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Guidance Document Database
The documents listed below are PBGC’s guidance documents, as defined by EO 13891, sec. 2(b), see Federal Register Notice. 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. PBGC will only cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted in this database to establish historical facts.
If you would like to request the withdrawal or modification of an existing guidance document, please submit your request, 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, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005–4026. For additional information, see PBGC’s procedures for guidance documents.
| Title | Issuance Date | Agency Identifier | Topics | Summary | Posted Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion Letter 75-32 | 12-31-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-32 | Plan assets, Allocation of assets | Assets intended to fund insurance company annuities, but which are retained by the plan are subject to allocation procedures. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 80-12 | 6-9-1980 | PBGC Op Let 80-12 | Coverage, Professional service employer plan | Real estate broker is not a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 85-18 | 7-24-1985 | PBGC Op Let 85-18 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Corrects opinion letter 85-1 and addresses calculation of withdrawal liability installment payments other than on a quarterly schedule. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 76-57 | 4-26-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-57 | Coverage | Plan has not met conditions for coverage since ERISA enacted; Title IV doesn’t apply to the termination of the plan. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 77-154 | 7-21-1977 | PBGC Op Let 77-154 | Coverage | “Licensed” or “registered” engineers are “public” engineers under ERISA 4021(c)(2)(B) and the plan is exempt under the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 88-02 | 3-22-1988 | PBGC Op Let 88-02 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability, sale of assets, Construction industry | Addresses applicability to construction industry employers of the sale-of-assets limitation on withdrawal liability. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 82-28 | 10-15-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-28 | Termination | Whether the method of distribution proposed for a plan is acceptable when the plan administrator is terminating its DB plan and creating a DC plan. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 76-73 | 6-2-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-73 | Benefit guarantee | Reaffirms PBGC’s prior review of its determination that a severance benefit provided by the plan is not a guaranteed benefit because it is not a benefit that is payable as an annuity or one or more payments related thereto. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-41 | 5-13-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-41 | Coverage, Governmental plan | To be excluded from coverage, all employees covered by the plan must be public employees and the political subdivision must be the plan sponsor. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 81-31 | 9-22-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-31 | Coverage, Governmental plan | Plan meets the Governmental plan coverage exemption. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 88-07 | 5-2-1988 | PBGC Op Let 88-07 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability, sale of assets | Addresses the “unrelated party” requirement for the sale of assets exception to withdrawal liability. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 86-12 | 5-23-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-12 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability, Partial Withdrawal | 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 86-20 | 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 75-43 | 6-25-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-43 | Coverage, Substantial owners plan | A plan with one participant who is a substantial owner is not covered. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-91 | 7-15-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-91 | Benefit reduction, Reportable events | A reduction in benefits is not considered a plan termination but is a reportable event. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 88-10 | 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 76-31 | 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 74-19 | 12-13-1974 | PBGC Op Let 74-19 | Coverage | A tax qualified defined benefit plan is covered. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 76-119 | 11-15-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-119 | Residual assets | Because plan does not provide for reversion of excess assets to sponsor, residual assets must be distributed to plan participants and their beneficiaries, pro rata, in relation to their accrued benefits. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 75-17 | 11-14-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-17 | Coverage, Individual account plan | Addresses the individual account plan coverage exemption. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 79-12 | 9-19-1979 | PBGC Op Let 79-12 | Coverage, Professional service employer plan | State licensed planner whose company provides consulting services to assist municipal planning boards with development plans, land use studies and housing surveys is a Professional Service Employer and plan is exempt from Title IV coverage. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 77-156 | 8-5-1977 | PBGC Op Let 77-156 | Employer liability | Where proposed language in CBA will not affect Title IV coverage, it will not prevent PBGC claim for employer liability. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 83-10 | 5-12-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-10 | Multiemployer, Asset Sale Exception | Regards a statutory provision under which a contributing employer to a multiemployer plan that sells its assets to an unrelated buyer does not withdraw from the plan if (among other things) the buyer posts a bond or escrow and the sales contract makes the seller secondarily liable if the buyer withdraws during the 5 plan years after the sale. Addresses calculation of withdrawal liability of an employer that previously sold some of its assets where, under that statutory provision, the asset sale was not a withdrawal. | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 74-24 | 12-12-1974 | PBGC Op Let 74-24 | Coverage | A plan maintained by a union and funded only by contributions from union members is not covered under Title IV | 2-28-2020 |
| Opinion Letter 82-11 | 4-1-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-11 | Restoration | Whether PBGC will permit a plan to be restored after it has submitted its Notice of its Intent to Terminate. | 2-28-2020 |