Premium Filing Due Date Change for 2025 Plan Years

This Technical Update provides Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) guidance on the timing of premium payments for plan years beginning in 2025. Because of a provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (“BBA 2015”),¹ premiums for plan years beginning in 2025 are generally due a month earlier than the due date provided in PBGC’s Payment of Premiums regulation (29 CFR part 4007).

Background

Section 4007 of ERISA provides that PBGC determines when premium filings are due.² Section 4007.11 of PBGC’s Payment of Premiums regulation provides the premium filing due date rules. Those rules are also summarized in the premium filing instructions that PBGC issues each year for plan years beginning in that year. For example, for plan years beginning in 2024, the due dates rules are summarized on pages 5-8 of the 2024 Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions.

In most cases, the premium filing for a plan year is due the 15th day of the 10th calendar month that begins on or after the first day of that plan year (e.g., for calendar year plans, October 15th). This date is defined in the premium filing instructions as the “Normal Premium Due Date.”

In limited special situations, premium filings are due on a different date. For example, a later due date applies to new plans that are adopted and effective fewer than 90 days before the Normal Premium Due Date, and an earlier due date applies for plans that complete a standard termination before the Normal Premium Due Date. See § 4007.11(b), (c), and (d) of PBGC’s Payment of Premium regulation.

Lastly, PBGC’s disaster relief policy provides that when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extends the Form 5500 due date for plans affected by a disaster (e.g., a hurricane), PBGC automatically extends the premium filing due date for any plan that is eligible for that IRS disaster relief.

Revised Due Dates for 2025 Plan Years

Section 502 of the BBA 2015 provides that, notwithstanding section 4007 of ERISA and § 4007.11 of PBGC’s Payment of Premiums regulation, and solely with respect to plan years beginning in 2025, the premium filing due date for all plans is the 15th day of the 9th calendar month that begins on or after the first day of the plan year (e.g.,  for calendar year plans, September 15, 2025, instead of October 15, 2025).

The BBA 2015 provision supersedes not only the Normal Premium Due Date rule for 2025 plan years, but also the special due date rules noted above. It does not supersede PBGC’s disaster relief policy or PBGC’s filing rules about due dates that fall on weekends or Federal Holidays (see 29 CFR 4000.43(a)).

As a result of section 502 of BBA 2015, the premium filing due dates for plan years beginning in 2025 are as follows:

*The 15th day of ninth month beginning on or after the first day of the plan year falls on a weekend or federal holiday.

For plan years beginning in 2025 practitioners should disregard the premium filing due dates provided in § 4007.11 of PBGC’s Payment of Premiums regulation because that section does not reflect the due dates for 2025. The premium due dates (as required by section 502 of BBA 2015) will be incorporated into the 2025 Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions, which will be posted in the near future.

Possible Repeal of BBA 2015, Section 502

For the past eight years, the President’s Budget has called for the repeal of section 502 of BBA 2015 to prevent plan sponsors from incurring unnecessary costs and burdens in preparation for making the accelerated premium payments.

The fiscal year 2025 budget characterized this repeal as “urgent” and noted that Congressional action was necessary to repeal the provision before FY 2025.³ Although that did not happen, it is still possible that the provision will be repealed during FY 2025.⁴ If it is repealed, PBGC will revise the premium filing instructions and notify practitioners as quickly as possible.

Contact and Other Information

If you have any questions about this Technical Update, contact Amy Viener or Brad Porter by phone at (202) 229-3919 or (202) 229-3789, respectively, or send an email to premiums@pbgc.gov.

This guidance represents PBGC’s current thinking on this topic. It does not operate to bind the public. If you want to discuss an alternative approach that satisfies the requirements of the BBA 2015, you may contact PBGC.

¹“Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015,” Pub. L. No. 114-74, Title V, Sect. 502 (2015).
²A premium filing includes both the submission of required data and the payment of any required premium.
³See page 13 of PBGC’s FY 2025 Congressional Budget Justification for full description.
⁴FY 2025 began on October 1, 2024.