1: 

Q., 

"v" PBGC 

Protecting AmariclI':II Pension. 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

1200 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-4026 

May 7,2010. 

Re:'------~~~~~_ICase # 20002500, Golden Casting Corporation Hourly Plan (the 

"GC Plan") 

Dear I -- ---' 

We are responding to your appeal ofPBGC's November 7,2008 revised determination of 

your benefit under the GC Plan. For the reasons given below, we are denying your request to 

receive an unreduced benefit starting at age 58. We have increased your monthly benefit, 

however, from $450.54 to $488.22, as is also explained below. The $488.22 amount is payable 

at Normal Retirement as a Straight Life Annuity ("SLA"), and thus your payments will be 

different if you elect a different benefit start date or a different benefit form. 

PBGC's Benefit Determination and Your Appeal 

PBGC's November 7, 2008 revised determination letter stated you are entitled to a 

monthly benefit of $450.54 based on your benefit starting on February 1, 2015 in the form of a 

SLA.. The Benefit Statement PBGC enclosed with the November 7,2008 letter shows that your 

"Earliest PBGC Allowable Retirement Date" is November I, 2008 and you would receive a 

monthly benefit of $281.58 if you started your benefits on that date in the SLA form. 

PBGC's letter further noted that PBGC had found an error in its original determination 

dated September 11, 2008, which had informed you that "you were eligible· for an early 

unreduced benefit beginning February 1, 2008."] PBGC's revised detenninationstated that you 

were not entitled to an early unreduced benefit because, when the GC Plan terminated, you did 

not meet the requirement of being an active employee at age 58 with 30 years of credited service. 

On November 21, 2008, you appealed the November 7, 2008 detennination letter. . Your 

appeal letter enclosed an excerpt from the Golden Casting Pension Agreement entitled "Article 

I PBGC's original September 11,2008 detennination stated that yo~ were entitled to a monthly benefit of $578.40 

starting on February 1, 2015. The Benefit Statement enclosed with this letter further showed that you were entitled 

to a monthly benefit of $576.74 starting at your Earliest Umeduced Retirement Date of February 1, 2008. The 

calculations of these amounts are not shown in the determination letter or in the Benefit Statement. The Appeals 

Board concluded that the benefit amounts in the September 11, 2008 detennination and Benefit Statement are 

incorrect, and, accordingly, you are not entitled to those amounts. 
.... " "., Q.; 

OJ 

M 

XIV Pension Plan." We forwarded your appeal to ' the Benefit Administration and Payment 

Department ("BAPD"). After receiving your November 21, 2008 appeal, BAPD's authorized 

representative sent you a letter dated December 2, 2008. This letter, after referring to the 

Collective Bargaining Agreement provision you submitted, concluded that you are ineligible for 

an early unreduced benefit for the following reason: 

PBGC has determined that to be eligible for an early unreduced retirement you 

had to be an active employee when you attained age 58 with 30 years of service. 

After a review of your records, PBGC has determined that you did not attain age 

58 until January 2008. The Golden Casting Hourly Pension Plan was taken over 

by PBGC on September 30,2003. Therefore, you would have had to be 58 before 

then to be considered an active employee. 

You did not meet the age requirement when your employment was terminated 

because the pension plan was terminated on S~ptember 30, 2003 .... Therefore, 

you are not eligible for an early unreduced retirement. 

PBGe's December 2, 2008 letter stated that, if you still do not agree with PBGC's 

determination and want review by the Appeals Board, you may file a written statement of the 

specific reason why you believe PBGC's determination is wrong within 45 days. In your appeal 

aated December 9,2008, you said: 

I can't find any contract language that says I have to be employed by Golden 

Casting, at age 58. But, if they were still in operation, I would be still working 

there. I have attained the age and years of service required. Personally, I don't 

understand why I should have to fight, .or there should be an argument over this, 

when I have paid my dues and given my years of service. I am not trying to get 

something that I didn't earn. I appreciate your concern and attention to this 

matter. 

Background 

History ofthe Plan Sppnsor and Pension Plein 

The sponsor of the GC Plan, Golden Casting Corporation ("Golden Casting"), operated a 

foundry in Columbus, Indiana, that produced castings, primarily for heavy duty diesel engines. 

