PBGC Issues Five-Year Action Proposal

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) said the document represented its intentions for fiscal year (FY) 2008-2013 including how it intended to allocate its resources.

One important priority during the period will continue to be informing the public about the importance of having a pension insurance system and particularly to find the best way to continue dealing with often badly underfunded plans that are often from large employers.

align=”left”>”PBGC leadership is committed to improving the pension insurance system,” the agency wrote. “Though PBGC is not funded by tax revenues and its obligations are not backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, PBGC must maintain balance among the competing interests of its stakeholders, by highlighting that the program remains exposed to significant risks and higher deficits. PBGC is committed to increasing transparency into its business operations, coupled with the utilization of market forces and appropriate authorities to close the deficit and control exposure to future losses.”

align=”left”> Improve Risk Monitoring

align=”left”>The agency said that’s why one goal during the period is to “improve risk monitoring and early warning activities and align resources to assure proper plan terminations; obtain enhanced recoveries from bankrupt plan sponsors that emerge from reorganization; and intervene in corporate transactions to mitigate loss to PBGC.”

align=”left”>Key challenges during the period, the agency said are:

• plan underfunding: “The necessary monitoring of these plans and their sponsors strains PBGC resources.”
• growth in plan terminations: “This larger workload and increasing customer expectations challenge the agency’s ability to deliver quality customer service.”
• complexity of assets in terminated plans: “The existence of complex assets in PBGC’s portfolio that it would otherwise not hold causes a disproportionate increase in investment management costs.”
• attracting and engaging highly skilled employees: “Retirements and continuing competition from private sector organizations and other government agencies intensify this challenge.”

The agency said public comment is welcomed and may be sent by e-mail to strategicplan@pbgc.gov or by surface mail to:

Strategic Plan Comments – SPED
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
1200 K St NW
Washington, DC 20005-4026.

The comments will be received by PBGC until October 17, 2007. 

The full text of the plan is at  http://www.pbgc.gov/docs/draftstratplan.pdf .