Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Single-Employer Pension Insurance Program Faces Significant Long-Term Risks;Report to the Congress

摘要

More than 34 million participants in 30,000 single-employer defined benefit pension plans rely on a federal insurance program managed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to protect their pension benefits, and the program's long-term financial viability is in doubt. Over the last decade, the program swung from a ;3.6 billion accumulated deficit (liabilities exceeded assets), to a ;10.1 billion accumulated surplus, and back to a ;3.6 billion accumulated deficit, in 2002 dollars. Furthermore, despite a record ;9 billion in estimated losses to the program in 2002, additional severe losses may be on the horizon. PBGC estimates that financially weak companies sponsor plans with ;35 billion in unfunded benefits, which ultimately might become losses to the program.