Golden Casting was a subsidiary of American Bailey, Inc., who had purchased the foundry from 

its previous owner, Textron Corporation ("Textron"), on September 8, 1990. The GC Plan 

covered Golden Casting's hourly (unionized) employees. 

Prior to the foundry's sale, Textron operated the business through the Golden Operations 

Division ("Golden Operations"), a division of Textron's CWC Casting Division. Golden 

Operations hourly employees participated in the Golden Operations Hourly Pension Plan 

("Golden Operations Plan"), which provided them with pension benefits based on their service 

with Golden Operations up to the date of the sale. Sometime after the sale, Textron merged the 

Golden Operations Plan with another Textron plan, and the merged plan is currently ongoing. 

2 
Also, effective October 1, 1990, Golden Casting established the GC Plan. The benefit 

structure of the GC Plan, which provides a benefit based on service with both companies, mirrors 

the structure of the Golden Operations Plan. GC Plan's benefit formula further provides for an 

offset (referred to as the "Textron offset") for the benefit under the Golden Operations Plan. 

Golden Casting filed a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition on May 14, 2003. PBGC entered 

into an agreement with Golden Casting effective January 1, 2005 that terminated the GC Plan, 

appointed PBGC as its trustee, and established September 30, 2003 as the GC Plan's termination 

date. 

The GC Plan 's Provisions 

Section 3.01 of the formal GC Plan Document,2 titled "Normal Retirement Benefits," 

provides that the pension benefit payable at Nonnal Retirement is as follows: 

3.01 Normal Retirement Benefits. The Monthly Retirement income of each 

Participant, hereunder, shall be equal to: 

(i) (a) $20.00 for Participants whose Severance 

from Service occurs prior to June 12, 1994, or 

* '" '" 

(d) $23.50 for Participants whose Severance from 

Service occurs after June 25, 1998; or 

(e) $24.00 for Participants whose Severance from 

Service occurs after December 14, 2002; 

* '" '" 

multiplied by 

(ii) the Participant's Credited Service; 

and for a Participant who was a Participant of the [Golden Operations] Plan on or 

before September 8, 1990, reduced and offset by the accrued benefit under said 

Prior Plan as of September 8, 1990. 

Section 1.29 of the GC Plan Document, which is titled "Normal Retirement Date," is the 

only provision in that.document that specifically addresses benefit eligibility based on 30 years 

of Credited Service. Section 1.29 provides as follows: 

2 The fonnal GC Plan document that applies to your benefits is the "Golden Castings CorPoration Hourly Pension 

Plan Amended and Restated Generally Effective as of October I, 1997" ("GC Plan Document"). In Enclosure I, we 

provide a copy of the GC Plan Document's provisions that relate to your appeal. 

3 
1.29 "Normal Retirement Date" shall mean the Participant's 65th 

birthday or the Participant's 58th birthday, so long as he has completed 30 years of 

Credited Service, if earlier. 

As is discussed further below, section 1.29 is of central importance regarding the issue raised in 

your appeal. 

With the exception of the 30-Year benefit and the disability retirement benefit, a GC Plan 

participant cannot start receiving an unreduced benefit before age 65.3 Section 3.03(a) ofthe GC 

Plan Document provides that a Participant may elect an Early Retirement Benefit if he has 

attained his Early Retirement Date. Section 1.14 provides that the Early Retirement Date is "the 

Participant's 50th birthday, provided he has completed to Years of Service." If the Early 

Retirement Benefit commences before age 65, the benefit amount is "reduced by Yz of 1 % for 

each complete calendar month by which the Participant is under Age 65 at the date his early 

retirement benefit commences.'.4 GC Plan Document, section 3.03(a)(2). 

Similarly, if a vested participant terminates employment before qualifying for a Normal, 

Early or Disability retirement benefit, the participant may receive either: (1) a deferred benefit 

starting on his Normal Retirement Date; or (2) an immediate or deferred benefit, as the case may 

be, starting upon the later of employment termination or age 50, which is "reduced by Yz of 1 % 

for each complete calendar month by which the Participant is under Age 65 at the date his vested 

termination benefit commences." GC Plan Document, section 3.06. 

