Premium Filing Tips | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Preparing a Filing

If you are new to filing, start the process early (before the filing due date) so you have time to address any questions/issues that may arise. Questions can typically be answered by reviewing the Online Demos.
If you use private-sector software to create a filing for importing or uploading via My PAA, be sure to use the most up-to-date version of the software to help ensure that the data is accurate and complete.
Save your data regularly. You will be logged out after 15 minutes of inactivity (as a security measure) and will lose any work that has not been saved.
Attachments can be submitted with Filings. On the Filing Details page, team members can attach PDFs, documents and spreadsheets to be submitted with the filing.
Verify your payment method. Paying outside My PAA means that you are paying via www.pay.gov or that your payment office or bank must forward a payment to PBGC, separate from your filing. The filer is responsible for initiating the payment and confirming that it was forwarded to PBGC. Paying inside My PAA means that you are making an online payment to PBGC along with submitting your filing. PBGC is then responsible for “pulling” the payment from your account that you specify. If you want to pay via My PAA or Pay.gov, be sure to determine whether your account has an "ACH Debit Block". If so, you must provide the appropriate PBGC Company ID to your financial institution before you submit your payment (1601000606 to pay via My PAA v or 1601000603 to pay via Pay.gov) to allow PBGC to "pull" the payment from your account. Otherwise, your financial institution may reject the processing of your payment.
Include the plan's EIN/PN and PYC on payments outside My PAA. With paper checks, include a My PAA payment voucher for automatic posting of your payment. Do not mail a printout of your filing.
Use the correct mailing address if you pay by check. Always verify and use the most current mailing address that is on our website for all filings, including filings for prior plan years.
Send payments timely. If you are unable to submit your filing timely, be sure to have your payment office or bank forward your premium payment (outside of My PAA) to PBGC by the filing due date; and then submit your filing as soon as possible thereafter.
If you need additional assistance, call 1-800-736-2444 (select the "premium" option) or send an email to premiums@pbgc.gov. PBGC's business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays.

Completing/Submitting a My PAA Screen-Prepared or Imported Filing

When a filing is created using My PAA's data entry screens or imported into My PAA's editing screens, the filing is completed, signed, paid and submitted via the Filing Details Page.

All team members can access the Filing Details Page by selecting the Filing Details button that is next to the in-process filing on the In-Process Filings Page or the Plan Details Page.
The Filing Details Page consists of three primary sections:
- In the Plan Details section, you will see Plan Information.
- In the Filing Details section you will see Filing ID, PYC, Amount Due, Filing Status, Date Submitted (if the filing has already been submitted) and an Attach Documents button. And depending on your roles, a Filing Summary button for viewing the data that has been entered, a Filing Receipt button to view the draft filing, an Edit Draft button for editing the filing, a Cancel Filing button to permanently cancel the filing, and a Payment Voucher button to complete the voucher outside of My PAA. In addition, a Back to Plan Detail button is available to navigate back to the Plan Details page. All filing team members can view the filing data and any warnings on the Filing Summary. However, in order to take action on the filing you must have the appropriate role based on the Filing Status.
- The Filing Task History section documents what filing specific actions have been completed by all team members.
All team members can view a saved filing and can see any warning messages at any time via the Filing Summary button.
Only the team member with the appropriate role can take action on the filing (e.g., edit or certify).
Only the Plan Administrator/PA Representative can submit a filing. We highly recommend that the data (and any warnings) be reviewed a final time before the filing is submitted to help ensure that the filing is accurate.
All roles can cancel a filing by selecting the "Cancel Filing" button. This may be done in order to start another filing for that plan year, since only one in-process filing is allowed per plan year.

Managing Your Account

When setting up your account, consider that a specific email address can only be used once -- for only one person's account.
Keep your username, password, and secret question/answer in a secure place for ready access as you will need them for your next filing.
If you forget your username or password or if your account becomes locked, select the Forgot your username or password link on the My PAA Login Screen and follow the instructions. If this does not resolve the issue, call or send an email to PBGC's premium representatives (see last bullet for contact information).
To keep your My PAA account active, be sure to successfully log in to your account at least once per year. If you will no longer be involved with premium filing for a particular plan, ask the plan’s filing coordinator to remove you from the plan’s filing team (and to invite others as appropriate). If you will no longer be involved with premium filing for any plan, remove all plans from your account. Note that accounts that have not been used for a substantial period of time will be automatically deactivated by PBGC (after any plans are removed) to help ensure system security, in compliance with PBGC’s guidelines.
For PBGC assistance, call 1-800-736-2444 (select the premium option) or send an email to premiums@pbgc.gov. PBGC's business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

Managing Your Plans and Filing Teams (Filing Coordinators Only)

If you are a plan's filing coordinator, your Plan Details Page contains a link to "Manage Roles." The Manage Roles Page contains access to add, remove and edit a practitioner's roles.

