Employee Benefits

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) raises to $3,579.55 per month (or $42,954.60 per year) the maximum amount it guarantees for retirees in underfunded single-employer, defined-benefit plans terminating in 2002—5.5% higher than in 2001. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires the PBGC to adjust this amount annually based on changes in the factors that the Social Security Administration uses to calculate benefits and payroll taxes. ( www.pbgc.gov/news/press_releases/2001/pr02_07.htm )