95-7548. Disclosure to Participants  

  • [Federal Register Volume 60, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 28, 1995)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 16026-16030]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 95-7548]
    
    
    
    
    [[Page 16025]]
    
    _______________________________________________________________________
    
    Part III
    
    
    
    
    
    Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
    
    
    
    
    
    _______________________________________________________________________
    
    
    
    29 CFR Part 2627
    
    
    
    Single Employer Plans: Disclosure To Participants; Proposed Rule
    
    Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 28, 1995 / 
    Proposed Rules 
    [[Page 16026]]
    
    PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
    
    29 CFR Part 2627
    
    RIN 1212-AA77
    
    
    Disclosure to Participants
    
    AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
    
    ACTION: Proposed rule.
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is proposing 
    regulations to implement a new notice requirement under section 4011 of 
    the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Section 4011 
    requires plan administrators of certain underfunded plans to provide 
    notice to plan participants and beneficiaries of the plan's funding 
    status and the limits on the PBGC's guarantee.
    
    DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 27, 1995.
    
    ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the General Counsel, 
    Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, 
    DC 20005-4026, or delivered to Suite 340 at the above address. Comments 
    will be available for public inspection at the PBGC's Communications 
    and Public Affairs Department, Suite 240.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General 
    Counsel, or Catherine B. Klion, Attorney, Office of the General 
    Counsel, PBGC, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-
    4024 (202-326-4179 for TTY and TDD).
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 8, 1994, section 775 of the 
    Retirement Protection Act of 1994 (subtitle F of title VII of the 
    Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Pub. L. No. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809 
    (1994)) added section 4011 to ERISA. Under section 4011, a plan subject 
    to the variable rate premium under section 4006(a)(3)(E) must provide a 
    notice (the ``Participant Notice'') unless the plan meets one of the 
    exemptions discussed below.
    
    DRC Exception Test
    
        A plan does not have to provide the Participant Notice for a plan 
    year if it meets the DRC Exception Test in Sec. 2627.3(b) for that plan 
    year or the prior plan year. In general, a plan passes that test if it 
    is exempt from making a deficit reduction contribution (``DRC'') by 
    reason of section 302(d)(9) of ERISA.
    
    Prior Plan Year Option
    
        The Participant Notice for a plan year must be provided during that 
    plan year. Because in many cases the DRC is not available until after 
    the end of the plan year, Sec. 2627.3(a) provides that the plan 
    administrator may determine whether a Participant Notice is required 
    for a plan year by applying the DRC Exception Test to that plan year or 
    the prior plan year.
    
    1994 Plan Year
    
        A plan administrator may test whether a Participant Notice is 
    required for the 1995 plan year by applying the DRC Exception Test to 
    the 1994 plan year. Because the exemption from the DRC under section 
    302(d)(9) applies only to post-1994 plan years, Sec. 2627.3(b)(2) 
    includes a rule for determining whether a plan meets the DRC Exception 
    Test for the 1994 plan year: the plan must satisfy any requirement in 
    section 302(d)(9)(D)(i) for any two of the plan years beginning in 
    1992, 1993, and 1994.
    
    Special Relief Rules for Small Plans
    
    1995 Exemption
    
        A plan that is exempt from the DRC for either the 1994 or 1995 plan 
    year because it is a ``small plan'' under section 302(d)(6)(A) (100 or 
    fewer participants) does not have to give the Participant Notice for 
    the 1995 plan year (Sec. 2627.5(a)).
    
