The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protects the retirement benefits of about 31 million workers and retirees. PBGC operates two separate insurance programs — the Single-Employer and Multiemployer Insurance Programs.
By law, the Multiemployer and Single-Employer Programs are operated and financed separately.
Assets from one program cannot be used to support the other program.
For more information on PBGC and the people we help, please visit our Who We Are page.
Money PBGC Takes In and Pays Out
The Single-Employer Program is financed by insurance premiums, investment income, and recoveries from companies formerly responsible for the plans. Congress sets PBGC premium rates.
The Multiemployer Program is financed by premiums and investment income. PBGC’s Special Financial Assistance Program, established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, is financed by general taxpayer funds.
How We Invest Our Money
PBGC’s investment policy is established by the agency’s Board of Directors, composed of the U.S. Secretaries of Labor, Treasury, and Commerce. The Board has established an investment policy that, for the Single-Employer Program, uses a Liability Driven Investment (LDI) approach. Under that approach, PBGC employs an asset allocation glidepath under which the investment portfolio risk is reduced as funded status improves. The agency’s Multiemployer Program assets are invested solely in U.S. government securities. This investment policy was approved by PBGC’s Board at the August 28, 2023, Board meeting.
PBGC established the Smaller Asset Managers Pilot (SAMP) Program to provide opportunities for smaller investment management firms to manage some of the agency’s fixed income assets. The Pilot Program has been successful in achieving its objectives and PBGC has established the Smaller Asset Managers Program as an ongoing program.
2022 SAMP Review Report
2018 SAMP Review Report
Two Pension Insurance Programs
The Single-Employer Program protects about 19.4 million workers and retirees in about 23,000 private-sector, defined benefit pension plans.
In FY 2024, PBGC paid monthly retirement benefits, up to legal limits, to over 912,000 retirees in over 5,000 single-employer plans that ended.
- If a single-employer plan fails and PBGC becomes responsible for it, the agency directly pays benefits due to current and future retirees up to legal limits.
The Multiemployer Program protects about 11 million workers and retirees in about 1,335 private-sector, defined benefit pension plans.
In FY 2024, PBGC provided traditional financial assistance through loans to failed multiemployer plans so that the plan can pay benefits, up to legal limits, to 62,881 retirees in 98 plans.
- PBGC does not directly pay benefits in failed multiemployer plans. Instead, the agency provides financial assistance to the plans, which continue to pay current and future retirees up to legal limits.
When PBGC Takes Over Your Single-Employer Plan: What Happens Next
First, we will send you a letter informing you that PBGC is now responsible for your pension benefit. To ensure we have your correct information, we will ask you to complete and return a Payee Information Form.
Next, PBGC will review your plan's records and benefit amount. PBGC must pay benefits according to your pension plan’s provisions and limits set by federal law.
If you are already receiving a pension:
- You will continue receiving your benefit without interruption during our review.
- Your PBGC benefit may be less than you were receiving from your plan, because payments are considered an estimate—PBGC’s best calculation of the amount we can pay under federal legal limits.
- You will receive estimated benefits until PBGC completes an evaluation of your plan, a process that typically takes two to three years.
For all plan participants, whether already receiving a pension or not yet retired:
When PBGC’s evaluation of the plan is completed, we will tell you your final benefit amount and let you know how you can appeal our determination.
If you have not yet retired:
- Four months before you want to begin collecting benefits, request an estimate. You may also call PBGC’s Customer Contact Center toll-free at 1-800-400-7242. TTY/ASCII users may call 711.
- Three months before you want to begin collecting benefits, complete your application by using our online service, MyPBA.
- You will start to receive payments about three months after you contact PBGC about your pension benefits. For example, if you contact us during January, the soonest your benefit can start is April 1.
The safest, quickest way to get your money is through electronic direct deposit. PBGC will send your payment on time, every month, directly to your financial institution.