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Compliance January 13, 2020
PBGC Issues Premium Filing Instructions for 2020 Plan Years
Premiums have gone up, and the agency says it has simplified reporting requirements for risk transfer activities.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions for 2020 Plan Years.
Changes to note for 2020 include:
- Changes in premium rates:
- Single-employer plans: The Flat-rate Premium is $83 per-participant, up from $80; the Variable-rate Premium is $45 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits capped at $561 times the number of participants, up from $43 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits capped at $541 times the number of participants.
- Multiemployer plans: The Flat-rate Premium is $30 per-participant, up from $29. Multiemployer plans do not pay Variable-rate Premiums.
- Risk transfer activity: The agency has simplified the reporting requirements with respect to lump-sum windows and annuity purchases and reinstated the question about lump-sum windows for retirees. See item 18 of the “Description of Data Elements” section.
The agency revised its premium filing procedures in 2015 to require reporting of pension risk transfer actions.
The PBGC reminds defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors that electronic filing is mandatory for all plans.