Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This policy statement addresses PBGC's policy on accepting and responding to amended premium filings based on recharacterization of contributions. Recharacterization of contributions refers to a situation in which contributions originally designated as being for the plan year in which they were made are retroactively redesignated as being for the preceding plan year. This makes plan assets for the current year higher, and the plan's variable-rate premium lower, than originally reported. Such recharacterization seeks not to correct a factual error but to change a valid designation and is not an appropriate basis for an amended premium filing or premium refund.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of its collection of information for annual financial and actuarial information reporting under 29 CFR Part 4010 (OMB control number 1212- 0049; expires March 31, 2012). This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

This rule amends Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans undergoing distress or involuntary termination with valuation dates falling in 2012. This table is needed in order to compute the value of early retirement benefits and, thus, the total value of benefits under a plan.

This proposed rule would implement provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) that change the rules for determining benefits upon the termination of a statutory hybrid plan, such as a cash balance plan. PPA 2006 provides that, when such a plan terminates, a variable rate used under the plan to determine accrued benefits will be equal to the average of the rates of interest used under the plan during the five-year period ending on the termination date. Further, the amount of the benefit payable in the form of an annuity payable at normal retirement age will be determined using the interest rate and mortality table specified under the plan for that purpose as of the termination date (or an average interest rate if the plan rate is a variable rate). For a plan terminated and trusteed by PBGC, the proposed rule would amend PBGC's regulations to conform the rules for determining the allocation of assets and the amount of benefits payable under Title IV of ERISA to the PPA 2006 changes in the benefit determination rules for statutory hybrid plans. The proposed rule would also implement a PPA 2006 change for determining the present value of the accrued benefit under a statutory hybrid plan. Finally, the proposed rule would provide guidance on benefits payable under a statutory hybrid plan that terminates in a standard termination.

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single- Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in November 2011. The interest assumptions are used for paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single- Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the benefit payments regulation for valuation dates in October 2011 and interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for valuation dates in the fourth quarter of 2011. The interest assumptions are used for valuing and paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

This final rule removes PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants. The regulation is obsolete as a result of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Prior to the effective date of the statutory change, section 4011 of ERISA required certain underfunded plans to notify participants of plan funding status and the limits on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's guarantee. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 repealed section 4011 for plan years beginning after 2006 and replaced the disclosure requirement under that section with a disclosure requirement under Title I of ERISA. This rule is consistent with Executive Order 13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, a collection of information on the disclosure of termination information under its regulations for distress terminations, 29 CFR part 4041, subpart C, and for PBGC-initiated terminations under 29 CFR part 4042 (OMB control number 1212-0065; expires October 31, 2011). This notice informs the public of PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collection of information that must be provided by plan administrators and plan sponsors to affected parties upon request.

This final rule implements section 404 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Section 404 amended Title IV of ERISA to provide that when an underfunded, PBGC-covered, single-employer pension plan terminates while its contributing sponsor is in bankruptcy, sections 4022 and 4044(a)(3) of ERISA are applied by treating the date the sponsor's bankruptcy petition was filed as the termination date of the plan. Section 4022 determines which benefits are guaranteed by PBGC, and section 4044(a)(3) determines which benefits are entitled to priority in ``priority category 3'' in the statutory hierarchy for allocating the assets of a terminated plan. Thus, under the 2006 amendments, when a plan terminates while the sponsor is in bankruptcy, the amount of benefits guaranteed by PBGC and the amount of benefits in priority category 3 are fixed at the date of the bankruptcy filing rather than at the plan termination date. In most cases, this reduces the amount of guaranteed benefits and the amount of benefits in priority category 3.

This final rule amends Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in May 2011. PBGC's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans prescribes actuarial assumptionsincluding interest assumptionsfor paying plan benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is reviewing its regulations in response to the President's Executive Order 13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. The purpose of this review is to make PBGC's regulatory program both more effective and less burdensome. We are starting by identifying regulations for possible modification, streamlining, or repeal, which will be incorporated into a preliminary regulatory review plan. For now, we are asking the public for ideas and informationto suggest candidate regulations for review, alternative approaches, etc.to help prepare the preliminary plan. There will be additional opportunities for public comment after the preliminary plan is developed and approved.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has granted a request from Rangers Baseball Express, LLC, for an exemption from the bond/ escrow requirement of section 4204(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, with respect to the Major League Baseball Players Pension Plan. A notice of the request for exemption from the requirement was published on December 28, 2010. The effect of this notice is to advise the public of the decision on the exemption request.

As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'' or ``the Agency'') has submitted a Generic Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' to OMB for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of collections of information under its regulations on multiemployer plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This notice informs the public of PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collections of information.

This final rule amends Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in February 2011. Interest assumptions are also published on PBGC's Web site (https://www.pbgc.gov).