FY 2020 Agency 

Performance Plan
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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FY 2020 PBGC Annual Performance Plan 

PBGC’s current FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan provides a framework for annual performance 

plans. PBGC conducts regular data-driven performance reviews. Agency leaders review 

performance data and status reports on a quarterly basis. The continuous evaluation of 

performance data and customer feedback helps agency leadership monitor what is working well 

and what may need to be adjusted. These performance reviews allow agency leaders to realign or 

adjust human capital and other resources to influence progress on agency goals and priorities.

PBGC’s business operations, information technology programs, investment portfolios, budgets, 

finances, facilities, legal review, quality improvement, and procurement services are managed 

and supported by a multidisciplinary team of professionals and administrative staff. The current 

workforce consists of just under 1,000 federal employees, who are supported by contractors. 

Every federal employee has a performance plan with objectives tied to the agency’s strategic 

goals. Employees review their performance objectives and performance outcomes with their 

supervisor of record throughout the performance cycle. These highly skilled professionals, who 

are committed to the work of PBGC’s mission, include:

• Accountants 

• Actuaries

• Attorneys

• Auditors 

• Benefits Specialists

• Financial Analysts

• IT and Cybersecurity Experts

Each PBGC employee has an important role in the Corporation’s mission of protecting 

America's pensions.

We publish an annual performance report of the agency’s accomplishments. This framework is 

consistent with requirements outlined in the Government Performance and Results 

Modernization Act of 2010.

For the full FY 2018-2022 PBGC Strategic Plan please visit: 

https://www.pbgc.gov/sites/default/files/pbgc-strategic-plan-2018-2022.pdf 

For the FY 2019 PBGC Annual Performance Plan please visit:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/budget/2019/CBJ-2019-V2-02.pdf

The table that follows is a summary of the FY 2018-2022 PBGC Strategic Plan.
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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PBGC Strategic Plan

Strategic Goal 1: Preserve Plans and Protect the Pensions of Covered Workers and Retirees

Strategic Objectives Performance Strategies

• Encourage the continuation 

and maintenance of 

pension plans

• Protect workers and 

retirees when plans are at 

risk

• Assist policymaking to 

address the impending 

insolvency crisis in the 

multiemployer insurance 

program 

• Reduce the number of 

missing participants

• Engage with employers, workers, and pension practitioners to 

encourage pension plan continuation and strengthen retirement 

security 

• Maintain a regulatory environment that serves the interests of 

stakeholders and minimizes the burdens of sponsoring a plan 

• Preserve plans during bankruptcy and other corporate 

transactions

• Protect the retirement security of workers and retirees and the 

interest of premium payers in federal courts 

• Research and forecast insurance program activities 

• Provide timely, concrete and practical guidance to plans on the 

implementation of mergers, partitions and alternate withdrawal 

liability proposals to reduce employer risk, while preserving 

plans and benefits 

• Provide technical assistance, analysis, and options to 

policymakers and Congress to improve the financial stability 

of the multiemployer program 

• Continue to provide financial assistance to insolvent 

multiemployer plans 

• Reunite plan participants with their lost pensions 

Goal Leaders:

• Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring

• Chief Policy Officer 

• General Counsel

Performance Measures & Targets

Goal 1 Performance Measures 

& Targets

FY 2016 

Result

FY 2017 

Result

FY 2018 

Result

FY 2019 

Target

FY 2020 

Target

Participants protected as a 

result of our actions in 

bankruptcy cases where plan 

sponsors emerge from 

bankruptcy with plans ongoing 

55,000 26,700 52,000 

These 

activities 

are not 

amenable 

to targets

These 

activities are 

not 

amenable to 

targets

Additional payments resulting 

from standard termination 

enforcement actions

$4.5 M to 

940 

people 

$4.6 M to 

435 

people 

$12.2M to 

4,157 

people 

These 

activities 

are not 

amenable 

to targets

These 

activities are 

not 

amenable to 

targets

Performance Area (Dollars in thousands) FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020

Pension Insurance

Total Funding 

(Dollars in thousands) 79,471 83,539 82,754 

Total FTE 211 209 213
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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FY 2020 plan to achieve Goal 1 Performance Objectives: 

1. PBGC will support Congressional and Executive Branch policymakers in analyzing and 

implementing solutions to the solvency issues facing multiemployer plans and PBGC’s 

