Pensions

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reported a nearly $3 billion reduction in its combined deficits for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008. In the Annual Management Report submitted to Congress, the PBGC’s insurance program for single-employer pension plans reported a $10.7 billion deficit, down from $13.1 billion the previous fiscal year. The deficit in the insurance program for multiemployer pension plans fell from $955 million to $473 million.

“Although the current turbulence in our economy will mean a challenging environment in 2009, the PBGC has the resources to meet its commitments to America’s retirees for years to come,” PBGC Director Charles Millard said in a press release.

As of Sept. 30, 2008, the single-employer program had assets of $61.6 billion and liabilities of $72.3 billion. Premium income, however, dropped slightly to $1.4 billion from $1.48 billion the year before. No new large pension plans were classified as probable losses in 2008, and the PBGC’s potential exposure to future pension losses from financially weak companies fell to $47 billion, from $66 billion in 2007.

The complete report to Congress is available at www.pbgc.gov/docs/2008amr.pdf.