FY 2019
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................. 1

Multiemployer Program .............................................................................................................. 1

Single-Employer Program........................................................................................................... 3

About This Report....................................................................................................................... 3

Wide Range of Possible Outcomes ............................................................................................................... 5

Financial Obligations ....................................................................................................................................... 5

About the PIMS Models.................................................................................................................................. 6

MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM .................................................................................................. 7

Multiemployer Program Overview.............................................................................................. 7

Multiemployer Program Solvency............................................................................................... 7

Multiemployer Program Insolvency Timing .............................................................................. 8

Multiemployer Summary Projections ........................................................................................10

Variability in Multiemployer Program Financial Position.........................................................11

Net New Claims..............................................................................................................................................12

Present Value of Financial Assistance Payments.......................................................................................13

Utilization of MPRA Suspension, Partition, and Facilitated Merger .....................................................13

Multiemployer Reconciliation from FY 2018 to FY 2019 ...........................................................14

Sensitivity of Changes to the Multiemployer Model .................................................................16

Discount Rate..................................................................................................................................................16

Future Wage Index.........................................................................................................................................17

SINGLE-EMPLOYER PROGRAM ..............................................................................................18

Single-Employer Program Overview .........................................................................................18

Single-Employer Summary Projections .....................................................................................18

Variability in Single-Employer Financial Position ................................................................... 20

Financial Position ...........................................................................................................................................20

Bankruptcy and New Claims........................................................................................................................20

Investment Outcomes ...................................................................................................................................21

Premium Income ............................................................................................................................................22

Single-Employer Reconciliation from FY 2018 to FY 2019 ....................................................... 23

Recent Single-Employer Plan Trends....................................................................................... 25

Sensitivity of Changes to Single-Employer Model’s Discount Rate......................................... 25

STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION............................................................................... 26

APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................... 27

Overview of PIMS ..................................................................................................................... 27

Future Outcomes Are Expressed in Present Value Terms......................................................................27

How Projections Compare to PBGC’s Financial Statement Liabilities.................................................27

Capital Market Assumptions.........................................................................................................................27

ME-PIMS.................................................................................................................................. 28

ME-PIMS — Overview.................................................................................................................................28

ME-PIMS — Data .........................................................................................................................................29

ME-PIMS — General Methodology...........................................................................................................29

ME-PIMS — Plan Sponsor Behavior.........................................................................................................30

ME-PIMS — Cash Flow Development .....................................................................................................31

ME-PIMS — Assumptions...........................................................................................................................32

SE-PIMS.................................................................................................................................... 36

SE-PIMS — Overview..................................................................................................................................36

SE-PIMS — Data...........................................................................................................................................36
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SE-PIMS — General Methodology ............................................................................................................37

SE-PIMS — Assumptions............................................................................................................................38

Sample Statistics from FY 2019 Runs in ME-PIMS and SE-PIMS........................................... 43

Changes from the Prior Year..................................................................................................... 45

FIGURES

Figure 1 – Multiemployer Program Insolvency Risks................................................................................................................ 8

Figure 2 – PBGC Multiemployer Fund Assets, Assistance Payments, and Premiums by Fiscal Year ............................. 9

Figure 3 – Multiemployer Program Projected Net Financial Position ................................................................................. 10

Figure 4 – Potential FY 2029 Multiemployer Program Net Financial Position.................................................................. 11

Figure 5 – Variability in 2029 Multiemployer Net Financial Position* ................................................................................ 12

Figure 6 – Reconciliation of Changes in Multiemployer Results........................................................................................... 15

Figure 7 – Sensitivity to Discount Rate Changes in Multiemployer Results ....................................................................... 16

Figure 8 – Single-Employer Program Projected Net Financial Position.............................................................................. 19

Figure 9 – Potential FY 2029 Single-Employer Program Net Financial Position.............................................................. 19

Figure 10 – Variability in 2029 Single-Employer Net Financial Position ............................................................................ 20

Figure 11 – Single-Employer Program Net New Claims........................................................................................................ 21