    Small Plan DRC Exception Test
    
        For a post-1995 plan year, a plan is not exempt from the 
    Participant Notice requirement solely because it is a small plan. Like 
    all plans, a small plan is exempt for a post-1995 plan year if it meets 
    the DRC Exception Test for that plan year or the prior plan year. 
    Because small plans do not ordinarily perform the calculations 
    necessary to determine whether they are exempt from the DRC 
    requirement, the proposed regulation provides several optional 
    simplified rules that small plans may use in applying the DRC Exception 
    Test.
        First, Sec. 2627.5(b)(1) provides that for purposes of applying the 
    DRC Exception Test, a small plan may determine its funded current 
    liability percentage (under section 302(d)(9)(C)) by using the 
    beginning-of-plan-year market value of assets and the beginning-of-
    plan-year current liability for total benefits that it reports on 
    Schedule B to Form 5500 (e.g., on the 1994 form, line 6c and column (3) 
    of line 6d(iv)).
        Second, Sec. 2627.5(b)(2) includes a special rule for determining 
    whether a small plan satisfies the requirements of section 
    302(d)(9)(D)(i) for a pre-1995 plan year. (This rule only affects 
    Participant Notices for 1996, 1997, and 1998 plan years.) Under this 
    special rule, a small plan satisfies those requirements for a pre-1995 
    plan year if the ratio of the plan's assets (without subtracting any 
    credit balance under section 302(b)) to its current liability (using 
    the highest allowable interest rate under section 302(d)(7)(C)) for 
    that plan year was at least 90 percent.
        Third, Sec. 2627.5(b)(3) provides a special rule that a small plan 
    may use to adjust its current liability to reflect the difference 
    between the top interest rate in the permissible interest rate corridor 
    for the plan year and the interest rate the plan used. A small plan 
    that chooses not to recalculate its current liability using the higher 
    interest rate may adjust its current liability by decreasing the 
    current liability by one percent for each tenth of a percentage point 
    by which the top interest rate in the permissible corridor exceeds the 
    interest rate the plan used.
        For example, assume that a small plan's current liability as of 
    January 1, 1996, is $200,000, based on an interest rate of 7.43 
    percent. Assume further that the top rate in the corridor for the 1996 
    plan year is 8.17 percent. Because 8.17 exceeds 7.43 by 0.74, the 
    current liability could be reduced by 7.4 percent to $185,200 (92.6 
    percent of $200,000).
    
    New Plans
    
        Section 2627.4 exempts new and newly-covered plans from the 
    Participant Notice requirement for their first plan year of coverage by 
    the PBGC insurance system.
    
    Mergers, Consolidations, and Spinoffs
    
        The PBGC invites comments on how to address DRC testing and other 
    related issues where a plan has been involved in a merger, 
    consolidation, or spinoff since the prior plan year.
    
    Persons Entitled to Receive Notice
    
        Section 2627.6 requires that the Participant Notice be issued to 
    participants, beneficiaries, alternate payees, and any employee 
    organization that represents participants for purposes of collective 
    bargaining. Plan administrators may select, as the date for determining 
    who is entitled to receive the Participant Notice for a plan year, any 
    date between the last day of the prior plan year and the day on which 
    the Participant Notice is due. A plan administrator may select the same 
    or a different date for each plan year, as long as a change in dates 
    between plan years does not exclude a substantial number of 
    participants and beneficiaries.
    
    Time Limit for Issuing Notice
    
        Under Sec. 2627.7, the plan administrator must provide the 
    [[Page 16027]] Participant Notice for a plan year no later than two 
    months after the deadline, including extensions, for filing the annual 
    report (Form 5500 series) for the prior plan year (see 29 CFR 
    2520.104a-5(a)(2)). This is also the time limit for furnishing the 
    summary annual report for the prior plan year (see 29 CFR 2520.104b-
    10(c)). Section 2627.7 allows the PBGC to extend the time limit for 
    issuing the Participant Notice when the President of the United States 
    declares that a major disaster exists.
    
    Manner of Issuing Notice
    
        Section 2627.8 requires plan administrators to issue the 
    Participant Notice in a manner reasonably calculated to ensure actual 
    receipt. Methods acceptable for furnishing the summary annual report 
    are acceptable; plan administrators may not merely post the Participant 
    Notice at worksite locations.
        The plan administrator may issue the Participant Notice for a plan 
    year together with another document, such as the summary annual report 
    for the prior plan year, so long as the Participant Notice is in a 
    separate document.
    