Multiemployer Insurance Program 

2. PBGC will work with stakeholders to promote understanding of major program risks and 

possible mitigation strategies

3. PBGC will continue to be a primary resource for pension policy analysis and pension 

research products, education and guidance

4. PBGC will continue to monitor its largest exposures for transactions that may pose 

substantial risks to participants and retirees

5. PBGC will continue to audit a statistically significant number of plans terminating 

through standard termination, including all plans with more than 300 participants, to 

ensure pension plan participants receive the correct pension benefits

6. Monitor all multiemployer plans that receive financial assistance and audit a statistical 

sample based on risk of the plans to ensure accurate benefit payments to plan 

participants, efficient management of the remaining assets, and compliance with laws and 

regulations

7. Using robust search procedures continue to expand efforts to increase the number of 

missing participants located and paid

8. Communicate benefits of a defined benefit pension lifetime income via PBGC.gov, social 

media, and PBGC leadership speaking engagements

9. Provide technical assistance and practical guidance to plan sponsors on the 

implementation of proposed options to reduce employer risks while preserving plans and 

benefits

10. Perform rigorous cost-benefit analysis

11. Prioritize simplification and transparency

12. Collect pension insurance premiums due

13. Represent PBGC’s interest in all bankruptcy cases involving defined benefit pension 

plans

14. Reduce administrative and regulatory burdens on plan sponsors

15. Deliver an annual projections report on the future status of the Single-Employer and 

Multiemployer Programs

16. Deliver pension insurance data tables annually to educate stakeholders on the 

fundamental facts of the single-employer and multiemployer programs

17. Deliver informal guidance to plans on the details of requesting early financial assistance 

from PBGC, and process applications promptly

18. Initiate regular meetings and/or events to educate and inform the multiemployer 

community (participants, plan sponsors, and other stakeholders) on the effects of the 

insolvency

19. Monitor all multiemployer plans that receive financial assistance and audit a statistical 

sample based on risk of the plans to ensure accurate benefit payments to plan 

participants, efficient management of the remaining assets, and compliance with laws and 

regulations
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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PBGC Strategic Plan

Strategic Goal 2: Pay Pension Benefits on Time and Accurately

Strategic Objectives Performance Strategies

1. Promote exceptional customer 

service to pensioners and provide a 

positive customer experience for plan 

participants and beneficiaries

2. Ensure regular monthly benefit 

payments continue without 

interruption

3. Provide accurate and timely benefit 

calculations

• Promote exemplary customer satisfactions ratings 

and implement sensible solutions to improve the 

customer experience 

• Continue uninterrupted benefit payments in newly 

trusteed plans 

• Process benefit applications timely 

• Improve the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness 

of benefit determinations 

• Provide a timely and efficient appeals process for 

PBGC benefit determinations 

Goal Leaders:

• Chief of Benefits Administration

Performance Measures & Targets

Goal 2 Performance Measures & Targets

FY 2016 

Result 

(Target)

FY 2017 

Result

(Target)

FY 2018 

Result 

(Target)

FY 2019 

Target

FY 2020 

Target 

Customer satisfaction rating for retirees 

and beneficiaries receiving benefits

90 91

(90)

89

(90) 90 90

Participant caller satisfaction 84

(83)

83

(83)

84

(85) 85 85

My PBA customer satisfaction 76

(77)

77

(77)

77

(77) 77 77

Benefit applications approved within 45 

days

87%

(87%)

87%

(87%)

91% 

(87%) 87% 87% 

Average time (years waiting) to issue 

benefit determinations (between 

trusteeship and benefit determination 

issuance)

6.3 

(4.3)

6.2

(4.3)

6.1 

(6.0) (5.7) (5.5)

Estimated benefits within 10% of final 

benefit determination

96%

(95%)

93% 

(95%) 95% 95% 95%

Performance Area (Dollars in thousands) FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020

Pension Plan Termination

Total Funding 

(Dollars in thousands) 170,416 188,353 200,833

Total FTE 328 322 328
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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FY 2020 plan to achieve Goal 2 Performance Objectives: 

1. PBGC expects to see an increase in benefits administration activity due to the termination 

of the Sears pension plans. PBGC trusteed the Sears plans on February 11, 2019 and is

beginning to provide services to over 90,000 participants

2. Implement a new platform solution to enhance the customer experience through multichannel, streamlined and modern communication options (web, chat, text, phone)

