Under the single-employer insur. program, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) may become the trustee of underfunded plans that are terminated and assume responsibility for paying benefits to participants as they become due, up to certain legal limits. From its inception in 1974 through the end of FY 2008, PBGC has terminated and trusteed 3,860 single-employer plans covering 1.2 million workers and retirees. Since 2008, the economic downturn has brought a new influx of pension plan terminations. This testimony describes: (1) PBGC's process for determining the amount of benefits to be paid; and (2) PBGC's recoupment process when the estimated benefit provided is too high and a retiree receives an overpayment that must be repaid.

Under the single-employer insurance program, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) may become the trustee of underfunded plans that are terminated and assume responsibility for paying benefits to participants as they become due, up to certain legal limits. From its inception in 1974 through the end of fiscal year 2008, PBGC has terminated and trusteed a total of 3,860 single-employer plans covering some 1.2 million workers and retirees. Since 2008, the economic downturn has brought a new influx of pension plan terminations to PBGC, and more are expected to follow. The committee asked GAO to discuss our recent work on PBGC. Specifically, this testimony describes: (1) PBGC's process for determining the amount of benefits to be paid; and (2) PBGC's recoupment process when the estimated benefit provided is too high and a retiree receives an overpayment that must be repaid. To address these objectives, GAO relied primarily on a recent report titled Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: More Strategic Approach Needed for Processing Complex Plans Prone to Delays and Overpayments (GAO-09-716 Aug. 2009). In that report, GAO made numerous recommendations. PBGC generally agreed and is taking steps to address the concerns raised. No new recommendations are being made in this testimony.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Workers and Retirees Experience Delays and Uncertainty when Underfunded Plans Are Terminated

Over $81 billion has been committed under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to improve the domestic auto industry's competitiveness and long-term viability. The bulk of this assistance has gone to GM and Chrysler, who sponsor some of the largest defined benefit pension plans insured by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC). This report examines: (1) the impact of restructuring on GM's and Chrysler's pension plans; (2) the impact of restructuring on auto supply sector pension plans; (3) the impacts on PBGC and plan participants should auto industry pension plans be terminated; and (4) how the federal government is dealing with the potential tensions of its multiple roles as pension regulator, shareholder, and creditor.

Investment in R&D over the past several decades has produced many valuable new drug therapies that have made it possible to treat major illnesses that were not treated previously. Spending on prescription drugs became the fastest-growing category of total spending on health care in the U.S. Between 1994 and 2004, real spending on prescription drugs rose at an average annual rate of 11%, compared with 3% for hospital care and 4% for physicians¿ services. More recently, however, that growth has slowed. This report describes the current state of investment in drug R&D and the factors that influence it. It also examines how various policy options to control the growth in health care costs or to expand insur. coverage could affect R&D spending. Illus.

The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law will help you navigate complex and potentially costly Human Resources issues. You'll know what to do (and what not to do) to avoid costly mistakes or oversights, confront HR problems - legally and effectively - and understand the rules. The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law offers fast, dependable, plain English legal guidance for HR-related situations from ADA accommodation, diversity training, and privacy issues to hiring and termination, employee benefit plans, compensation, and recordkeeping. It brings you the most up-to-date information as well as practical tips and checklists in a well-organized, easy-to-use resource. The 2010 Edition provides new and expanded coverage of issues such as: Discussion of the economic recovery measures under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The PBGC flat-rate premium for single employer plans for 2009 is $34/participant The requirement of distributing Summary Annual Reports to participants and beneficiaries has been replaced by the requirement of issuing annual funding notices for most benefit plans; DOL issued a model notice and FAQs for implementing the requirement Courts continued to develop standards under Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Glenn, 128 S. Ct. 2343 (2008), for reviewing claims decisions made by decision-makers (such as plan sponsors and insurers) that have a conflict of interest because they are responsible for paying whatever claims are allowed The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-3 (CHIPRA), intended to improve coordination between EGHPs and state Medicaid and SCHIP (coverage for uninsured children) plans, caused EGHP and cafeteria plans to be amended "Michellersquo;s Law, " Pub. L. 110-381, requires EGHPs to extend coverage to employees' dependent children who are covered as post-secondary students if they have to interrupt their studies for health-related reasons More states allowed same-sex couples to marry or have legally related domestic partnerships or civil unions - with implications for work-related benefit plans that cover "spouses. " The requirement of benefit parity between mental and physical illnesses was made permanent by EESA The HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health; part of ARRA) was enacted to strengthen the privacy and security rules under HIPAA, and to promote broader usage of electronic medical records. State Attorneys General now have the power to enforce HIPAA through suits in federal court. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (Pub. L. 111-2) was enacted. It increases the number of employment discrimination suits that can be brought by reversing the Supreme Court's decision that the timing rules for lawsuits begin when an allegedly discriminatory practice is adopted. The Supreme Court extended its string of pro-arbitration cases by ruling in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, 129 S. Ct. 1456 (4/1/09), that a collective bargaining agreement clause that clearly obligates union members to arbitrate ADEA claims is enforceable. The Supreme Court held that federal labor law preempts a California law that forbade employers that receive state contracts or other funding to discuss union matters with employees. As long as employers avoid coercion, federal law seeks to promote wide-open debate on labor issues: Chamber of Commerce v. Brown, 128 S. Ct. 2408 (2008). Another Supreme Court ruling discussed allows unions to charge non-members who pay agency fees in lieu of joining the union amounts representing certain expenses of national litigation: Locke