    Content of Notice
    
        Section 2627.9 requires that the Participant Notice include (1) 
    certain identifying information, (2) information on the plan's funding 
    status (the ``Notice Funding Percentage,'' a statement that the funding 
    level may be substantially lower if the plan terminates, identification 
    of any plan years during the five immediately preceding plan years for 
    which the IRS granted a minimum funding waiver, and identification of 
    any plan years for which the plan has not received the minimum 
    contribution required under section 302 of ERISA), and (3) information 
    on the PBGC's guarantee (the nature of the guarantee, a summary of the 
    types of benefits that are not guaranteed, and the limitations on the 
    guarantee, e.g., the maximum benefit guaranteed). Participants must be 
    informed that they can obtain additional information on the guarantee 
    by requesting a PBGC booklet from Box YGP, Pueblo, Colorado 81009, and 
    advised of the current price of the booklet. (The booklet will be 
    available for $1.25 beginning January 1, 1996. The PBGC anticipates 
    that it will provide information on any future price increases.)
    
    Notice Funding Percentage
    
        The Notice Funding Percentage is the plan's ``funded current 
    liability percentage,'' as that term is defined in section 302(d)(9)(C) 
    of ERISA (i.e., assets are not reduced by any credit balance and the 
    highest allowable interest rate is used). This is the same percentage 
    that is used to determine whether the Participant Notice is required. 
    The Participant Notice may include the Notice Funding Percentage for 
    either the plan year for which the Participant Notice is issued or for 
    the prior plan year. A small plan may determine its funded current 
    liability percentage for a plan year using the simplified rules in the 
    Small Plan DRC Exception Test.
        A plan's funded current liability percentage will not necessarily 
    reflect the plan's funding level if the plan were to terminate. 
    Different actuarial assumptions are used to calculate current liability 
    and termination liability. In addition, the PBGC's experience is that a 
    plan's funding level often drops just prior to termination. In the 
    interest of consistency and administrative simplicity, the PBGC 
    proposes to base the Notice Funding Percentage on the plan's funded 
    current liability percentage.
    
    Model Notice
    
        The Appendix includes a Model Participant Notice as an example of a 
    Participant Notice that meets the requirements of the proposed rule.
    
    Foreign Language Requirements
    
        As in the case of the summary annual report (29 CFR 2520.104b-
    10(e)), when specified numbers or percentages of participants are 
    literate only in the same non-English language, the plan administrator 
    is required to provide them with a Participant Notice that prominently 
    displays a legend, in their common foreign language, offering them 
    assistance in that language.
    
    Relationship to 70 Percent Disclosure Requirement
    
        The plan administrator of a plan that is less than 70 percent 
    funded must disclose the plan's funding percentage in the annual report 
    and the summary annual report (sections 103(d)(11) and 104(b)(3) of 
    ERISA). The Department of Labor has advised the PBGC that if a plan 
    administrator provides the Participant Notice under section 4011, the 
    Department of Labor will treat the plan administrator as having 
    complied with the requirement to disclose the plan's funding percentage 
    (for the prior plan year) in the summary annual report. (The plan 
    administrator still will be required to disclose the plan's funding 
    percentage in the annual report.)
    
    Penalties for Non-Compliance
    
        Failure to issue a Participant Notice in accordance with the 
    requirements of this part would constitute a violation of title IV of 
    ERISA. The PBGC may remedy violations of notification requirements by 
    assessing a penalty under section 4071. Section 4071 authorizes the 
    agency to assess a penalty, payable to the PBGC, against a plan 
    administrator who fails, within the specified time limit, to provide 
    any Participant Notice, or who omits material information from a 
    Participant Notice. (The penalty may not exceed $1,000 for each day for 
    which the failure continues.)
        If a plan administrator issues a Participant Notice for the 1995 
    plan year that meets the requirements of this proposed rule, the PBGC 
    will not assess section 4071 penalties based on a failure to comply 
    with any different requirements of a final rule implementing section 
    4011.
    