Discussion 

The GC Plan terminated without sufficient assets to provide all benefits PBGC 

guarantees under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), and 

PBGC became its trustee. The terms of the plan, the provisions of ERISA, and PBGC 

regulations and policies determine your entitlement, if any, to a guaranteed benefit. Because of 

legal limits under ERISA and PBGC's regulations, the benefits that PBGC guarantees may be 

less than the benefits a pension plan would otherwise pay. 

1. The Crucial Issue in Your Appeal 

PBGC . records establish that you had more than 30 years of Credited Service and were 

age 53 when the GC Plan terminated on September 30,2003. As is discussed below, the crucial 

issue in your appeal is which of the following two interpretations of the GC Plan's 30-year 

benefit provision is correct: 

3 The disability retirement benefit is available to a participant who has attained age 40, completed 15 or more years 

of service, is pennanently and totally disabled, and tenninates employment before his or ber Nonnal Retirement 

Date. The disability retirement benefit is payable immediately upon termination of employment in an unreduced 

amount. GC Plan Document, sections 1.13 and 3.05. . 

4 Section 3.03(b) of the GC Plan Document also provides that, if a participant has completed the lO-year service 

requirement for early retirement but separates from employment before age 50, he is entitled to a benefit upon 

attaining age 50 in tile amount described in section 3.03(a) . 

4 
Interpretation 1: a GC Plan participant with 30 years of Credited Service cannot 

start receiving an unreduced benefit before age 65 unless he or she terminates 

employment after attaining age 58; or 

Interpretation 2: a GC Plan participant with 30 years of Credited Service could 

terminate employment before age 58 and (after deciding to delay his benefits) 

apply for and receive an unreduced benefit starting at age 58. 

PBGC's November 7,2008 determination is based on Interpretation 1, while your appeal asserts 

you should receive an unreduced benefit based on Interpretation 2. 

The interpretation of the GC Plan's 3D-year benefit provision is cruciaL to your appeal 

because, under ERISA, PBGC's guarantee is limited to benefits that are "nonforfeitable" as of 

the pension plan's termination date ("DOPT").s This means that, for PBGC to guarantee a 

particular type of benefit under a pension plan, the participant must meet the conditions for that 

type of benefit as of DOPT. Accordingly, if Interpretation 1 applies, PBGC cannot guarantee an 

unreduced benefit starting at age 58 because you did not, and could not, meet the condition at 

DOPT of terminating Golden Casting employment at age 58 or later.6 . 

ERISA and PBGC regulations; however, permit a benefit to be guaranteed if the only 

condition not satisfied at DOPT is a "required waiting period." See ERISA section 4001(a)(8); 

which is quoted in footnote 5. Thus, under Interpretation 2, PBGC would guarantee an 

unreduced 30-year Benefit for you because, as of DOPT, the only condition you had not satisfied 

would be the requirement to wait until age 58 before starting your unreduced benefit payments. 

For the reasons discussed below, the Appeals Board decided that Interpretation 1 (rather 

than Interpretation 2) is correct, and thus PBGC in your case cannot guarantee an unreduced 30-

year benefit. 

5 ERISA defines a "nonforfeitable benefit" as: 

a benefit for which a participant has satisfied the conditions for entitlement under the plan or the 

requirements of .... [ERISA] (other than submission of a formal application, retirement, 

completion of a required waiting period, or death in the case of a benefit which returns all or a 

portion of a participant's accumulated mandatory employee contributions upon the participant's 

death). 

ERISA § 4001(a)(8). See also 29 Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") § 4001.2 (definition of "nonforfeitable 

benefit"). 

PBGC regulations further provide that a guaranteed benefit, among other conditions, must be nonforfeitable as of 

the plan's termination date. 29 CFR § 4022.3. Additionally, 29 CFR § 4022.4(a)(3) provides that "in the case of a 

requirement that a participant attain a particular age, earn a particular amount of service, become disabled, or die" 

the participant must satisfy the requirement on or before the Plan's termination date. 