3. Reduce the number of unissued Benefit Determination Letters (BDLs) by prioritizing the 

oldest and the largest plans for completion

4. Modernize and consolidate field office operations

5. Resolve the majority of appeals within one year

6. Enhance the quality of OBA production and reduce the plan inventory 

7. We expect to have the following annual workload results:

• Trustee 80 plans with 40,000 participants, taking over payments from the prior plan 

administrator within 180 days of trusteeship

• Process 35,000 benefit applications, 90% within 45 days

• Fulfill 70,000 benefit calculation requests for non-retirees, including approximately 

7,500 manual benefit calculations

• Answer 500,000 calls from participants and process over 300,000 resulting 

transactions such as address changes and electronic deposit elections

• Process 300,000 pieces of incoming mail and scanning 3,000,000 pages of documents

• Take in 2,000 missing participants to locate, from 150 standard termination cases
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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PBGC Strategic Plan

Strategic Goal 3: Maintain High Standards of Stewardship and Accountability

Strategic Objectives Performance Strategies

• Provide exceptional customer 

service

• Meet or exceed the financial and 

ethical standards that apply to 

PBGC as a major financial and 

government institution, and monitor 

cash flows

• Maintain effective IT security

• Maintain a high-performing 

workforce

• Encourage and support a diverse 

and inclusive work environment 

that encourages employee 

engagement

• Strengthen enterprise risk 

management

• Strengthen transparency, 

disclosure, and communication

• Strengthen contractor oversight to 

reduce enterprise-wide risks

• Maintain exemplary customer satisfaction ratings 

• Manage investments prudently consistent with investment 

policy 

• Collect insurance premiums due 

• Continue to monitor the efficient use of PBGC’s cash flows 

• Maintain adequate IT security posture based on FISMA 

guidance and as measured by FISMA metrics 

• Retain and train a high-quality multidisciplinary workforce 

• Implement succession planning and workforce management 

activities 

• Foster a diverse, high-performing workforce 

• Support supervisors and managers on managing employee 

performance and conduct

• Foster a culture of inclusion that encourages collaboration, 

flexibility, and fairness 

• Implement enterprise risk management strategies 

• Provide effective and timely communication with plan 

participants and other stakeholders 

• Inform stakeholders of provisions of key legislative and 

regulatory proposals 

• Implement an enterprise-wide plan to improve contract 

oversight 

Goal Leaders: 

• Chief Management Officer 

• Chief Financial Officer

• Chief Information Officer

• General Counsel

• Chief of Benefits Administration 

• Chief Policy Officer
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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Performance Measures & Targets

Goal 3 Performance 

Measures & Targets

FY 2016 

Result 

(Target)

FY 2017 

Result 

(Target)

FY 2018 

Result 

(Target)

FY 2019 

Target FY 2020 Target

Customer satisfaction ratings:

• Plan sponsors and 

premium filers

79

(73)

77

(73)

76

(74) 74 74

• My PAA

83

(79)

85

(79)

84

(80) 80 80

• Overall Customer 

Satisfaction

73

(80)

72

(80)

77

(80) 78 78

• PBGC.gov website 74

(74)

72

(75)

75

(75) 75 75

• Participant Caller 84

(83)

83

(83)

84

(85) 85 85

• My PBA 76

(77)

76

(77)

77

(77) 77 77

Financial statement 

audit Unmodified Unmodified Unmodified Unmodified Unmodified

Compliance with 

Improper Payments 

Elimination and 

Recovery Act

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Reduce material 

weaknesses and 

significant 

deficiencies

Progress Progress Reduce Reduce Reduce

Compliance with the 

asset allocation listed 

in the current 

Investment Policy 

Statement

NA NA Yes Yes Yes

Compliance with 

EEOC MD-715 model 

work environment

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Compliance with 

OMB A-123 

enterprise risk 

management 

requirements

NA Yes Yes Yes Yes

Score in the top 40% 

of reporting agencies 

on OMB’s Annual 

FISMA Report

NA NA Yes Yes Yes

Achieve a 69% 

positive score for Yes Yes TBD(Yes) Yes Yes
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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employee engagement 

on the Federal 

Employee Viewpoint 

Survey

Achieve a Diversity 

and Inclusion/New IQ 

Index score of 62% or 

higher on the annual 

Federal Employee 

Viewpoint Survey

Yes Yes TBD

(Yes) Yes Yes

Develop a succession 

plan and a workforce 

management plan for 

every office and 

critical position

NA NA 75% 

complete

TBD

(100% 

complete)

TBD

Performance Area (Dollars in thousands) FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020

Operational Support

Total Funding 

(Dollars in thousands) 162,901 165,126 169,271

Total FTE 427 420 427

FY 2020 plan to achieve Goal 3 Performance Objectives:

1. Research and implement at least six targeted improvements per year to agency 

communications (including PBGC.gov) in response to customer feedback and key 

performance indicators (surveys, etc.)