Set up or verify your filing team as early as possible before the plan's premium filing due date so that there is sufficient time to make any needed changes, to confirm that all team member can access their accounts, and to resolve any unexpected issues.
Be careful when typing in the plan name if you need to add a plan. To correct a misspelled plan name on the Home Page, you will need to submit a filing that is created with My PAA's data entry screens or imported into My PAA's editing screens with the corrected plan name.
Each role (including the filing coordinator role) should have multiple people assigned to help ensure smooth transitions as changes in personnel occur.
If the filing coordinator will change, the current filing coordinator should first invite the new filing coordinator(s) and then remove himself/herself from the filing team.
One filing coordinator can add, edit and remove another filing coordinator roles.
For details, view the "How to Add and Remove and Update Roles for Filing Team Member" Demo on the Demo Page. For assistance, call 1-800-736-2444 (select the premium option) or send an email to premiums@pbgc.gov. PBGC's business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

My PAA E-Mails and System Messages

If you do not receive an expected email from My PAA (e.g., with your temporary user ID and password), the email may be blocked by your systems security software (e.g., treated as "spam"). To receive the email, we suggest that you check with your system's security staff to see if an email from "@pbgc.gov" is blocked. If so, request that it be unblocked so you can receive it and ask (for the future) that emails from "@pbgc.gov" be added as a "trusted site" to your systems. If this is not an option or does not resolve the issue, contact a PBGC representative for assistance.
If you receive a message that your account has become disabled, this means that you have entered incorrect information when trying to login (e.g., an incorrect password five times). To resolve the issue, select "click here" to request support directly from the login page and follow the instructions to reenable your account.
If you receive a message that you have been "logged out" of My PAA (after receiving an advance warning message), this means that you have been inactive within My PAA for at least 15 minutes (i.e., have not selected any My PAA buttons or links). To resolve this condition, you will need to start over and enter your username and password into My PAA's Log In Screen.
If you receive a message that there are "technical difficulties", this is typically due to a temporary network condition, usage of browser buttons instead of My PAA buttons, or other computer/usage issues. You should try again at a later time. If you continue to receive this message, contact a PBGC representative for assistance.
If you receive a message that says "system unavailable," this typically means that My PAA is not available at that time (e.g., while system maintenance is being done). If you continue to receive this message, contact a PBGC representative for assistance.
To contact a PBGC representative for assistance, call 1-800-736-2444 (select the "premium" option) or send an email to premiums@pbgc.gov. PBGC's business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

System Compatibility with My PAA

Since My PAA is a Web-based application, it generally works best if your computer has standard software that is up-to-date and if you are using the latest version of your web browser. Otherwise, you may experience unexpected and unsupported problems when trying to use My PAA.

The following browsers typically work well with the My PAA application:

Microsoft Edge 119.0 and Above
Google Chrome 119.0 and Above
Firefox 120.0 and Above

Navigating My PAA

Only use My PAA buttons/links. It is best to only use navigation buttons/links on the My PAA screens (typically on the top and the bottom right of the screen) rather than the buttons/links provided by the browser software you are using. Using the browser-provided buttons/links can sometimes result in your receiving a technical difficulties message that will not allow you to continue. If this occurs, you will need to close My PAA and start over with the Log In process.
Understand the primary buttons within My PAA. For example, use “Back” to go back to the previous page in a read only mode, “Save and Continue” to save data entered and proceed to the next page, "Edit Previous Data" to go back to the beginning of the filing in order to make edits, and “ Exit” to save the filing data and enable you to leave My PAA and return later to work on the saved draft filing. Note: Any data entered on the current page upon clicking Exit will not be saved. You will be redirected to the Home Page.
Only select My PAA buttons/links once. After you select a button/link on a My PAA screen, allow sufficient time for the action to complete (considering the substantial amount of data involved). Do not try to shorten the wait time by repeatedly clicking on the button/link because it may lead to the page "freezing" and you will not be able to continue. If the page does "freeze," you will need to close My PAA and start over with the Log In process.
Be sure to scroll down the page. Scrolling is necessary to see all of the data, buttons and instructions.

Return to Online Premium Filing (My PAA) main page

Last Updated: December 22, 2023