PBGC Finalizes Multiemployer Plan Reporting Regs

The regulations are intended to reduce administrative costs and preserve assets for such plans, the agency said. The final regulations are identical to proposed regulations issued earlier this year by the PBGC (see “PBGC Proposes Relaxed Reporting for Multiemployer Plans”).

More specifically, the new regulations reduce the number of actuarial valuations required for certain small terminated but not insolvent plans, shorten the advance notice filing requirements for mergers in situations that do not involve a compliance determination, and remove certain insolvency notice and update requirements.

The final regulations will amend old regulations as follows:

• When a multiemployer plan terminates, the plan must perform an annual valuation of its assets and benefits. The new regulations will allow valuations for plans that were terminated by mass withdrawal, but are not insolvent and where the value of nonforfeitable benefits is $25 million or less, to be performed every three years instead of annually.
• Plans involved in a merger are required to jointly file a notice with PBGC before the transaction. The final rule shortens the notice period to 45 days from 120 days in cases where a compliance determination isn’t requested; and
• Under the older regulations, multiemployer plans were required to provide a series of notices and updates to notices to PBGC, participants, and beneficiaries if they will be insolvent. The final rule ends the requirement for annual updates to the insolvency notice.

Text of the final regulations is here.