6 You state in your appeal that "if Golden Casting had remained in operation, I would be still working there." 

However, PBGC regulations (which implement the above-discussed ERISA's requirements) provide that PBGC 

cannot consider the service that you earned, or could have earned, after the pension plan's termination date for 

purposes of determining your entitlement to a guaranteed benefit. See 29 C.F.R. § 4022.3 and § 4022.4(a)(3). 

5 
" f.,. 

\"Ii 

.. 

2. Analysis ofthe GC Plan's 3D-Year Benefit Provision 

Based on its experience with tenninated pension plans, the Appeals Board observes that it 

is fairly common for a pension plan to offer an immediate, unreduced benefit to participants who 

have earned 30 or more years of service. In some plans, there is no age requirement, and thus an 

immediate benefit is paid regardless of the participant's age when he or she tenninates 

employment with 30 or more years of service. In other plans, however, the participant must 

satisfy an age requirement in addition to earning 30 years service, or the participant's age and 

service (when added together) must exceed a certain specified amount. 

Usually, when the 30-year benefit provision includes an age requirement, the participant 

must meet both the service and age requirement before terminating employment to qualify for an 

unreduced benefit. Interpretation 1 (discussed above) is an example of such a benefit provision. 

There is nothing to prevent a pension plan, however, from providing a 3D-year benefit under 

which the participant need only meet the service requirement before terminating employment. 

The participant then could meet the age requirement and start an unreduced benefit at a later 

date. Interpretation 2 is an example of this second type of benefit provision. 

While the second type of a 3D-year benefit is not common, some pension plans have 

structured benefits this way. Thus, it is necessary to examine carefully the pension plan's written 

provisions to determine the requirements for the benefit. 

As stated above, section 1.29 of the GC Plan Document states that the participant's 

Normal Retirement Date is "the Participant's 65th birthday or the Participant's 58th birthday, so 

long as he has completed 30 years of Credited Service, if earlier." This is the only provision in 

the GC Plan Document that addresses the entitlement to a GC Plan benefit based on 30 years of 

Credited Service. 

The definition of "Normal Retirement Date" in section 1.29 does not specifically link. 

eligibility for an unreduced 30-year benefit to the participant's age when he or she terminates 

employment. On the other hand, this definition could be intended to refer to the date when a 

participant ordinarily would become entitled to an immediate unreduced benefit upon 

termination of employment. 7 Under this reading, a vested participant would not attain his 

Normal Retirement Date unless he terminated employment at either (1) age 65, or (2) at an age 

between age 58 and age 65 with at least 30 years of Credited Service. Thus, we concluded that 

the language in Section 1.29 does not conclusively establish whether Interpretation 1 or 

Interpretation 2 is correct. 

Additionally, if the drafters ofthe GC Plan Document had intended that a participant with 

30 years of Credited Service could terminate employment before age 58 and then start an 

7 As stated above under "Background," the GC Plan Document provides a right to an immediate unreduced benefit 

upon employment termination in only two instances - upon the participant's attaimnent of his "Normal Retirement 

Date" or his "Disability Retirement Date." On a third date that is defined in the GC Plan Document.: the "Early 

Retirement Date" - a participant is entitled upon employment tennination to an immediate benefit reduced for early 

commencement. Thus, all three "dates" can -be read as referring to when a participant is entitled to an immediate 

benefit upon tennination of employment. 

6 
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unreduced benefit at age 58, we would expect that they would also provide the participant with 

an immediate early retirement benefit that is reduced for each month before age 58. The GC 

Plan, however, clearly provides that the reduction for any non-disability benefit that starts before 

age 58 is reduced from age 65. See GC Plan Document Sections 3.03 and 3.06. Thus, in your 

case, under Interpretation 2 the immediate benefit payable when you terminated employment at 

age 53 and 8 months (which would be reduced by 68%) is much less valuable than the 

(unreduced) benefit starting at age 58. We concluded that it is unlikely that the drafters of the 

GC Plan Document intended to structure benefits in this way. This, in turn, leads us to question 

" whether Interpretation 2 reflects the drafter's intent. 

In an attempt to clarify the meaning of the GC Plan Document, we sought a copy of the 

GC Plan's Summary Plan Description ("SPD"), which possibly would contain an explanation of 

the 3D-year benefit provision. We were unable to locate an SPD, however, from the Department 

of Labor or from other sources. If you (or another person) provide us with a SPD, we would 

consider reopening your appeal, if the SPD would provide a basis for changing our decision. 

