Press Room

WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Annual Report, released today, shows a record deficit of $65.2 billion in its Multiemployer Insurance Program at the end of FY 2019.

WASHINGTON — The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is taking steps to assume responsibility for two pension plans sponsored by Verity Health System, which cover nearly 8,000 people. The six-hospital system is based in El Segundo, California.

Verity, with 16 of its affiliates, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles on August 31, 2018, and is no longer able to continue its plans.

WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is pleased to announce the appointments of Kristin Chapman as Chief of Staff and Andy Banducci as Chief Policy Officer.

WASHINGTON  –  The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Multiemployer Insurance Program continues on the path to running out of money by the end of fiscal year 2025, according to findings in the FY 2018 Projections Report. The agency’s insurance program for multiemployer pensions covers over 10 million people.

Multiemployer pension plans are in crisis, posing a threat to the promised retirement income of millions of American workers and retirees and their families. Congress should enact a long-term, sustainable solution taking into account fairness to retirees, workers, taxpayers, and employers, to improve retirement security for hard-working Americans and their families.

WASHINGTON – President Donald J. Trump has appointed the following members to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation:

WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is pleased to announce an appointment in the Office of the General Counsel. Paul Chalmers has been named Deputy General Counsel for the General Law & Operations Department.  

Chalmers, previously an Associate General Counsel, joined PBGC’s legal team in 2012.

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, May 15, 2019, Gordon Hartogensis was sworn in as the 16th director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

“I am honored to serve in this important role,” Hartogensis said. “I am looking forward to working with Congress, the Administration and stakeholders to protect and advance the retirement security of the nearly 37 million Americans we insure.”

Hartogensis succeeds Tom Reeder, who served as director from October 2015 – May 2019.

WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is pleased to announce the appointment of Franklin Pace as the Director of the Corporate Controls and Reviews Department (CCRD) in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. 

WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is pleased to announce an executive appointment in the Office of the General Counsel. Daniel Liebman has been appointed Deputy General Counsel for the Program Law & Policy Department. 

Liebman, previously the Assistant General Counsel for Legal Policy, joined PBGC in 2010 as a regulatory attorney. He has also served as Acting Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs.

WASHINGTON –The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has reached an agreement with Sears Holdings Corporation under which the agency will withdraw its objection to the proposed sale of Sears’ assets to ESL Investments.

This agreement also clears the way for PBGC to assume responsibility for Sears’ two pension plans, which are covered under PBGC’s Single-Employer Insurance Program. 

WASHINGTON – Israel (“Izzy”) Goldowitz, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Deputy General Counsel for Program Law & Policy, has retired from public service following a 30-year career at the agency.

WASHINGTON — The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is taking steps to assume responsibility for Sears Holdings Corporation’s two defined benefit pension plans, which cover about 90,000 people. The national retail chain headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, operates through its subsidiaries, which include Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation.

WASHINGTON - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced four key appointments to its leadership team: 

WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced that it has approved a partition application and will provide early financial assistance to the Teamsters Local 805 Pension and Retirement Plan (Local 805 Plan), a trucking industry multiemployer pension plan based in New York that covers approximately 2,000 participants.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Report, released today, shows improvement in the financial condition of the agency’s Single-Employer Insurance and Multiemployer Insurance Programs.   

WASHINGTON - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced two key appointments to its leadership team. Janice Brown-Taylor has been named Deputy Chief of Benefits Administration and Michael Hutchins is the Director for the Plan Asset & Data Management Department.

WASHINGTON - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced today the guarantee limits for single-employer plans that fail in 2019. The table below shows those limits for sample ages and forms of payment.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s mission is to protect the pension benefits of American workers and retirees in private sector pension plans. When pension plans terminate with insufficient funds, PBGC’s guarantee is critical to protecting the participants’ retirement security.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s mission is to protect the pension benefits of American workers and retirees in private sector pension plans. When pension plans terminate with insufficient funds, PBGC’s guarantee is critical to protecting the participants’ retirement security. See Questions and Answers for Participants in the Sears Holdings Corporation Pension Plans.