Figure 12 – Reconciliation of Changes in Single-Employer Results..................................................................................... 23

Figure 13 – Sensitivity to Discount Rate Changes in Single-Employer Results ................................................................. 25

Figure A-1 – Arithmetic Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations of Key Financial Market Values................... 43

Figure A-2 – Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations of Market Rates........................................................................ 43

Figure A-3 – Projected Plan Returns.......................................................................................................................................... 44

Figure A-4 – Projected Annual Bankruptcy Probabilities....................................................................................................... 44

Figure A-5 – Annual Rate of Plans’ Projected Insolvency ..................................................................................................... 44

Figure A-6 – Economic Assumption Changes for FY 2019 .................................................................................................. 46

FREQUENTLY USED ABBREVIATIONS

ERISA Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended

ERM Critical status plans that have determined they have “Exhausted all Reasonable Measures”

FY Fiscal Year

ME Multiemployer

MP-2016 Mortality Projection − 2016 Mortality Improvement Scale

MPRA Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014

PBGC Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

PIMS Pension Insurance Modeling System

PPA Pension Protection Act of 2006, as amended

PV Present Value

RP-2014 Retirement Plans − 2014 Mortality Table

SE Single-Employer

VBL Vested Benefit Liability
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC or Corporation) insures against the loss of pension 

benefits by participants in private-sector pensions. PBGC operates two separate insurance programs, one for 

single-employer plans and one for multiemployer plans, that are legally separate, and operationally and 

financially independent. These two programs also offer different benefit guarantees and feature different 

funding mechanisms. This report provides 10-year projections, ending with FY 2029 (September 30, 2029), of 

the financial status of both programs under a range of future financial scenarios.

While last year’s report projected PBGC’s Multiemployer Program would become insolvent during FY 2025, 

this year’s projections show a very high likelihood of insolvency during FY 2026 and that insolvency is a near 

certainty by the end of FY 2027. This change is due primarily to the enactment of the Bipartisan American 

Miners Act of 2019, which provided federal funding for the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension 

Plan (“United Mine Workers Plan”).

1

The Multiemployer Program continues to report large deficits (i.e., negative net positions), which, without 

legislative changes, are expected to grow over time. 

Results for this year’s projections show PBGC’s Single-Employer Program is likely to remain out of deficit 

over the next decade. 

The table below summarizes the main results of this report:

PBGC Projected Net Financial Position for End of FY 2029 

Present Value as of September 30, 2019 ($ in billions)

Multiemployer Program Single-Employer Program

Mean ($82.3)* $46.3

15th to 85th Percentile ($123.1) - ($50.7) $31.9 - $60.4

 * PBGC’s Multiemployer Program is projected to run out of money by the end of FY 2026.

MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM

Projected Net Financial Position (Assets vs. Liabilities)

The results, displayed as present values as of September 30, 2019, show the mean net financial position (i.e., 

average of all the scenarios modeled) in the Multiemployer Program declining from negative $65.2 billion, the 

actual reported net position on September 30, 2019, to negative $82.3 billion at September 30, 2029 (shown 

on a present value basis as of September 30, 2019). This represents a decline of $17.1 billion over the 10-year 

projection period.

The increase in the projected deficit is due primarily to a considerable decline in both the projected 

investment returns on plan assets and the discount rate used to value the liabilities, partially offset by a $6 

1 The legislation, enacted on December 20, 2019, is the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 (Division M of the Further 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94)). 
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billion improvement resulting from the enactment of the Bipartisan American Miners Act, which is projected 

to keep the United Mine Workers Plan solvent throughout the projection period under the assumptions used 

for this report. If the FY 2029 mean net financial position of negative $82.3 billion is instead expressed in 

terms of the expected future value as of September 30, 2029, it would be negative $100.7 billion. For the 

purposes of this report, this is referred to as the nominal value.

The net financial position is expected to worsen from the end of FY 2019 to the end of FY 2029 due largely 

to additional multiemployer plans that are projected to become insolvent within the ensuing 20-year period

and need financial assistance from PBGC.

