What's New for Employers & Practitioners

Updates to Expected Retirement Age (XRA) rate tables and Missing Participants Program Mortality: On December 23, 2025, PBGC published a final rule amending its valuation regulation (29 CFR 4044) to:

• Provide a new table for selecting the “retirement rate category” to be used to determine the applicable expected retirement age (“XRA”) for participants in single-employer plans for valuation dates in 2026. XRA is one of the assumptions used to determine liabilities under ERISA section 4044 (per 29 CFR 4044). A copy of the table is available on PBGC’s ERISA 4044 retirement assumptions web page.
• Provide the mortality table to be used for benefit determination dates in 2026 when determining certain transfer amounts under the Missing Participants Program in accordance ERISA section 4050 (29 CFR 4050). An Excel version of this mortality table is available on PBGC’s ERISA section 4044/4050 mortality tables web page.

2023 Pension Insurance Data Tables: The final installment of PBGC’s 2023 Pension Insurance Data Tables is now available. This installment includes various breakdowns of the number of PBGC-insured defined benefit plans, number of plan participants, hybrid plans, frozen plans, premium revenue, plan funding, and risk transfer activity. Some of the breakdowns are by industry, location, plan size, and plan funded status. This year’s Data Tables have been revised by consolidating/removing certain tables. PBGC’s data tables provide a comprehensive, longitudinal source of information on its insurance programs and employer-sponsored defined benefit plans.

New Filing Options Now Available in the PBGC e-Filing Portal: The PBGC e-Filing Portal has been updated to make filing easier for practitioners. You can now submit:

• Standard termination filings, including those with missing participants, and
• Coverage determination request forms.

These enhancements expand the types of filings available through the Portal and are designed to simplify the process for plan administrators and practitioners. Learn more and access the Portal.

Benefit Restrictions – Present Value of PBGC Maximum Guarantee: PBGC posted a table showing the present values applicable to benefits with annuity starting dates in 2026. A two-column spreadsheet version of the table is also available for convenient copying. For more information see Technical Update 07-04.

Guarantee Limit: As a result of the indexing rules under federal law, the guarantee limits for single-employer plans that terminate in 2026 will be 4.82% higher than the limits that applied for 2025. A table showing the 2026 guarantee limits for various ages and payment forms is available. The guarantee limits for multiemployer plans are not indexed and have not changed.

2026 Premium Rates: PBGC has determined the premium rates applicable for plan years beginning in 2026 in accordance with the indexing rules provided in section 4006 of ERISA. The Premium rates webpage has been updated accordingly.

Miscellaneous Corrections, Clarifications, and Improvements Final Rule: PBGC is making minor clarifications, corrections, and improvements to several of its regulations. Among other things, the final rule:

• Provides additional time for terminating plans to submit their final premium filing,
• Requires coverage determination requests and forms related to standard terminations and the Missing Participant Program to be submitted electronically, and
• Codifies the special premium rules for CSEC plans that were implemented in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act).

This final rule is based on PBGC’s ongoing efforts to review the effectiveness and clarity of its rules and reflect input from stakeholders. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2025, with an effective date of September 15, 2025.

2023 Pension Insurance Data Tables: The first installment of PBGC’s 2023 Pension Insurance Data Tables is now available. This installment contains tables summarizing information on PBGC’s Single-Employer and Multiemployer Insurance Programs, including tables which incorporate time-series data on PBGC’s finances and operations involving Traditional and Special Financial Assistance payments. This year’s Data Tables have been revised by consolidating/removing certain tables. The Pension Insurance Data Tables provide a comprehensive, longitudinal source of information on PBGC’s insurance programs.

Miscellaneous Corrections, Clarifications, and Improvements Proposed Rule: PBGC is proposing to make minor clarifications, corrections, and improvements to several of its regulations. Among other things, the proposal would:

• Provide additional time for terminating plans to submit their final premium filing,
• Require that coverage determination requests and forms related to standard terminations and the Missing Participant Program be submitted electronically, and
• Codify the special premium rules for CSEC plans that were implemented in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act).

This proposed rule is based on PBGC’s ongoing efforts to review the effectiveness and clarity of its rules and reflect input from stakeholders. The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2025, with a 60-day public comment period.

2025 Premium Filing Instructions: The Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions for 2025 plan years have been approved by OMB and are now available on PBGC's website. The most significant change from last year’s instructions relates to when 2025 premiums are due. Because of a provision contained in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, premium due dates for plan years beginning in 2025 are generally due a month earlier than usual. See Technical Update 25-1 for more information.

My PAA has been updated accordingly and is now ready to accept 2025 filings. Additional enhancements were also made, including the ability to submit payments directly from My PAA on demand, outside of the premium filing process.

Annual Update of Maximum Civil Monetary Penalty: Federal law requires that PBGC amend its civil penalty regulations annually to incorporate an inflation adjustment on the maximum penalty that may be assessed for failure to provide certain required information (e.g., reportable event filings, 4010 filings, certain multiemployer plan notices). Accordingly, PBGC published a final rule amending two regulations (29 CFR parts 4071 and 4302). Although the maximum penalty is increasing, it is uncommon for PBGC to assess this amount. The agency's goal is to encourage compliance. In most cases, when PBGC assesses an information penalty, it is for an amount significantly less than the maximum permitted.

Early Premium Due Date for 2025: On January 6th, PBGC issued Technical Update 25-1 providing guidance on the effect of Section 502 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 on premium due dates for plan years beginning in 2025.  Because of that provision, premiums for 2025 are generally due a month earlier than usual.