WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to collect additional information to enhance its compliance oversight of multiemployer pension plans that receive special financial assistance (SFA). The new requirements would expand the scope of information that must be filed as part of the Annual Statement of Compliance to include documentation of plan investment policies and procedures for locating missing participants.
“One of PBGC’s highest priorities is monitoring the stewardship of SFA funds to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used solely for their intended purpose,” said PBGC Director Janet Dhillon. “The proposed changes would give PBGC additional tools to verify that SFA funds are being managed responsibly and used to pay earned pension benefits to retirees and their beneficiaries.”
Stronger Oversight of Investment Decisions
Under the proposal, plans that received SFA would be required to submit documents that explain how investment decisions are made and monitored. These include investment policy statements, investment guidelines, asset allocation policies, committee charters, and other governing documents related to the management of plan assets, including SFA funds. The additional documentation would help PBGC assess whether plans are complying with SFA requirements, including rules governing how SFA funds are used, invested, and safeguarded.
Greater Focus on Missing Participants
PBGC is also proposing new information requirements related to missing participants. Plans that received SFA would be required to provide data on participants who may have lost contact with the plan, as well as documentation describing the procedures used to locate them.
The goal is to help ensure that retirees and beneficiaries receive the pension benefits they have earned.
The proposed revisions to the collection of information are published in today’s Federal Register and are open for public comment through December 15, 2026.
About the Special Financial Assistance Program
Enacted by legislation in 2021, the SFA Program provides funding to financially troubled multiemployer pension plans. Upon approval of an SFA application, PBGC makes a lump-sum payment to an eligible multiemployer plan in an amount projected to enable the plan to pay full plan benefits through 2051. The program is funded entirely by appropriations from the General Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Plans receiving SFA are subject to certain terms, conditions and reporting requirements, including an annual statement documenting compliance with the terms and conditions.
About PBGC
PBGC protects the retirement security of about 30 million American workers, retirees, and beneficiaries in both single-employer and multiemployer private sector pension plans. The agency’s two insurance programs are legally separate and operationally and financially independent. PBGC is directly responsible for the benefits of nearly 1.4 million participants and beneficiaries in failed single-employer pension plans. The Single-Employer Program is financed by insurance premiums, investment income, and assets and recoveries from failed single-employer plans. The Multiemployer Program is financed by insurance premiums and investment income. Special financial assistance for financially troubled multiemployer plans is financed by general taxpayer monies.