Projected Insolvency (Available Funds)

PBGC’s Multiemployer Program is projected to run out of money (i.e., become “insolvent”) by the end of FY 

2026. While this is one fiscal year later than was projected in the FY 2018 Projections Report, the actual

change may be less than 12 months. The primary reason for the change is the enactment of legislation to 

provide federal funding for the United Mine Workers Plan.

Methods and Assumptions

The Multiemployer Program model is substantially the same as that used last year, with the major differences 

being a change to reflect the enactment of legislation providing future federal funding of the United Mine 

Workers Plan, new plan data, and updated economic assumptions as of September 30, 2019 – the starting 

point for the projections. These changes are quantified and detailed in Figure 6, with additional details about 

changes in the Appendix.

Out of roughly 1,400 insured multiemployer plans, 124 plans have reported that they will run out of money 

within 20 years.

2 These plans are in “critical and declining” status under the Employee Retirement Income 

Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. When these plans run out of money to pay benefits, 

they will call on PBGC to provide financial assistance to enable the plan to pay benefits at the guarantee level. 

As noted earlier, absent legislative changes, PBGC projects the Multiemployer Program will become insolvent 

during FY 2026 and will be unable to deliver financial assistance in amounts necessary to support benefits at 

the current guarantee level. The projections in this report estimate the program’s future financial assistance 

costs at the current guarantee level, rather than reducing guarantees to a level supported only by premiums. 

Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA), critical and declining status plans may apply 

to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) for approval to suspend participant benefits in order to 

avoid future insolvency.3 Some of these plans may apply to PBGC for financial support through a “partition,”

and others may pursue plan mergers.4 Results in this report are based on assumptions regarding the likelihood 

that additional plans will apply for benefit suspensions and plan partitions in the future. In addition to the 

plans that are currently in critical and declining status, other plans are projected to run out of money and need 

financial assistance from the Multiemployer Program over the longer term. 

2 Based on Form 5500 information and the Critical and Declining Notices filed as of December 2019.

3 MPRA benefit suspensions are anticipated to be permanent reductions.

4 As of September 30, 2019, 27 critical and declining plans had made an application for suspension or partition, of which 14

applications were approved for suspension. Three of the 14 also were approved for partition.
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SINGLE-EMPLOYER PROGRAM

Projected Net Financial Position (Assets vs. Liabilities)

The mean projection shows the net financial position in the Single-Employer Program growing from $8.7

billion, the actual reported net position as of September 30, 2019, to $46.3 billion at September 30, 2029 

(shown on a present value basis as of September 30, 2019). As noted in PBGC’s FY 2019 Annual Report, 

lower than expected claims and increased premium collectionsserved to improve the position for FY 2019. 

Thus, the starting point of the projection period is higher for this report than it was for the FY 2018 report.

5

Although the average projected net financial position is positive, risk remains for the Single-Employer 

Program due to the continued underfunding in some ongoing plans that could potentially become claims to 

PBGC. Underfunding is more acute in the plans that are most likely to present a claim to PBGC, and any 

downturn in the economy increases both underfunding and the probability of claims to PBGC. Plans 

sponsored by employers with below-investment-grade credit ratings had an aggregate underfunding of $155

billion as of December 31, 2018, per PBGC’s FY 2019 Annual Report. 

Methods and Assumptions

This year’s report incorporates improvements to the Single-Employer Program model. Most significantly, 

employers’ projected pension contribution behavior is now assumed to vary based on the specific 

circumstances of each plan sponsor in each economic scenario and the key incentives relevant to those 

circumstances. Additionally, the FY 2019 model reflects updated plan data and economic assumptions. These 

changes are described in the discussion following Figure 12, with additional details about changes in the 

Appendix. Details regarding the change in projected contribution behavior are available in the SE-PIMS –

Assumptions section of the Appendix.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

As required by Section 4008 of ERISA, PBGC’s annual Projections Report is an “actuarial evaluation of the 

expected operations and status of the [Corporation’s] funds.” The purpose of the report is to provide an 

actuarial evaluation of the future financial status of PBGC’s Multiemployer and Single-Employer Programs. It 

does so by projecting solvency (adequacy of assets and income to meet current cash needs) and balance sheet 

net financial position (assets minus liabilities) for the two programs under a variety of simulated future 

conditions. 

