For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is outraged at the Congressional proposal to increase the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) premiums for single-employer pension plans. The proposal would raise the fixed rate premium from $64 in 2016 –which was slated to be the final increase –to $68 for 2017, $73 for 2018, and $78 for 2019, and then be indexed for inflation. There are also proposed changes to the variable rate premiums of $30 per $1,000 of underfunding to $38 per $1,000 of underfunding in 2019.
“ERIC is sounding the alarm that once again the employer sponsored system is being targeted for revenue” said Annette Guarisco Fildes, president and CEO, ERIC. “The premium increase is just another unnecessary burden on employers who sponsor defined benefit plans giving them more reasons to consider exit strategies.”
In September, the PBGC released its FY 2014 Projects Report. In it, the PBGC stated “simulations show that significant improvement in the single-employer program’s projected net position is likely over the 10-year time horizon.”
“Even the PBGC’s own analysis does not call for an increase in premiums on single-employer defined benefit plans. PBGC premium increases like the one announced today do nothing to encourage single-employers to continue defined benefit plans or improve benefits for retirees; in fact, the increases only work to further weaken the private retirement system,” said Guarisco Fildes.