PBGC Issues 2019 Premium Filing Instructions

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has made available “Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions for 2019 Plan Years.”

The document provides information for plans paying premiums for plan years beginning in 2019, including instructions for each data element that must be reported.

The filing requirements for 2019 are almost identical to the filing requirements for 2018; however, changes to note include the following:

• Changes in premium rates. For single-employer plans, the flat-rate premium is $80 per-participant, up from $74; and the variable-rate premium is $43 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits capped at $541 times the number of participants, up from $38 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits capped at $523 times the number of participants. For multiemployer plans, the flat-rate premium is $29 per-participant, up from $28.
• Information about the process by which plan administrators may certify the filing manually instead of electronically.
• Revised instructions regarding disaster relief to reflect recent changes made to PBGC’s practice.
• Increased My PAA functionality with a “Submit a Request” Quick Link button.
• Clarified instructions for reporting the business code.
• An expanded list of common filing errors.

Payment of premiums to the PBGC is required by sections 4006 and 4007 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and PBGC’s Premium Regulations. There are two kinds of annual premiums: the flat-rate premium, which applies to all plans, and the variable-rate premium, which applies only to single-employer plans.

Electronic filing is mandatory for all plans. My Plan Administration Account (My PAA) is a secure Web-based application that enables pension plan professionals to electronically submit premium filings to PBGC in accordance with PBGC’s regulations.