Summary of Privacy Act | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Summary of Privacy Act

The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended at 5 U.S.C. 552a, protects records about individuals that can be retrieved by personal identifiers such as a name, Social Security number, or other identifying number or symbol. An individual is entitled to access to his or her records and to request correction of these records if applicable.

The Privacy Act prohibits disclosure of these records without the written consent of the individual(s) to whom the records pertain unless one of the twelve disclosure exceptions enumerated in the Act applies. These records are held in Privacy Act systems of records. A notice of any such system is published in the Federal Register. These notices identify the legal authority for collecting and storing the records, individuals about whom records will be collected, what kinds of information will be collected, and how the records will be used. The PBGC's System of Records Notices (SORNs) are available online via the Federal Register. More recent SORNs and amendments are on the PBGC's Privacy Act Notices Web page.

The Privacy Act binds only Federal agencies, and covers only records in the possession and control of Federal agencies. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has specific Privacy Act Regulations.

Participant Privacy Act Notice

For more information on what type of personal identifier information is gathered from participants and how that information may be used, see Participant Privacy Act Notice.

Participant Privacy Act Notice (Appeals)

For more information on the types of information PBGC will collect from a participant filing an appeal of a benefit determination and how that information may be used, see Participant Privacy Act Notice (Appeals).

Privacy Impact Assessment Executive Summaries

Last Updated: April 21, 2021