PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION (PBGC)

Statement of Regulatory and Deregulatory Priorities

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protects the pensions of more than 40 million people in more than 25,000 private-sector defined benefit plans. PBGC receives no tax revenues. Operations are financed by insurance premiums, investment income, assets from pension plans trusteed by PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the trusteed plans.

To carry out these functions, PBGC issues regulations on such matters as termination, payment of premiums, reporting and disclosure, and assessment and collection of employer liability. The Corporation is committed to issuing simple, understandable, flexible, and timely regulations to help affected parties.

PBGC has changed its regulatory approach so that its regulations do not inadvertently discourage the maintenance of existing defined benefit plans or the establishment of new plans. In the past, businesses and plans have commented that PBGC's regulations impose burdens where the actual risk to plans and PBGC is minimal. Thus, in developing new regulations and reviewing existing regulations, the focus, to the extent possible, is to avoid placing burdens on plans, employers, and participants, and to ease and simplify employer compliance. PBGC particularly strives to meet the needs of small businesses that sponsor defined benefit plans.

PBGC develops its regulations in accordance with the principles set forth in Executive Order 13563 "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (Jan. 18, 2011), and PBGC's Plan for Regulatory Review (Regulatory Review Plan), which can be found at www.pbgc.gov/documents/plan-for-regulatory-review.pdf. This Statement of Regulatory and Deregulatory Priorities reflects PBGC's ongoing implementation of its Regulatory Review Plan. Progress reports on the plan can be found at http://www.pbgc.gov/res/laws-and-regulations/reducing-regulatory-burden.html.

PBGC Insurance Programs

PBGC administers two insurance programs for privately defined benefit plans under title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA): A single-employer plan termination insurance program and a multiemployer plan insolvency insurance program.

• Single-Employer Program. Under the single-employer program, when a plan terminates with insufficient assets to cover all plan benefits (distress and involuntary terminations), PBGC pays plan benefits that are guaranteed under title IV. PBGC also pays nonguaranteed plan benefits to the extent funded by plan assets or recoveries from employers.

• Multiemployer Program. The smaller multiemployer program covers more than 1,450 collectively bargained plans involving more than one unrelated employer. PBGC provides financial assistance (in the form of a loan) to the plan if the plan is unable to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Guaranteed benefits are less than single-employer guaranteed benefits.

At the end of fiscal year 2012, PBGC had a $34 billion deficit in its insurance programs. Current PBGC premiums are insufficient.

Regulatory Objectives and Priorities

PBGC's regulatory objectives and priorities are developed in the context of the Corporation's statutory purposes:

• To encourage voluntary private pension plans.

• To provide for the timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits.

• To keep premiums at the lowest possible levels.

Pensions and the statutory framework in which they are maintained and terminate are complex. Despite this complexity, PBGC is committed to issuing simple, understandable, flexible, and timely regulations and other guidance that do not impose undue burdens that could impede maintenance or establishment of defined benefit plans.

Through its regulations and other guidance, PBGC strives to minimize burdens on plans, plan sponsors, and plan participants; simplify filing; provide relief for small businesses and plans; and assist plans in complying with applicable requirements. To enhance policy-making through collaboration, PBGC also plans to expand opportunities for public participation in rulemaking (see Open Government and Public Participation below).

PBGC's current regulatory objectives and priorities are to simplify its regulations and reduce burden, particularly in the areas of premiums and reporting, enhance retirement security, and complete implementation of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006).

Rethinking Existing Regulations

Pursuant to section 6 of Executive Order 13563 "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (Jan. 18, 2011), the following Regulatory Identifier Numbers (RINs) have been identified as associated with retrospective review and analysis in the Department's final retrospective review of regulations plan. The proposals are described below.

Reportable events. PPA 2006 affected certain provisions in PBGC's reportable events regulation (part 4043), which requires employers to notify PBGC of certain plan or corporate events. In November 2009, PBGC published a proposed rule to conform the regulation to the PPA 2006 changes and make other changes.^[1] In response to Executive Order 13563 and comments on the non-PPA 2006 provisions of the proposed rule, in April 2013 PBGC published a new proposal that would exempt more than 90 percent of plans and sponsors from many reporting requirements. The new proposal takes advantage of other existing reporting requirements and methods to avoid burdening companies and plans and expands waivers and redefines events to reduce reporting. The new proposal implements stakeholder suggestions that different reporting requirements should apply in circumstances where the risk to PBGC is low or compliance is especially burdensome. PBGC is considering public comments on the new proposal.

ERISA section 4062(e). The statutory provision requires reporting of, and liability for, certain substantial cessations of operations by employers that maintain single-employer plans. In August 2010, PBGC issued a proposed rule to provide guidance on the applicability and enforcement of section 4062(e).^[2] In light of comments, PBGC is reconsidering its 2010 proposed rule. At the same time, PBGC implemented working criteria for cases involving financially strong companies. Historically, this requirement has been enforced regardless of the financial health of the plan sponsor. The business community argued that this imposed an onerous burden on many companies where there was little or no threat to the retirement security of their employees or the agency. After careful review, PBGC agreed and in November 2012 announced a 4062(e) enforcement pilot program under which it does not enforce in the case of small plans or financially strong sponsors (90 percent of plans are small or have financially strong sponsors).

Premiums. Based on PBGC's regulatory review and in response to public comments, in July 2013 PBGC published a proposed rule to make its premium rules more effective and less burdensome. The proposal would simplify due dates, coordinate the due date for terminating plans with the termination process, make conforming and clarifying changes to the variable-rate premium rules, provide for relief from penalties, and make other changes. Large plans would no longer have to pay flat-rate premiums early; small plans would get more time to value benefits. The proposal would also amend PBGC's regulations in accordance with the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. The proposal has been favorably received by the pension community.