    Effective Date
    
        The Participant Notice requirement applies for plan years beginning 
    on or after January 1, 1995.
    
     E.O. 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act
    
        The PBGC has determined that this action is not a ``significant 
    regulatory action'' under the criteria set forth in Executive Order 
    12866. The provisions in this proposed rule will implement policy 
    decisions made by Congress in imposing a participant notice 
    requirement. They reflect the PBGC's interpretation of the statutory 
    standards and prescribe the time, form, and manner of issuance of the 
    required notice.
        Under section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the PBGC 
    certifies that, if adopted, this proposed rule will not have a 
    significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
    Accordingly, as provided in section 605 of the Regulatory Flexibility 
    Act (5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), sections 603 and 604 do not apply.
        Small plans are exempt from the Participant Notice requirement for 
    the 1995 plan year. For subsequent plan years, neither the cost of 
    determining whether a plan is subject to the Participant Notice 
    requirement nor the cost of preparing and issuing the Participant 
    Notice is expected to be significant for a substantial number of small 
    entities. The proposed regulation contains special rules designed to 
    simplify the Participant Notice requirement for small plans. 
    [[Page 16028]] 
    
    List of Subjects--29 CFR Part 2627
    
        Employee benefit plans, Pension insurance, Pensions.
    
        For the reasons set forth above, the PBGC proposes to amend 
    subchapter C, chapter XXVI of 29 CFR by adding a new part 2627 to read 
    as follows:
    
    PART 2627--DISCLOSURE TO PARTICIPANTS
    
    Sec.
    2627.1  Purpose and scope.
    2627.2  Definitions.
    2627.3  Notice requirement.
    2627.4  Exemption for new and newly-covered plans.
    2627.5  Small plan rules.
    2627.6  Persons entitled to notice.
    2627.7  Time of notice.
    2627.8  Manner of issuance of notice.
    2627.9  Form of notice.
    Appendix to part 2627
    
        Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1311.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.1  Purpose and scope.
    
        (a) Purpose. This part prescribes rules and procedures for 
    complying with the requirements of section 4011 of the Act.
        (b) Scope. This part applies for any plan year beginning on or 
    after January 1, 1995, with respect to any single-employer plan that is 
    covered by section 4021 of the Act.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.2  Definitions.
    
        For purposes of this part:
        Act means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as 
    amended.
        Participant has the meaning in Sec. 2617.2 of this chapter.
        Participant Notice means the notice required pursuant to section 
    4011 of the Act and this part.
        Plan administrator means the administrator, as defined in section 
    4001(a)(1) of the Act.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.3  Notice requirement.
    
        (a) General. Except as provided in Secs. 2627.4 and 2627.5(a), a 
    plan is subject to the Participant Notice requirement for a plan year 
    if--
        (1) A variable rate premium is payable for the plan under section 
    4006(a)(3)(E) of the Act and part 2610 of this chapter for that plan 
    year; and
        (2) The plan does not meet the Deficit Reduction Contribution 
    (``DRC'') Exception Test in paragraph (b) of this section (which may be 
    applied using the Small Plan DRC Exception Test rules in 
    Sec. 2627.5(b), where applicable) for that plan year or for the prior 
    plan year.
         (b) DRC Exception Test. (1) Basic rule. A plan meets the DRC 
    Exception Test for a plan year if it is exempt from the requirements of 
    section 302(d) of the Act for that plan year by reason of section 
    302(d)(9), without regard to the small plan exemption in section 
    302(d)(6)(A).
        (2) 1994 plan year. A plan satisfies the DRC Exception Test for the 
    1994 plan year if, for any two of the plan years beginning in 1992, 
    1993, and 1994 (whether or not consecutive), the plan satisfies any 
    requirement of section 302(d)(9)(D)(i) of the Act.
        (c) Penalties for non-compliance. If a plan administrator fails to 
    provide a Participant Notice within the specified time limit or omits 
    material information from a Participant Notice, the PBGC may assess a 
    penalty under section 4071 of the Act of up to $1,000 a day for each 
    day that the failure continues.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.4  Exemption for new and newly-covered plans.
    
