This page has not been translated. Please go to PBGC.gov's Spanish home page for more information available in Spanish.
Esta página no ha sido traducida. Por favor vaya a la página principal del sitio de español de PBGC para ver información disponible en español.
Guidance Document Database
The documents listed below are PBGC’s guidance documents. The contents of these documents do not have the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract, and are not meant to bind the public in any way. These documents are intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
If you would like to comment on an existing guidance document, please submit your comment, including your contact information, to the General Counsel at GuidanceComments@pbgc.gov or at Regulatory Affairs Division, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Office of the General Counsel, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101.
Title | Issuance Date | Agency Identifier (indexed field) | Topics | Summary | Posted Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opinion Letter 88-06 | 4-1-1988 | PBGC Op Let 88-06 | Bargaining representative, Multiemployer | Addresses the required transfer of assets and benefit liabilities following a change in the collective bargaining representative of a group of employees who then participate in another multiemployer plan. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 74-16 | 11-14-1974 | PBGC Op Let 74-16 | Coverage | Plans funded exclusively by individual insurance or annuity policies are exempt from coverage under Title IV. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-10 | 4-8-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-10 | Individual account plan, Coverage | Individual account plan exemption from coverage. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 84-09 | 12-27-1984 | PBGC Op Let 84-09 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Provides guidance on the meaning of "employer" with respect to withdrawals from multiemployer pension plans; focuses on the garment industry and in particular, the work done by the contractor and the jobber/manufacturer. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 82-17 | 5-26-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-17 | Sale of stock, Withdrawal, Multiemployer | Discusses whether the sale of stock constitutes a withdrawal from a multiemployer plan and whether the sale of assets rule applies. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 79-06 | 4-10-1979 | PBGC Op Let 79-6 | Governmental plan, Coverage | Plan of an entity chartered by the US Congress does not meet the Governmental plan coverage exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 76-43 | 3-25-1976 | PBGC Op Let 76-43 | Excess assets | Absence of provision in plan allowing reversion of excess plan assets to the employer means that the requirements for reversion of excess assets to employer not met. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-116 | 12-31-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-116 | Withdrawal, Termination | Discusses the difference between a multiemployer plan and a multiple employer plan and the termination provisions applicable to the latter. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 83-23 | 9-23-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-23 | Mass Withdrawal, Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | This opinion letter declines to provide an opinion on the meaning of “substantially all” for the purposes of determining whether a substantially all mass withdrawal has occurred. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 85-20 | 8-2-1985 | PBGC Op Let 85-20 | Asset Sale Exception, Multiemployer | Addresses bond waivers and withdrawal liability and how regulations do not apply to the liquidation bond upon seller’s liquidation. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 81-35 | 10-26-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-35 | Benefit guarantee | Addresses the calculation of guaranteed benefits; PBGC measures benefits using plan factors at date of plan termination. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 82-40 | 12-27-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-40 | Withdrawal, Multiemployer | Regards a statutory provision under which a contributing employer to a multiemployer plan does not withdraw from the plan because it ceases to exist due to a change in organizational form if there is no interruption in the employer's contributions or obligation to contribute; addresses whether that exception to withdrawal applies to an employer that sells its assets where the purchaser takes over the seller's name, plant, and employees. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 81-13 | 5-13-1981 | PBGC Op Let 81-13 | Governmental plan, Coverage | A plan maintained by a company under contract to provide services for a Federal agency does not meet the Governmental plan coverage exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 79-07 | 4-17-1979 | PBGC Op Let 79-7 | Benefit guarantee | $20 minimum in the regulation is not subject to actuarial adjustment for the participant’s age at the time the benefit started. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 82-04 | 2-10-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-04 | Withdrawal, Multiemployer | Addresses whether a corporation that has an obligation to contribute to a multiemployer plan withdraws from the plan if the corporation's parent sells its shares. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-48 | 11-19-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-48 | Coverage, Premiums | Fully insured plans are required to pay premiums. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 74-06 | 11-14-1974 | PBGC Op Let 74-6 | Nonresident aliens, Coverage | Plan is not exempt from coverage under Title IV because of Canadian participants. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 86-07 | 3-24-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-07 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses whether a union decertification can cause a withdrawal. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 86-21 | 9-29-1986 | PBGC Op Let 86-21 | Multiemployer, Withdrawal Liability | Addresses (1) how withdrawal liability should be assessed when the contributing employer is a partnership, and (2) whether an employer continues to perform work of the type and jurisdiction covered by a collective bargaining agreement for purposes of determining whether a withdrawal has occurred. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 89-01 | 2-8-1989 | PBGC Op Let 89-1 | Asset reversion | PBGC’s position requiring distribution of assets as soon as practicable after PBGC’s 60-day review does not apply to surplus assets when there is a dispute concerning distribution. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 80-13 | 6-20-1980 | PBGC Op Let 80-13 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Provider of advertising and public relations services is not a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 82-10 | 3-26-1982 | PBGC Op Let 82-10 | Mass Withdrawal, Multiemployer | Addresses a plan sponsor’s obligations when a plan terminates by mass withdrawal, including the payment of benefits to participants in a terminated plan. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 80-11 | 6-9-1980 | PBGC Op Let 80-11 | Professional service employer plan, Coverage | Artist-designer is not a professional individual for purposes of the Professional Service Employer plan exemption. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 83-06 | 2-10-1983 | PBGC Op Let 83-6 | Benefit guarantee | Laid-off employees may accrue guaranteed benefits up to date of plan termination. |
2-28-2020 |
Opinion Letter 75-05 | 4-24-1975 | PBGC Op Let 75-5 | Individual account plan | Individual account plan is exempt from coverage under Title IV. |
2-28-2020 |