The report generally uses data and assumptions as of September 30, 2019, the end of FY 2019. The 

projections start with PBGC’s FY 2019 Annual Report and forecast results under a range of future economic 

scenarios for the following 10-year period, without presuming any changes in current law.

6 Assumptions are 

established as of September 30, 2019. The economic activity since September 30, 2019 has been volatile and 

uncertain and is not reflected in this report. The effects of the Bipartisan American Miners Act and the 

Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019,

7 however, are reflected 

5 PBGC FY 2019 Annual Report, p. 30.

6 The financial statements in the Annual Report are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the 

United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and utilize data and assumptions available as of September 30, 2019 (the end of FY 2019).

7 Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 (Division O of The Further Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2020, Public Law 116-94).
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in this report, even though both were enacted in December 2019. This is consistent with the approach used 

to reflect the legislated changes to the Multiemployer Program as a result of MPRA.

8 Further, the estimated 

effects of the Bipartisan American Miners Act, while not known with certainty, will impact the projections of 

the solvency and future financial condition of the Multiemployer Program. 

Since that date, employment and financial markets have experienced significant fluctuations – including 

initially large gains in domestic equity markets immediately after the end of FY 2019. For example, the return 

on the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index between September 30, 2019, and February 19, 2020, was 14.6 

percent. Subsequently, the financial markets and broader economy entered a period of even greater volatility, 

caused in large part by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In recent months, the federal government has worked to restore economic stability and facilitate economic 

recovery, and the President and Congress have worked together to enact various pieces of legislation to bring 

relief to American workers and families. As of July 31, 2020, the S&P 500 had more than recovered losses 

from earlier in the year. In addition, the economy has recovered a significant portion of the job losses from 

earlier in the year.

Questions have been raised about the effect of COVID-19 on a number of government programs, and 

PBGC continues to closely evaluate the resiliency of its two insurance programs. Market volatility and 

economic deterioration associated with COVID-19 are unlikely to have a material effect on the timing of the 

insolvency of the Multiemployer Program. Economic disruption caused by the pandemic could result in 

losses in the Single-Employer Program, particularly if unforeseen bankruptcy activity accelerates beyond 

those companies that were financially troubled prior to the pandemic.

The duration and economic impact of COVID-19 is unknown. Because of the volatility and uncertainty, 

attempts to estimate how the pandemic could affect PBGC’s insurance programs, measured from an arbitrary 

point in time after the beginning of the projection period, may present an already outdated or inaccurate 

picture. The estimates of the economic impact of COVID-19 are not reflected in this report, which generally 

projects forward from the end of the previous fiscal year.

PBGC uses two stochastic modeling systems to develop the projections: the Multiemployer Pension

Insurance Modeling System (ME-PIMS) and the Single-Employer Pension Insurance Modeling System (SEPIMS). Both systems use distributions of investment returns, interest rates, and other variables to estimate a 

range of possible future outcomes. The report uses averages and ranges to summarize the results of the

simulations.

The projections shown are estimates, not predictions. They reflect a reasonable range of values that result 

from assumptions about many factors including:

• Inflation and wage growth.

• Interest rates.

• Equity returns.

8 PBGC FY 2014 Projections Report, p. 4.
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• Plan sponsor decisions about contributions.

In addition, many aspects of the individual plans and the complex rules that govern the private employer 

pension system in the United States are simplified or ignored to create a working model. The actual results 

that ultimately occur in future years will vary, potentially significantly, from the mean projections in 

this report.

Wide Range of Possible Outcomes

To illustrate the uncertainty in future outcomes, this report shows a range of results associated with a given 

set of assumptions. These include the mean (i.e. average) and median (i.e. middle) values, as well as percentile 

results along the distribution of outcomes. To demonstrate potential variation, the 85th percentile (15 percent 

of the outcomes are higher [more favorable]), the median value (50th percentile), and the 15th percentile (15 

percent of outcomes are lower [less favorable]) are shown. During a 10-year period, it is likely that results will 

at times fall outside this 15th – 85th percentile range. The 1st and 99th percentile results are also shown in 

figures to provide a sense of the broad range of potential outcomes.

