Ann Orr Named New PBGC Acting Director

Ann Orr was selected by President Joe Biden to be the acting director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on May 3. Her predecessor, Gordon Hartogensis, departed when his five-year term expired on April 30.

The White House has not yet announced a nominee to be the new director and the PBGC did not respond to a request for comment on who the nominee might be.

Orr has served as the PBGC’s chief policy officer since June 2021 and oversaw a portfolio of policy development and research, legislative affairs and communications. Prior to that position, Orr served as chief of staff at the PBGC for eight years and as a staff member for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for ten years.

Michael Rae, previously the PBGC’s deputy chief policy officer, will perform the duties of chief policy officer while Orr serves as acting director.

The PBGC, in its November Annual Performance and Financial Report for 2023, reported that both of the pension insurance programs it maintains ended their fiscal years with positive net financial positions. The multiemployer program had a net positive position of $1.5 billion at the end of FY 2023, compared with $1.1 billion at the end of FY 2022. The single-employer program reported a positive net position of $44.6 billion at the end of FY 2023, compared with $36.6 billion at the end of FY 2022.

The positive balances of these programs have prompted some to suggest that private-sector pension insurance premiums could be reduced to make it more attractive for employers to offer defined benefit pensions to their employees.