        A plan (other than a plan resulting from a consolidation or 
    spinoff) is exempt from the requirement to provide a Participant Notice 
    for the first plan year for which the plan must pay premiums under part 
    2610 of this chapter.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.5  Small plan rules.
    
        (a) 1995 plan year exemption. A plan that is exempt from the 
    requirements of section 302(d) of the Act for the 1994 or 1995 plan 
    year by reason of section 302(d)(6)(A) is exempt from the Participant 
    Notice requirement for the 1995 plan year.
        (b) Small Plan DRC Exception Test. In determining whether the 
    Participant Notice requirement applies for a plan year beginning after 
    1995, the plan administrator of a plan that is exempt from the 
    requirements of section 302(d) of the Act by reason of section 
    302(d)(6)(A) for the plan year being tested may use any one or more of 
    the following rules in determining whether the plan meets the DRC 
    Exception Test for that plan year:
        (1) Use of Schedule B data. For any plan year for which the plan is 
    exempt from the requirements of section 302(d) of the Act by reason of 
    section 302(d)(6)(A), provided both of the following adjustments are 
    made--
        (i) The market value of the plan's assets as of the beginning of 
    the plan year (as required to be reported on Form 5500, Schedule B) may 
    be substituted for the actuarial value of the plan's assets as of the 
    valuation date; and
        (ii) The plan's current liability for all participants' total 
    benefits as of the beginning of the plan year (as required to be 
    reported on Form 5500, Schedule B) may be substituted for the plan's 
    current liability as of the valuation date.
        (2) Pre-1995 plan year 90 percent test. A plan that is exempt from 
    the requirements of section 302(d) of the Act for a pre-1995 plan year 
    by reason of section 302(d)(6)(A) satisfies the requirements of section 
    302(d)(9)(D)(i) for that pre-1995 plan year if the ratio of its assets 
    to its current liability for that plan year is at least 90 percent. For 
    this purpose, the plan's assets are valued without subtracting any 
    credit balance under section 302(b) of the Act, and its current 
    liability is determined using the highest interest rate allowable for 
    the plan year under section 302(d)(7)(C).
        (3) Interest rate adjustment. If the interest rate used to 
    calculate current liability for a plan year is less than the highest 
    rate allowable for the plan year under section 302(d)(7)(C) of the Act, 
    the current liability may be reduced by one percent for each tenth of a 
    percentage point by which the highest rate exceeds the rate so used.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.6  Persons entitled to receive notice.
    
        The plan administrator must provide the Participant Notice to each 
    person who is a participant, a beneficiary of a deceased participant, 
    an alternate payee (as defined in section 206(d)(3)(K) of the Act), or 
    an employee organization that represents any group of participants for 
    purposes of collective bargaining. To determine who is a person that 
    must receive the Participant Notice, the plan administrator may select 
    any date during the period beginning with the last day of the previous 
    plan year and ending with the day on which the Participant Notice for 
    the plan year is due, provided that a change in the date from one plan 
    year to the next does not exclude a substantial number of participants 
    and beneficiaries.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.7  Time of notice.
    
        The Participant Notice for a plan year must be issued no later than 
    two months after the deadline for filing the annual report for the 
    previous plan year (see Sec. 2520.104a-5(a)(2) of this title). When the 
    President of the United States declares that, under the Disaster Relief 
    Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121, 5122(2), 5141(b)), a major 
    disaster exists, the PBGC may extend the due date for providing the 
    Participant Notice by up to 180 days.
    
    
    Sec. 2627.8  Manner of issuance of notice.
    
        The Participant Notice shall be issued by using measures reasonably 
    calculated to ensure actual receipt by the persons entitled to receive 
    it. It may be issued together with another dcoument, such as the 
    summary annual report required under section 104(b)(3) of the Act for 
    the prior plan year, but must be in a separate document.
    [[Page 16029]]
    
    Sec. 2627.9  Form of notice.
    