We also examined the language of the OC Plan's Collective Bargaining Agreements 

("CBAs"). We obtained a copy' of the 1992-1995 CBA, and your appeal provided a page from 

an earlier CBA. 8 Both CBAs, in Article 14 (titled "Pension Plan"), contain the following 

identical language: 

Employees with ten (10) years or more of credited service who are fifty (50) years 

of attained age may retire early (with actuarial reduction). Employees with thirty 

(30) years of credited service " and age fifty~eight (58) or above may retire early 

with full pension benefits (no actuarial reduction). 

The Appeals Board concluded that this " CBA provIsion is unclear as to whether 

Interpretation 1 or Interpretation 2 is correct. First, it is unclear whether the word "employees" 

in the CBA applies only to active employees, or whether.it also. applies to participants who had 

terminated employment with pension rights. Also, the term "retire early" is ambiguous, since it 

could apply either to (1) when the participant terminates employment with the right to an 

" immediate pension benefit, or (2) to a date (possibly after termination of employment) when the 

participant elects to begin receiving a pension benefit. Thus, the CBA could be read as requiring 

a participant to retire from employment at age 58 (or" above) with 30 years credited service to 

qua1ify for an unreduced benefit, which would be consistent with Interpretation 1. It also could 

be read as allowing a participant with 30 years of credited service to qualify for an unreduced 

pension starting at age 58, which would"be consistent with Interpretation 2. 

Finally, the Appeals Board looked at the provisions of the formal document for the 

Golden Operations Plan as restated effective July 14, 1989 ("GO Plan Document,,).9 As 

discussed above, the Golden Operations Plan: (1) covers pension benefit before the 1990 sale of 

8 In Enclosure 2, we provide the CBA page you provided with your appeal. In Enclosure 3, "we provide relevant 

pages from the 1992-1995 CBA. 

9 In Enclosure 4, we provide relevant pages from the GO Plan Document. 

7 
I: 

~ 

the foundry, and (2) has a benefit structure that basically is the same as the GC Plan. Moreover, 

the "Purchase and Sale Agreement" between Textron and Golden Casting required the creation 

of a "substantially identical" plan (see Enclosure 5).10 This documents states: 

(c) Golden Hourly Plan; Adoption of an Hourly Plan. Effective from and after 

the Closing Date, Purchaser shall adopt a defined benefit pension plan (the "New 

Plan") which is substantially identical to the current Golden Operations Hourly 

Pension Plan (the "Old Plan"), except that Purchaser shall be the sponsor of the 

New Plan and that benefits due under the New Plan shall be offset by the 

corresponding benefits due under the Old Plan. The New Plan shall credit all 

service of participants under the Old Plan for all purposes under the New Plan. 

The GO Plan Document, in contrast to GC Plan Document, clearly provides that a 

participant must terminate employment at age 58 or later to qualify for an unreduced benefit 

based on 30 or more years of Credited Service. 11 This is evident from Article IV, Section 1 of 

the GO Plan Document, which states: 

Normal Retirement.. An Employee who attains age 65 or who completes 

30 years of Credited Service and attains age 58, if earlier, while employed by the 

Employer shall have a non-forfeitable right to a normal Retirement Benefit. 

Furthermore, under the GO Plan Document, a vested participant who does not qualify for either 

.an age-58 Normal Retirement benefit or a disability benefit receives either a benefit that is 

unreduced starting at age 65, or that is reduced by YJ. of 1 % per month for each month before age 

65. Thus, the GO Plan Document's provisions clearly are consistent with Interpretation 1, rather 

than Interpretation 2. -

Since the GC Plan, as required under the Purchase and Sale Agreement, mirrors the 

provisions of the Golden Operations Plan,. the Appeals Board found it likely that the drafters of 

the GC Plan Document intended that the substantive requirements for the 30-year benefit would 

be same under GC Plan as under the Golden Operations Plan. Indeed, if a change had been 

intended, we would expect that there would be a document that explicitly explained the change, 

or that the change would be evident in plan practice. We have found no explanation of a change, 

nor (as discussed below) does plan practice indicate that a change had occurred. Thus, we 

concluded that the most likely explanation is that the drafters of GC Plan Document, in writing 

the provision titled ''Normal Retirement Date," unintentionally modified the GO Plan 

Document's language in a way that created an ambiguity concerning the requirements for the 30-

year benefit. 