Financial Obligations

The report presents two types of financial measures: 

• Liabilities, which represent the present value of the retirement benefits that will be provided by 

PBGC for the lifetime of participants and their beneficiaries. PBGC’s liabilities are compared to 

assets to determine a “net financial position.”

• Cash flows, which represent the benefit payments expected to be disbursed by PBGC during each 

year of the projection period. Cash flows provide a basis for examining PBGC “solvency.”

Claims are newly recorded liabilities reduced by any associated plan assets and cash recoveries from plan 

sponsors for a plan that PBGC takes over. Claims are recorded when the payment of guarantee amounts is 

“probable.” Claims happen only when a plan does not have enough assets to pay promised benefits, up to the 

level guaranteed by PBGC. PBGC’s liabilities include amounts for both claims where PBGC is already 

providing assistance and estimated amounts for probable claims yet to mature.

The insurable event giving rise to a claim and the coverage provided is different for the Single-Employer

Program and the Multiemployer Program.

• Single-Employer Program – The insurable event is termination of an underfunded plan, generally

whose sponsor is in financial distress (e.g., bankruptcy of a company that sponsors a plan without 

enough assets to cover all future benefits up to the level guaranteed by PBGC).

9

• Multiemployer Program – The insurable event is plan insolvency, typically the drawdown of all assets 

in the plan such that there is not enough money to pay benefits for the next year.

9 Terminations that result in claims on the Single-Employer Program can be a “distress” termination initiated by the plan 

administrator when the plan sponsor and its controlled group meet certain conditions of financial distress or, alternatively, an 

“involuntary” termination initiated by PBGC.
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Discussions of PBGC’s net financial position reflect a comparison of liabilities to assets as of a certain date. 

The PIMS models estimate liabilities and assets on PBGC’s books in the future in different economic 

scenarios. They do not model possible future losses that are disclosed in footnotes to PBGC’s financial 

statements but not booked as liabilities, such as amounts that represent “reasonably possible” contingencies.

10

“Benefit payments” in the Single-Employer Program and “financial assistance” in the Multiemployer Program

means the amount PBGC is projected to pay to retirees or a multiemployer plan during that year, respectively, 

regardless of when a plan failed. The solvency projection of each PBGC program is based on the sufficiency 

of assets, investment returns, and premiums to meet benefit payments/financial assistance and PBGC 

expenses for a particular year. The report uses the term “insolvent” to mean “lacking the funds to pay 

benefits/assistance and expenses for a year.” PBGC can have a negative net financial position but still be 

solvent for the purposes of this definition.

About the PIMS Models

The PIMS models are unique and complex. They are designed specifically for estimating the information in 

this report and other related analyses. The models are regularly revised to reflect changing laws, plan sponsor 

behavior, and other actuarial assumptions. 

The SE-PIMS model was updated to reflect expected contribution behavior more directly tied to each plan 

sponsor’s specific circumstances (further details can be found in the SE-PIMS – Assumptions section of 

the Appendix) but otherwise remains predominantly the same as the FY 2018 model. For FY 2019, the MEPIMS model was updated to reflect the Bipartisan American Miners Act but also otherwise remains largely 

unchanged from FY 2018. Both models were updated with new plan data from plans’ Forms 5500 and 

assumptions regarding the underlying economy.

While both ME-PIMS and SE-PIMS can simulate some demographic and economic factors at least 20 years 

into the future, they do not model all longer-term sources of uncertainty affecting the pension system.

11

Estimated Multiemployer Program deficits and financial assistance shown in this report assume that PBGC 

will provide financial assistance in accordance with the current level of guarantees. This evaluation otherwise 

assumes no changes to the current law after September 30, 2019, for both multiemployer plans (with the 

exception of the Bipartisan American Miners Act) and single-employer plans (with the exception of the 

cooperative and small employer charity (CSEC) plan provisions in the SECURE Act of 2019).

