PBGC Amends Appeals Procedures
July 3, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced it is publishing a
final rule amending its regulation on Rules for
Administrative Review of Agency Decisions to clarify that the
agency's Appeals Board may refer certain categories of
appeals to other PBGC departments for a written
response.
The final regulation (29 CFR part 4003) formalizes
the Appeals Board's practice of referring certain
routine appeals, such as those that allege a mistake of
fact or that request a more detailed benefit explanation,
to other PBGC departments or Appeals Board staff for a
written response.
Appeals that will be subject to referral include
those that:
-
request an explanation of a covered initial
benefit determination;
-
dispute specific data used in a covered initial
determination, such as date of hire, date of
retirement, date of termination of employment, length
of service, compensation, marital status, and the
form of benefit elected; or
-
request an explanation of the limits on
benefits payable by PBGC under part 4022, subpart B,
such as the maximum guaranteeable benefit and
phase-in.
The agency said the practice began after it
concluded that other PBGC departments, such as the
Benefits Administration and Payment Department (BAPD),
could handle these types of appeals efficiently given
their familiarity with the relevant facts underlying the
initial benefit determinations. The PBGC also concluded
that it would be appropriate for Appeals Board staff
(rather than the Appeals Board) to respond to untimely
and premature appeals, as well as appeals alleging that
benefit reductions required by law will work a financial
hardship.