10 The Appeals Board obtained Enclosure 5, which is the section of the "Purchase and Sale Agreement" that relates 

to pension obligations, from Textron. 

11 The SPD for the Golden Operations Plait dated January 1, 1987 (excerpts provided in Enclosure 6) similarly is 

clear on this point, since it states: "Normal retirement benefits are payable if your employment with the Textron 

Companies ends at or after the earlier of (i) your sixty-fifth birthday or (ii) at age 58 and the completion of 30 years 

of Credited Service. This IS your normal retirement age under the plan." . 

8 
3. The GC Plan's Practice 

When pension plan provisions are ambiguous, the Appeals Board often will examine the 

plan's practice, which may provide evidence of how the plan's provisions have been interpreted. 

The Board therefore searched PBGC's records to identify any GC Plan participant who had 30 or 

more years of Credited Service and who terminated employment before age 58. We found the 

following information concerning three individuals who had terminated employment before the 

GC Plan's termination date ("DOPT"): 

• For one participant, who retired one month before DOPT, the former Plan 

administrator indicated on the GC Plan's "Pension Calculation" form that he qualified 

for "Early" retirement, rather than for "58-30" retirement. The former Plan 

administrator also had calculated and paid an early retirement benefit that was reduced 

from age 65; 

• Another participant terminated employment five months before DOPT with more than 

30 years service. He had not yet attained age 58 and was not in pay status at DOPT. 

Near the time he terminated employment, the GC Plan had provided him with a 

"Statement of Benefits" that showed: (1) his normal retirement date is at age 65; and 

(2) he could start benefits at a reduced amount anytime after age 50. There is nothing 

in . his records to indicate that the former Plan administrator had considered this 

participant entitled to an unreduced benefit starting at age 58; and 

• A third participant had terminated employment in 2000 with more than 30 years 

service, but at DOPT he had not yet attained age 58 and was not iIi pay status. 

Information in the records PBGC obtained from Golden Casting show that this 

participant is listed in the GC Plan's 2002 actuarial valuation as "LIFE DEFERRED" 

and that his Benefit Commencement Date is at age 65. There is nothing in the records 

to indicate that the former Plan administrator had considered this participant to be 

entitled to an unreduced benefit starting at age 58. 

Additionally, PBGe records contain several benefit calculation worksheets completed by 

the former Plan administrator for participants who were actively employed at DOPT. These 

forms are similar to the one for the first participant discussed above. On those forms, 

participants with 30 or more years Credited Service and who were under age 58 had benefits 

calculated as "Early" retirees, rather than .as "58-30" retirees. You are one of the participants 

with such a form, which we are providing as Enclosure 7. 12 

The Appeals Board did not accord· great weight to the above-described plan practice, 

which occurred over a limited time period that was long after the applicable GC Plan provisions 

were drafted. Nevertheless, we concluded that this practice is consistent with Interpretation 1, 

rather than Interpretation 2. Accordingly, based on our analysis of relevant pension plan 

12 In Enclosure 7, the fonner Plan administrator calculated a $196.51 monthly benefit for you, with payments 

beginning October 1, 2003 in the form of a SLA. This calculation used a larger Textron offset ($445.00) than PBGC 

used. Enclosure 7 also used an incorrect method for applying the Textron offset to an early retirement benefit, 

which is another reason why PBGC's determination of your benefit amount differs from the calculations in 

Enclosure 7. . 

9 
documents and of the GC Plan's practice, the Appeals Board decided that Interpretation 1 (rather 

than Interpretation 2) applies to your benefits. 

4. The Amount of Your PBGC Benefit 

PBGC correctly used a benefit rate of $23.50 in calculating your guaranteed benefit. 

Although the GC Plan increased the benefit rate to $24.00 for participants who terminatcd 

employment after December 14, 2002, PBGC is unable to guarantee the increase to $24.00 

because the increase occurred less than one year before the GC Plan tenninated. [4 

The records PBGC obtained from Golden Casting show that you had 35.4 years of 

Credited Service based on your employment with both Golden Casting and Golden Operations. 