Changes to selected multiemployer plan regulations. PBGC has reviewed selected aspects of its regulations on multiemployer plans:

• Termination of Multiemployer Plans (29 CFR part 4041A). When a multiemployer plan terminates, the plan must perform an annual valuation of the plan's assets and benefits. PBGC has reviewed the regulation to determine whether annual valuation requirements may be reduced for certain plans.

• Duties of plan sponsor following mass withdrawal (29 CFR part 4281). Terminated multiemployer plans that determine that they will be insolvent for a plan year must file a series of notices and updates to notices. These notice requirements can be detrimental to plan participants because they may use up assets that would be available to pay plan benefits.

• Mergers and transfers between multiemployer plans (29 CFR part 4231). Multiemployer plans must file certain information with PBGC. Multiemployer plan mergers do not pose any increase in the risk of loss to PBGC or to plan participants. These filing requirements increase administrative costs to PBGC and plans and create an unnecessary burden in completing the merger.

PBGC is developing a proposed rule that would make changes to address these concerns.

PPA 2006 implementation

Cash balance plans. PPA 2006 changed the rules for determining benefits in cash balance plans and other statutory hybrid plans. In October 2011, PBGC published a proposed rule implementing the changes in both PBGC-trusteed plans and in plans that close out in the private sector. This rule is on hold until Treasury issues final regulations.

Missing participants. Currently, PBGC's Missing Participants Program applies only to terminating single-employer defined benefit plans insured by PBGC. PPA 2006 expanded the program to cover single-employer plans sponsored by professional service employers with fewer than 25 employees, multiemployer defined benefit plans, and 401(k) and other defined contribution plans. In June 2013, PBGC issued a Request for Information soliciting information from the public to assist it in making decisions about implementing a new program to deal with benefits of missing participants in terminating individual account plans. PBGC is interested in stakeholders' views on topics such as the extent of the demand for such a program, the demand for a database of missing participants, the availability of private-sector missing participant services, potential program costs and fees, electronic filing, and the contours of diligent search requirements. PBGC received useful comments from various sectors of the pension community.

Shutdown benefits. Under PPA 2006, the phase-in period for the guarantee of a benefit payable solely by reason of an "unpredictable contingent event," such as a plant shutdown, starts no earlier than the date of the shutdown or other unpredictable contingent event. PBGC published a proposed rule implementing this statutory change in March 2011^[3] and received one comment.

Other regulations

DC to DB plan rollovers. PBGC is developing a proposed rule to address title IV treatment of rollovers from defined contribution plans to defined benefit plans, including asset allocation and guarantee limits. This rule is part of PBGC's efforts to enhance retirement security by promoting lifetime income options and follows related Department of Treasury guidance.^[4]

ERISA section 4010. In response to comments, PBGC is reviewing its regulation on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting (part 4010) and the related e-filing application to consider ways of reducing reporting burden, without forgoing receipt of critical information. As stated in our 4010 report to Congress,^[5] legislative changes to section 4010 may be appropriate.

Small Businesses

PBGC takes into account the special needs and concerns of small businesses in making policy. A large percentage of the plans insured by PBGC are small or maintained by small employers. PBGC has issued or is considering several proposed rules that will focus on small businesses:

Small plan premium due date. Under the current regulation, the premium due date for plans with fewer than 100 participants is four months after year-end (April 30 for calendar year plans). PBGC has heard that some small plans with year-end valuation dates have difficulty meeting the filing deadline because such plans traditionally do not complete their actuarial valuation for funding purposes until after the premium due date. The premium proposed rule discussed above under Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations addresses this issue.

Reportable events. The reportable events proposed rule discussed above under Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations waives many reporting requirements for plans with fewer than 100 participants.

Missing participants. See Missing participants under PPA 2006 Implementation above. Expansion of the program will benefit small businesses closing out terminating plans.

Open Government and Increased Public Participation

PBGC is doing more to encourage public participation in the regulatory process. For example, PBGC's current efforts to reduce regulatory burden are in substantial part a response to public comments. Regulatory projects discussed above, such as reportable events, ERISA section 4062(e), and ERISA section 4010, highlight PBGC's customer-focused efforts to reduce regulatory burden.

PBGC's Regulatory Review Plan sets forth ways to expand opportunities for public participation in the regulatory process. For example, in June 2013, PBGC held its first ever regulatory hearing on the reportable events proposed rule, so that the agency would have a better understanding of the needs and concerns of plan administrators and plan sponsors. PBGC's Request for Information on missing participants in individual account plans is another example of PBGC's efforts to solicit public participation in the regulatory process.

PBGC plans to provide additional means for public involvement, including on-line town hall meetings, social media, and continuing opportunity for public comment on PBGC's Web site.

PBGC also invites comments on the Regulatory Review Plan on an on-going basis as we engage in the review process. Comments should be sent to regs.comments@pbgc.gov.

PBGC will continue to look for ways to further improve its regulations.

^[1] 74 Fed. Reg. 61248 (Nov. 23, 2009), www.pbgc.gov/Documents/E9-28056.pdf .

^[2] 75 Fed. Reg. 48283 (Aug. 10, 2010), www.pbgc.gov/Documents/2010-19627.pdf .

^[3] 76 Fed. Reg. 13304 (Mar. 11, 2011), www.pbgc.gov/Documents/2011-5696.pdf.

^[4] On February 21, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury issued Rev. Rul. 2012-4, which clarified the qualification requirements under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code for use of rollover amounts to purchase an additional annuity under a defined benefit plan.

^[5] http://www.pbgc.gov/documents/PBGC-4010-report-harkin.pdf .