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PBGC Pension Insurance: We've Got You Covered

Congress set up PBGC to insure the defined-benefit pensions of working Americans. Defined-benefit pension plans are traditional pensions that pay a certain amount each month after you retire. If you have a pension from a private-sector job, you are probably one of about 31 million Americans covered by PBGC insurance protection. PBGC insures more than 24,300 pension plans.

Finding Your Pension Plan

PBGC insures two types of defined-benefit pension plans in two separate insurance programs. Search Plans Paying PBGC Premiums.

Single-Employer Single-employer pension plans are pensions that employers set up only for people who work for their company. PBGC insures about 19.4 million people in single-employer pension plans.
Multiemployer Multiemployer pension plans cover workers of more than one employer, usually companies in the same industry, such as construction, trucking or coal mining. PBGC insures about 11 million people in multiemployer pension plans.

In addition to our single-employer and multiemployer pension plan search tools, we also offer lists of both in Excel format on our Open Government page.

What PBGC Does Not Insure

While we insure most private-sector pension plans, Congress has also defined exceptions that PBGC does not insure. For example, PBGC does not insure:

  • federal, state, and local/municipal government pensions,
  • military pensions,
  • pensions associated with religious institutions (including hospitals and schools with religious affiliation),
  • pensions for small professional practices (a doctor, lawyer, or other professional with fewer than 25 employees),
  • 401(k) plans,
  • IRAs,
  • profit-sharing plans,
  • health benefits,
  • employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs),
  • thrift savings plans, or
  • money purchase plans.

Learn More

To learn more about PBGC and your pension insurance, check out these resources:

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