The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) published
its annual report on November 15, 2011. The
report identified a record deficit of $26 billion dollars for fiscal year 2011,
increasing by $3 billion its published 2010 deficit.
Total PBGC benefit obligations grew at a greater rate than
assets increased. The agency’s current
benefit obligations of $107 billion include known, or ‘reasonably certain,’
obligations, but do not include obligations associated with future failures.
Josh Gotbaum, the PBGC’s director, uses this shortfall, continued
low investment experience, and increased plan failure to propose increased
regulation and greater PBGC authority to determine premiums collected from employer
plans.
Because PBGC obligations are paid over decades, it has “sufficient
funds to pay benefits for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, PBGC’s obligations are clearly
greater than its resources. We cannot ignore PBGC’s future financial condition
any more than we would that of the pension plans we insure,” noted Mr. Gotbaum
in the report.
No one wants to see the collapse of the PBGC – or the
U.S. retirement system – but Mr. Gotbaum’s proposed fixes are not popular and
are seen to address artificially inflated problems.
Agency groups, including the ERISA Industry Committee,
the American Benefits Council, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asserted that
the change is a “non-event” and that the deficit is the result of “government-created
artificially-low interest rates.” According to the American Benefits
Council, nearly 80 percent of the $26 billion deficit can be attributed to low
interest rates, because low interest rates result in higher calculations of
pension liabilities.
American
Benefits Council James A. Klein said, “In this instance, flaws in the way
PBGC’s financial condition is reported makes the situation appear far worse
than reality; and the deficit is now being used to justify an enormous premium
increase and to convince Congress to give the agency sweeping new powers.” The Council published Ten Reasons to Doubt the PBGC’s Reported Deficit, an interesting
read that alleges apples to oranges comparisons and shrouded methods are overstating
the PBGC’s predicament.
Few deny that the
PBGC is in a unique position to help ease retirement concerns or that our retirement
system is in need of scrutiny as defined benefit plans near extinction and defined
contribution plans put investment risk on employees’ shoulders.
Still, will
increased PBGC premiums and authority really solve the PBGC’s problems and
strengthen retirement confidence? Only
time will tell.