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Guidance Document 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 86-07 | 3-24-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-07 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses whether a union decertification can cause a withdrawal. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 86-21 | 9-29-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-21 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses (1) how withdrawal liability should be assessed when the contributing employer is a partnership, and (2) whether an employer continues to perform work of the type and jurisdiction covered by a collective bargaining agreement for purposes of determining whether a withdrawal has occurred. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 89-01 | 2-8-1989 | PBGC Op Let 89-1 | Asset reversion | PBGC’s position requiring distribution of assets as soon as practicable after PBGC’s 60-day review does not apply to surplus assets when there is a dispute concerning distribution. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 80-13 | 6-20-1980 | PBGC Op Let 80-13 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Provider of advertising and public relations services is not a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 82-10 | 3-26-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-10 | Mass Withdrawal, Multiemployer | Addresses a plan sponsor’s obligations when a plan terminates by mass withdrawal, including the payment of benefits to participants in a terminated plan. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 80-11 | 6-9-1980 | PBGC Op Let 80-11 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Artist-designer is not a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 83-06 | 2-10-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-6 | Benefit guarantee | Laid-off employees may accrue guaranteed benefits up to date of plan termination. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-05 | 4-24-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-5 | Individual account plan | Individual account plan is exempt from coverage under Title IV. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 81-02 | 2-24-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-2 | Governmental plan, Coverage | Plan meets the Governmental plan coverage exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-19 | 1-9-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-19 | Substantial owners plan, Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Addresses the Professional Service Employer plan and Substantial Owner plan coverage exemptions. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 85-32 | 12-31-1985 | PBGC Op Let 85-32 | sale of assets, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses whether an employer that has withdrawn from a multiemployer plan may be relieved of withdrawal liability by a subsequent sale of assets. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-06 | 1-21-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-6 | Plan year | A plan year is the fiscal year on which the records of a plan are kept. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 02-1 | 12-10-2002 | PBGC Op Let 02-1 | Restoration | PBGC has no legal authority to terminate and then restore a pension plan in order to implement more lenient funding requirements for the successor plan. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 79-08 | 4-25-1979 | PBGC Op Let 79-8 | Allocation of assets, Benefits | How to determine eligibility for a “Category 3 Benefit,” which is a benefit of a participant who retired, or could have retired, 3 years or more before the plan terminated. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 83-12 | 5-20-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-12 | Standard termination | Standard termination of plans and establishment of new plans that do not include past service credits will not cause PBGC to reject a proper notice of intent to terminate. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 76-37 | 3-15-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-37 | Benefit guarantee | Discusses how the five-year phase-in rule impacts guarantee of certain recent benefit increases and that certain early retirement supplements are not guaranteed. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 82-32 | 10-28-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-32 | Multiemployer, Dispute Resolution, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses the procedure to follow when parties to a dispute over withdrawal liability do not agree on the selection of an arbitrator. PBGC adopted a rule addressing the issue. (See 29 CFR § 4221.4.) |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 80-22 | 12-16-1980 | PBGC Op Let 80-22 | Termination, Multiemployer | Discusses the rules governing plan termination and notes that the employers may owe withdrawal liability. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 83-18 | 8-5-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-18 | Withdrawal, Multiemployer | Addresses whether incorporation of a sole proprietorship constitutes a withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan where the successor corporation becomes party to the collective bargaining agreement and continues to contribute to the plan on behalf of its employees for the same operations for which contributions were previously contributed by the sole proprietor. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 77-163 | 8-30-1977 | PBGC Op Let 77-163 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Licensed clinical laboratory bio-analyst is a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 85-07 | 3-4-1985 | PBGC Op Let 85-7 | Residual assets, Allocation of assets | Termination is not subject to the spin-off/termination requirements of the implementation guidelines involving asset reversions since no assets will revert to the plan sponsor. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 87-06 | 7-15-1987 | PBGC Op Let 87-6 | Termination | All affected parties may submit comments to PBGC on a proposed distress termination. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 78-21 | 9-19-1978 | PBGC Op Let 78-21 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Embalmer and funeral director is not a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-40 | 8-12-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-40 | Welfare plans, Coverage | Welfare plans are not covered under Title IV. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 81-18 | 6-29-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-18 | Residual assets | Addresses the distribution of residual assets to an employer. |
2-28-2020 |