Thus, based on Section 3.01 of the GC Plan Document, your guaranteed benefit before the 

Textron offset is $831.90 [$23.50 x 35.4 =$831.90]. This is the amount PBGe calculated, 

which the Appeals Board did not change .. 

In its benefit calculations, PBGC applied an offset of $353.40 for your Textron benefit. 

This amount is based on an October 1,2003 valuation of the GC Plan benefits, which PBGC had 

obtained from Golden Casting. Documents the Appeals Board obtained from Textron 

(Enclosure 8), however, establish that the Golden Operations Plan has detennined that you 

monthly benefit is $313.31, which is payable at age 65 as a SLA. The Appeals Board decided to 

accept that amount as your Textron offset. We note, however, that if your accrued benefit under 

the Golden Operations Plan benefit should change from $313.31, the Textron offset also should 

change. 

Thus, your guaranteed GC Plan benefit after the Textron offset is $518.59 [$831.90 -

$313.31 = $518.59]. Additionally, PBGC must adjust your benefit for the GC Plan's Qualified 

Pre-Retirement Survivor Annuity C'QPSA"). Consistent with the GC Plan's tenns, your benefit 

amount is multiplied by 0.94 to take into account the QPSA. Thus, your guaranteed GC Plan 

benefit at Nonnal Retirement in the SLA fonn is $487.47 [$518.59 x 0.94 = $487.47]. Finally, 

as provided in section 4022(c) of ERISA, PBGC will pay a portion of your GC Plan benefits that 

are not guaranteed by PBGe. The amount PBGC may pay under.ERISA section 4022(c) reflects 

PBGC's recoveries on its legal claims against pension plans sponsors. In your case, the section 

4022(c) amount ($.75) increases your monthly PBGC benefit at Nonnal Retirement to $488.22 

in the SLA form. 

The Benefit Statement PBGC provided with its revised detennination shows that you 

could receive a benefit of $281.58 starting on your "Earliest PBGC Allowable Retirement Date" 

of November 1, 2008. Based on our change to the Textron offset, we have increased this amount 

to $305.13. The $305.13 amount is calculated as follows: your guaranteed Nonnal Retirement 

Benefit (after the QPSA charge) of$487.47 is multiplied by an Early Retirement Factor of 0.625, 

which equals $304.67. The section 4022(c) amount applicable to your early retirement benefit 

($0.46) then is added to this amount, which equals $305.13; 

14 See 29 U.S.c. § 4022(b)(1), (7) and 29 C.F.R. § 4022.25, which describe the limitation to PBGC's guarantee that 

is referred to as the "Pbase-in Rule." 

10 
Decision 

Having applied the law, regulations, and Plan provisions to the facts of your case, the 

. Appeals Board denied your request to receive an unreduced benefit starting at age 58. We have 

increased your monthly benefit, however, from $450.54 to $488.22. The $488.22 amount. is 

payable at Normal Retirement as a Straight Life Annuity ("SLA"), and thus your payments will 

be different if you eiect a different benefit start date or a different benefit form. 

This is PBGC's final decision on your appeal, and you may, if you wish, seek court 

review of this decision. If you need other information from PBGC, please call the Customer 

Contact Center at 1-800-400-7242. 

Sincerely, 

~h!~ 

Charles W. Vernon 

~hair, Appeals Board 

(8) Enclosures 

1) Excerpts from the 10/111997 Golden Casting Corporation Hourly Pension Plan ( 16 pages) 

2) Excerpt from the Golden Casting Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) you provided 

in your appeal (1 page) 

3) Excerpts from the 1992-1995 Golden Casting CBA (5 pages) 

4) Excerpts from the 1989 Golden Operations Hourly Pension Plan (7 pages) 

5) Excerpts from the Purchase and Sale Agreement (4 pages) 

6) Excerpts from Golden Operations Plan SPD dated 111/87 (4 pages) 

7) Golden Casting Plan benefit calculation by the fonner Plan administrator (1 page) 

8) Golden Operations Participant information obtained from Textron (4 pages) 

11