Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

36598

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Rules and Regulations FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY
CORPORATION
29 CFR Parts 4000 and 4262
RIN 1212AB53

Special Financial Assistance by PBGC
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.
AGENCY:

This document contains an interim final rule that sets forth the requirements for special financial assistance applications and related restrictions and conditions pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
DATES:
Effective date: This interim final rule is effective on July 12, 2021.
Comment date: Comments must be received on or before August 11, 2021
to be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Email: reg.comments@pbgc.gov.
Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 200054026.
Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit public comments electronically. PBGC expects to have limited personnel available to process public comments that are submitted on paper through mail. Until further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be considered to the extent practicable.
All submissions must include the agencys name Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC and title for this rulemaking Special Financial Assistance by PBGC and the Regulation Identifier Number for this rulemaking RIN 1212AB53.
Comments received will be posted without change to PBGCs website, www.pbgc.gov, including any personal information provided. Do not submit comments that include any personally identifiable information or confidential business information.
Copies of comments may also be obtained by writing to Disclosure Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC
200054026 or calling 2022294040
during normal business hours. TTY
users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 8008778339 and ask to be connected to 2022294040.

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES2

SUMMARY:

VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:51 Jul 09, 2021

Jkt 253001

Daniel S. Liebman liebman.daniel@
pbgc.gov; 2022296510 Deputy General Counsel, Program Law and Policy Department, Hilary Duke duke.hilary@pbgc.gov; 2022293839, Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, or Stephanie Cibinic cibinic.stephanie@pbgc.gov; 202229
6352, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 200054026. TTY
users may call the Federal Relay service toll-free at 8008778339 and ask to be connected to 2022296510, 202229
3839, or 2022296352.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary Purpose and Authority This interim final rule adds to the regulations of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC a new part 4262 to implement the requirements under section 9704 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Special Financial Assistance Program for Financially Troubled Multiemployer Plans. This program enhances retirement security for millions of Americans by providing eligible multiemployer defined benefit pension plans with special financial assistance SFA in the amounts required for the plans to pay all benefits due during the period beginning on the date of payment of SFA through the plan year ending in 2051.
PBGCs legal authority for this rulemaking comes from new section 4262 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ERISA
Special Financial Assistance by the Corporation, which requires PBGC to issue regulations or guidance setting forth requirements for SFA applications by July 9, 2021, permits PBGC to provide for how SFA and earnings thereon are to be invested, and, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, permits PBGC to impose reasonable conditions by regulation or other guidance on an eligible multiemployer plan that receives SFA.
PBGCs legal authority also comes from section 4002b3 of ERISA, which authorizes PBGC to issue regulations to carry out the purposes of title IV of ERISA, and from section 4003a of ERISA, which authorizes PBGC to conduct investigations and audits.
Major Provisions of the Regulatory Action This rulemaking sets forth what information a plan is required to file to
PO 00000

Frm 00002

Fmt 4701

Sfmt 4700

demonstrate eligibility for SFA and the amount of SFA to be paid by PBGC to the plan. It identifies which plans will be given priority to file applications before March 11, 2023, and provides for a processing system, which will accommodate the filing and review of many applications in a limited amount of time. It also establishes permissible investments for SFA funds and restrictions and conditions on plans that receive SFA.
Background PBGC and the Multiemployer Insurance Program PBGC administers two insurance programs for private-sector defined benefit pension plans under title IV of ERISA: One for single-employer defined benefit pension plans and one for multiemployer defined benefit pensions plans multiemployer plans. In general, a multiemployer plan is a collectively bargained plan involving two or more unrelated employers. The multiemployer insurance program protects the benefits of approximately 10.9 million workers and retirees in approximately 1,400 plans. This interim final rule deals with multiemployer plans.
The multiemployer insurance program provides PBGC with tools to help plans that are insolvent or approaching insolvency to be able to pay guaranteed benefits.1 This help is primarily in the form of financial assistance loans under section 4261a of ERISA. Under that provision, when a multiemployer plan becomes insolvent, PBGC provides periodic financial assistance payments to the insolvent plan in amounts that, together with existing plan assets and any other plan income, are sufficient to pay guaranteed benefit amounts to participants and beneficiaries. In general terms, a plan is insolvent if it cannot pay benefits when due.
The Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 MPRA created pathways under ERISA to help improve solvency for plans that are likely to become insolvent. Plans that are in critical and declining status 2 may apply to the U.S.
1 Multiemployer plan guaranteed benefits are primarily nonforfeitable benefits and the maximum guarantee is set by law under section 4022A of ERISA.
2 A plan is in critical and declining status if the plan satisfies the criteria for critical status under section 305b2 of ERISA and is projected to become insolvent within the meaning of section 4245 during the current plan year or any of the 14
succeeding plan years or 19 succeeding plan years if the plan has a ratio of inactive participants to active participants that exceeds 2 to 1 or if the funded percentage of the plan is less than 80
percent.

E:FRFM12JYR2.SGM

12JYR2