2. Maximize stakeholder education and outreach by holding frequent and regular meetings 

with participant groups, plan sponsors, practitioner groups, industry associations, and 

other stakeholders

3. Provide data-driven communications to stakeholders based on the latest pension research, 

data and projections

4. Inform plan participants and practitioners of key newly published regulations through 

speaking engagements at stakeholder conferences and through interviews

5. Collect pension insurance premiums due

6. Conduct quality due diligence on the PBGC investment portfolios

7. Continue to develop and implement risk management frameworks with continuous 

monitoring to ensure compliance with OMB circular A-123 to mitigate, reduce or accept 

identified risks

8. Integrate the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (M-17-25) 

into the IT management process

9. Ensure legal and regulatory compliance through implementation of appropriate policies, 

procedures, standards and guidance to achieve an unmodified audit opinion

10. Provide ethics training to at least 98% of new employees within 90 days of hiring

11. Provide privacy training for all new employees and contractors before badging or 

network access 99% of the time

12. Continue to implement recommendations and training that will improve contractor 

oversight
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

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TABLE 1: FY2018 SUMMARY OF PBGC MEASURES AND ACTIVITIES

Target 2018 2017

Preserve Plans and Protect Pensions

Participants Protected in Plans Emerging From Bankruptcy 52,000 26,700

Standard Termination Audits: Additional Payments $12.2 to 

4,157 people

$4.6M to 

435 people

Pay Timely and Accurate Benefits

Single-Employer –Participant Benefit Payments 861,000 840,000

Future Single-Employer – Participant Benefit Payments 532,474 559,000

Multiemployer Plan Financial Assistance – Number of 

Participants

62,300 63,700

Future Multiemployer Plan Financial Assistance – Number of 

Participants

27,800 30,000

Estimated Benefits Within 10 Percent of Final Calculation 95% 93% 93%

Average Time to Provide Benefit Determinations (Years) 4.3 6.1 6.2

Improper Payment Rates Within OMB Threshold7 <1.5% Yes Yes

Applications Processed in 45 Days 87% 91% 87%

Ensure Superior Stewardship and Accountability

Retiree Satisfaction – ACSI8 90 89 91

Caller Satisfaction – ACSI 85 84 83

Premium Filer Satisfaction – ACSI 74 76 77

Overall Customer Satisfaction9 80 77 72

Financial Position Surplus – Single-Employer $2.439B ($10.9B)

Financial Position (Deficit) – Multiemployer ($53.876B) ($65.1B)

Unmodified Financial Statement Audit Opinion Yes Yes Yes

 

7 The OMB threshold for significant improper payment reporting is as follows: amounts that exceed (1) both 1.5 percent and $10 million in improper 

payments, or (2) $100 million in improper payments. 

8 The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) uses a 0-100 scale; 80 or above is considered excellent. 

9 This measures customer satisfaction with information and services provided by the Corporation. 
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

PBGC - 26

 

ORGANIZATION CHART

O ffice of Inspector General

Robert Westbrooks

Board of Directors

Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. 

O ffice of Equal Employment Opportunity

Brenecia Watson

General Counsel

Judith Starr

Chief Management 

O fficer

Alice Maroni

Chief of Negotiations 

and Restructuring

Karen Morris

Chief Financial 

O fficer

Patricia Kelly

Chief Policy Officer 

Vacant

Advisory Committee

Participant and Plan Sponsor 

Advocate

Constance Donovan

Chief of Benefits 

Administration

David Foley 

Director

Thomas Reeder

Chief of Staff

Ann Orr

Chief Information 

O fficer

Robert Scherer

Risk Management Officer

Latreece Wade (Acting)
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

1200 K ST. NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20005-4026

202-326-4000 WWW.PBGC.GOV