        (a) General. The Participant Notice shall be written in a manner 
    calculated to be understood by the average plan participant and not to 
    mislead recipients. The Model Participant Notice in the Appendix of 
    this part (when properly completed) is an example of a Participant 
    Notice meeting the requirements of this section.
        (b) Content. The Participant Notice shall include--
        (1) Identifying information (the name of the plan and the 
    contributing sponsor, the employer identification number of the 
    contributing sponsor, the plan number, the plan year for which the 
    notice is given, and the name, address, and telephone number of the 
    plan administrator and of the individual(s) who can answer questions 
    about the plan's funding);
        (2) The Notice Funding Percentage for the plan year, determined in 
    accordance with paragraph (c) of this section;
        (3) A statement that the funding level of the plan may be 
    substantially lower if the plan terminates;
        (4) If the plan has been granted a minimum funding waiver under 
    section 303 of the Act for any of the five plan years immediately 
    preceding the plan year and the amortization base established as a 
    result thereof has not (as of the end of the prior plan year) been 
    reduced to zero, a statement identifying each such plan year and an 
    explanation of a minimum funding waiver;
        (5) If the plan has not received the minimum contribution required 
    under section 302 of the Act for any prior plan year, a statement 
    identifying each such plan year;
        (6) A summary of plan benefits guaranteed by the PBGC, with an 
    explanation of the limitations on such guarantee; and
        (7) A statement that further information about the PBGC's guarantee 
    may be obtained by requesting the booklet ``Your Guaranteed Pension'' 
    from Box YGP, Pueblo, Colorado 81009, along with the current price of 
    the booklet.
        (c) Notice Funding Percentage.
        (1) General Rule. The Notice Funding Percentage that must be 
    included in the Participant Notice for a plan year is the ``funded 
    current liability percentage'' (as that term is defined in section 
    302(d)(9)(C) of the Act) for that plan year or the prior plan year.
        (2) Small plans. A plan that is exempt from the requirements of 
    section 302(d) of the Act for a plan year by reason of section 
    302(d)(6)(A) may determine its funded current liability percentage for 
    that plan year using the Small Plan DRC Exception Test rules in 
    Sec. 2627.5(b).
        (d) Additional information. The plan administrator may include in 
    the Participant Notice a statement that a plan's underfunding will not 
    necessarily lead to its termination and that the risk of benefit loss 
    in the event of its termination depends on its funding level and the 
    financial condition of the companies responsible for its funding. The 
    plan administrator may include in the Participant Notice any other 
    information not required by paragraph (b) of this section only if it is 
    in a separate document.
        (e) Foreign languages. In the case of a plan that (as of the date 
    selected under Sec. 2627.6) covers the numbers or percentages specified 
    in Sec. 2520.104b-10(e) of this title of participants literate only in 
    the same non-English language, the plan administrator shall provide 
    those participants an English-language Participant Notice that 
    prominently displays a legend, in their common non-English language, 
    offering them assistance in that language, and clearly setting forth 
    any procedures participants must follow to obtain such assistance.
    
    Appendix to Part 2627
    
        Paragraph A is an example of a Participant Notice that satisfies 
    the requirements of Sec. 2627.9 when the required information is filled 
    in (subject to Secs. 2627.9(d)-(e), where applicable). Paragraph B is a 
    table of maximum guaranteed benefits (which the PBGC will update 
    yearly).
    A. Model Participant Notice
        Notice to Participants of [Plan Name, EIN, PN] Sponsored by 
    [Contributing Sponsors] [Plan Year 19XX]
        We are required by law to provide you with information on the 
    funding level of your defined benefit pension plan and the benefits 
    guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a U.S. 
    government agency.
    
