Improved Processes Needed To Insure Timely Benefit Payments to Participants of Single Employer Pension Plans

Gao ID: HRD-84-58 May 31, 1984

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effectiveness of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) processes for ensuring that participants in private pension plans receive guaranteed benefits when plans terminate.

GAO evaluated the PBGC processing of numerous insufficient pension plans to: (1) determine why eligible participants were not receiving benefit payments; (2) assess the PBGC efforts to adjust benefit payments to guaranteed levels; and (3) assess the effectiveness of these processes for providing timely benefit distributions. In addition, GAO analyzed PBGC efforts to locate participants who were not receiving benefits because they could not be located from plan records. GAO found that the processing of terminated plans can be strengthened to provide for more timely restoration of monthly benefit payments and compensation for missed benefit payments. In addition, GAO reviewed a random sample of sufficient pension plan terminations which showed that asset distributions were not timely. Further, GAO found that PBGC processing of sufficient plans can be strengthened and streamlined. Finally, GAO determined that opportunities are available to locate missing individuals entitled to benefits.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Joseph F. Delfico Team: General Accounting Office: Human Resources Division Phone: (202) 512-7215


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.