesen De puty General Counsel

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 76-41 March 22, 1976 RE FERENCE: [*1] 404 3(b)(3) Reportable Events. Decrease in Participants OP INION: Th is is in response to your i nquiry of M arch 4, 1976. You ask whether certain plan events constitute a reportableeven t or termination under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the "Act"). Based upon our telephone conversation and the contents of your letter, I understand the facts to be the foll owing:An em ployer whose operations encompass severa l plants is closing one of the plants with a consequent reductionof six percent of t he particip ants in a plan maintained by the employer. If the plan covers the aggregate of the plants tothe effect that benefits are payable under the plan without rega rd to a cessation of co ntributions on behalf of participantsof a p articular plant, the subject reduction of participants is not a reportable event or termination under Title IV. However, you s hould be aware that a fail ure of the plan to pay benefits when due to particpants is a reportable eventunder Sectio n 4043(b)(6) of the Act. It is assumed that any benefit entitlements of the affected parti cipants under theplan w ill be satisfied. I hope thi s is of assistance.* * * Staff Atto rney