WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced the appointment of Russell Dempsey as General Counsel.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Russ to the PBGC team as our new General Counsel,” PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis said. “His leadership and expertise will help inform and guide our efforts to support the agency’s mission and protect the retirement security of the individuals who rely on us.”
In his role, Dempsey provides advice and counsel for the Director and the agency on legal and regulatory issues. This includes enforcement of Title IV of ERISA through litigation, negotiation, drafting regulations and guidance, deciding administrative appeals, and administration of the Freedom of Information Act. He also advises the agency on corporate governance, ethics, procurement, labor relations, and privacy.
Dempsey has nearly 20 years of experience leading diverse teams and individually contributing legal expertise to the financial services and retirement industry. Over the course of his career, he has provided counsel on a wide range of issues including retirement plan design and administration, plan terminations and bankruptcy filings, regulatory matters, litigation, security and compliance, and corporate governance. Dempsey comes to PBGC having previously served as the Associate General Counsel of AIG in Houston, Texas, and as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for United Retirement Plan Consultants. He began his career as an attorney in the Employee Plans Division of the Internal Revenue Service.
Dempsey holds a Master of Laws in Taxation and a Juris Doctor from the Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and a Bachelor of Arts from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
About PBGC
PBGC protects the retirement security of over 34 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 more than 1.5 million participants and beneficiaries in failed pension plans and receives no taxpayer dollars. 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 but is expected to become insolvent within six years due to the failure of severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans. For more information, visit PBGC.gov.