WASHINGTON – November 16, 2023 – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) said today that the $44.6 billion surplus in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) single-employer insurance program, detailed in the agency’s Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report, should lead Congress to reexamine the premiums paid by companies that sponsor defined benefit pension plans.
“Today’s report is a reminder that while PBGC’s single-employer insurance program has been overfunded for years, plan sponsors will be subject to yet another automatically imposed premium increase next year,” said Andy Banducci, Senior Vice President for Retirement and Compensation Policy at ERIC. “PBGC does not need current premium levels to sustain its insurance program, and continuing to dramatically overfund the program will not provide additional benefits or protections for employees.
“In addition to addressing PBGC premium levels, Congress should eliminate arcane budget scoring rules that have permitted the use of premium increases to “offset” spending proposals unrelated to the retirement system,” Banducci added.
The $44.6 billion surplus exceeds the $36.6 billion surplus PBGC reported last year. The agency’s Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Projections Report released in August projected a surplus of $63.6 billion by FY 2032.
