1212-AB53 202110 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 1212 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC Special Financial Assistance by PBGC

This final rule implements section 9704 of the American Rescue Plan Act by setting forth the requirements for plan sponsors of financially troubled multiemployer defined benefit pension plans to apply for special financial assistance from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and related requirements.  

]]> Economically Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Final Rule Stage Yes No 29 CFR 4262 29 U.S.C. 1432 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3) Statutory Other 07/09/2021 120 days after date of enactment (March 11, 2021) Section 4262(c) as added to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) by section 9704 of Subtitle H of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, requires that within 120 days of the date of enactment of this section, PBGC shall issue regulations or guidance setting forth requirements for special financial assistance (SFA) applications under this section. Yes

This final rule is needed to implement section 9704 of the American Rescue Plan Act and set forth the requirements for plan sponsors of financially troubled multiemployer defined benefit pension plans to apply for special financial assistance from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and related requirements. 

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In its fiscal year (FY) 2020 Projections Report, published in September 2021, PBGC estimated a range of possible outcomes for the total amount of SFA payments under the provisions of the interim final rule.  PBGC used the mean value in that range -- $97.2 billion -- to estimate the transfer impacts of the SFA program, and estimated the average annual information collection, including application, cost of the SFA program will be about $2 million.  The SFA program is expected to assist plans covering more than 3 million participants and beneficiaries, including the provision of funds to reinstate suspended benefits of participants and beneficiaries.

]]> Interim Final Rule 07/12/2021 86 FR 36598 Interim Final Rule Effective 07/12/2021 Interim Final Rule Comment Period End 08/11/2021 Final Action 01/00/2022 No None No No No Hilary Duke Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs 1212 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC 202 229-3839 duke.hilary@pbgc.gov 445 12th Street SW, Washington DC 20024