    Your Plan's Funding
    
        Your plan has [INSERT NOTICE FUNDING PERCENTAGE] percent of the 
    funds needed for benefits promised to employees and retirees. 
    Experience has shown that the funding level may be substantially 
    lower if the plan terminates.
        A plan's funding and the financial condition of a company must 
    be considered when determining the potential risk of benefit loss.
    
    (Include the following paragraph only if the plan has been granted a 
    funding waiver in any of the previous five plan years.)
    
        Your plan received a funding waiver for [List any of the five 
    previous plan years for which a funding waiver was granted]. If a 
    company is experiencing temporary financial hardship, the Internal 
    Revenue Service may grant a funding waiver that permits the company 
    to delay contributions that fund the pension plan.
    
    (Include the following sentence only if the plan has not received a 
    minimum contribution required from the employer.)
    
        Your plan has not received the minimum contribution required 
    from the employer for [LIST APPLICABLE PLAN YEARS].
    
    PBGC Guarantees
    
        The fact that a plan is underfunded does not mean that it will 
    terminate. If this does occur, the PBGC guarantees all pension 
    benefits for most people. However, some people may lose some 
    benefits.
        The PBGC pays pension benefits, up to certain maximum limits.
         The maximum guaranteed benefit is [INSERT FROM TABLE] 
    per month or [INSERT FROM TABLE] per year for a 65-year-old person 
    in a plan that terminates in [INSERT APPLICABLE YEAR].
         The maximum benefit may be reduced for an individual 
    who is younger than age 65. For example, it is [INSERT FROM TABLE] 
    per month or [INSERT FROM TABLE] per year for an individual who 
    starts receiving benefits at age 55.
         The maximum benefit will also be reduced when a benefit 
    is provided for a survivor.
        The PBGC does not guarantee certain types of benefits.
         The PBGC does not guarantee benefits for which you do 
    not have a vested right when a plan terminates, usually because you 
    have not worked enough years for the company.
         Benefit increases and new benefits that have been in 
    place for less than a year are not guaranteed. Those that have been 
    in place for less than 5 years are only partly guaranteed.
         Early retirement payments that are greater than 
    payments at normal retirement age may not be guaranteed. For 
    example, a supplemental benefit that stops when you become eligible 
    for Social Security may not be guaranteed.
         Benefits other than pension benefits, such as health 
    insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or 
    severance pay are not guaranteed.
         The PBGC does not pay lump sums exceeding $3,500.
    
    Where To Get More Information
    
        Your plan administrator is [Name], [Title], at [Business Address 
    and Phone Number]. If you would like more information about the 
    funding of your plan, contact [Name], [Title], at [Business Address 
    and Phone Number].
        For more information about PBGC and the benefits it guarantees, 
    you may request a copy of ``Your Guaranteed Pension'' for $1.25 by 
    writing to Box YGP, Pueblo, Colorado 81009. [``Your Guaranteed 
    Pension'' will not be available until January 1, 1996.]
    B. Table of Maximum Guaranteed Benefits
    
                                                                            
    [[Page 16030]]                                                          
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           The maximum guaranteed benefit for an individual 
                            starting to receive benefits at the age listed  
                            below is the amount (monthly or annual) listed  
    If a plan terminates                        below:                      
            in--         ---------------------------------------------------
                                   Age 65                    Age 55         
                         ---------------------------------------------------
                            Monthly       Annual      Monthly       Annual  
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1995................    $2,573.86   $30,886.32    $1,158.24   $13,898.88
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        Issued in Washington, DC, this 20th day of March 1995.
    Martin Slate,
    Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
    [FR Doc. 95-7548 Filed 3-27-95; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 7708-01-P
    
    

Document Information

Published:
03/28/1995
Department:
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Proposed rule.
Document Number:
95-7548
Dates:
Comments must be received on or before April 27, 1995.
Pages:
16026-16030 (5 pages)
RINs:
1212-AA77
PDF File:
95-7548.pdf
CFR: (10)
29 CFR 2627.5(b)
29 CFR 2627.1
29 CFR 2627.2
29 CFR 2627.3
29 CFR 2627.4
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