WASHINGTON, D.C. – Gordon Hartogensis, the first director to serve the full five-year term, will conclude his appointment at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on April 30, 2024. Hartogensis was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 30, 2019.
During Hartogensis’ tenure, PBGC’s insurance programs have grown stronger than at any time in the agency’s 50-year history. In 2023, for the third consecutive year, both PBGC’s Multiemployer and Single-Employer Insurance Programs reported positive net positions. The overall net financial position from 2019 to the present has improved $102.6 billion.
“Throughout his time as director, Mr. Hartogensis demonstrated a clear commitment to the mission of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su. “I thank Mr. Hartogensis for his service and wish him well as he embarks on the next chapter of his life.”
“I appreciate the faith that both Presidents Trump and Biden have placed in me,” Hartogensis said, “and I am proud to serve this important institution and its vital mission of protecting the retirement security of over 31 million American workers, retirees, and their families. It has also been a highlight of my career to lead and serve with such a dedicated and talented group of professionals who are passionate about the agency’s retirement security mission.”
Under Hartogensis’ leadership, PBGC expeditiously and successfully implemented the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program, enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. PBGC’s work to stand up the SFA Program will ensure that millions of America’s workers, retirees, and their families receive the pension benefits they earned. To date, PBGC has approved $53.9 billion in SFA to troubled multiemployer plans that cover 786,157 workers, retirees, and beneficiaries.
As a result of PBGC’s considerable financial improvements, in 2023, the Government Accountability Office removed both of PBGC’s insurance programs from its High Risk List.
During his tenure, Hartogensis oversaw the modernization of PBGC’s major IT systems and infrastructure, fortified its cybersecurity, streamlined agency operations, and improved PBGC’s overall customer experience for participants and plan sponsors. As a result, PBGC received effective Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) ratings during the past three years.
PBGC also ranked in the Top 5 of small agencies in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government for the past five years, including a ranking of No. 1 in 2021.
Prior to his appointment to PBGC, Hartogensis managed a portfolio of private equity, venture capital, real estate, and angel investments, and served as an adviser to several portfolio companies.
Hartogensis grew up in Maryland where he attended Montgomery County public schools. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Stanford University and a Master of Science in technology management from Columbia University.
About PBGC
PBGC protects the retirement security of over 31 million American workers, retirees, and beneficiaries in both single-employer and multiemployer private sector pension plans. The agency’s two insurance programs are legally separate and operationally and financially independent. PBGC is directly responsible for the benefits of nearly 1.4 million participants and beneficiaries in failed single-employer pension plans. The Single-Employer Program is financed by insurance premiums, investment income, and assets and recoveries from failed single-employer plans. The Multiemployer Program is financed by insurance premiums and investment income. Special financial assistance for financially troubled multiemployer plans is financed by general taxpayer monies.