10 Reasonably possible contingencies are discussed in Note 9 of PBGC’s FY 2019 Annual Report. Measured as of December 31, 2018,

they were $155 billion for the Single-Employer Program and $11 billion for the Multiemployer Program.

11 For more information on PIMS, including links to user publications and peer review papers, see the PIMS web page 

http://www.pbgc.gov/about/projections-report/pension-insurance-modeling-system.html.
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MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM 

MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Multiemployer plans are collectively bargained plans maintained by one or more labor unions and multiple 

companies that are generally in the same industry or members of a trade association. PBGC’s Multiemployer 

Program covers approximately 10.8 million participants in about 1,400 plans and is under severe stress. 

The Multiemployer Program is legally distinct from, and operates differently than, PBGC’s Single-Employer 

Program. When a multiemployer plan becomes insolvent, which occurs when a plan has insufficient funds to 

pay benefits, PBGC does not take over the administration of the plan. Rather, PBGC provides financial 

assistance directly to the plan to cover participant guaranteed benefits and plan administrative expenses. This

financial help is technically in the form of loans. However, with one exception over PBGC’s history, the loans

have not been repaid because insolvent plans have not recovered, and they lack any meaningful collateral to 

support the loans.

By statute, the features and obligations of the Multiemployer Program and the Single-Employer Program are 

separate and distinct. For instance, multiemployer plans’ premium rates are lower than those for singleemployer plans and based solely on participant count. The amount and structure of the benefit guarantees 

provided under the programs also differ significantly, and the guarantee amount is generally lower for 

multiemployer plans. Further, assets of the Multiemployer Program are separate from those of the SingleEmployer Program, and assets from one program cannot be used to fund obligations of the other program.

MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM SOLVENCY

The Multiemployer Program will run out of money. Participants in insolvent plans face benefit 

reductions to the level guaranteed by PBGC upon plan insolvency. They also face an additional risk that 

PBGC’s multiemployer guarantee fund will run out of money to provide financial assistance, leaving PBGC 

unable to pay the current level of guarantees. By law, no other PBGC assets may be used to provide 

assistance to multiemployer plans, and PBGC’s obligations to failed plans are not backed by the full faith and 

credit of the United States. Thus, in the absence of legislation to reform the multiemployer pension system or 

otherwise to address PBGC’s Multiemployer Program solvency crisis, the benefits of participants in insolvent 

multiemployer plans would be reduced to the level that can be supported by PBGC’s future premium income.

Such reductions could result in some participants receiving a very small fraction of the benefits guaranteed by 

PBGC.

No scenario shows the Multiemployer Program remaining solvent beyond FY 2027 under current 

law. The projections show that the program is very likely to become insolvent by the end of FY 2026, absent 

changes in the law, rising to a near certainty by FY 2027. This is later than the projected insolvency year 

reported in the FY 2018 report, which showed likely insolvency by FY 2025. The primary reason for the 

change is the recent enactment of the Bipartisan American Miners Act, which provides federal funding for 

the United Mine Workers Plan. While the amounts of future federal funding for the pension plan are not 

known with certainty, the projections made using assumptions for this report show that federal funding is 

likely to keep the United Mine Workers Plan solvent and, thus, not in need of PBGC financial assistance at 
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least through the 10-year projection period. Other favorable experience during FY 2019, most notably asset 

returns that were higher than expected, also contributed to the later insolvency year. Compared to prior years’ 

Projections Reports, the likelihood of FY 2024 insolvency is now remote, and there is a small chance of 

insolvency during FY 2025. The program is most likely to become insolvent in FY 2026.

Figure 1 compares the results for the prior (FY 2018) and current (FY 2019) insolvency risk projections, 

absent future changes in the law. In most of the scenarios, PBGC’s Multiemployer Program is projected to 

become insolvent before the end of FY 2026. The Multiemployer Program’s projected insolvency is slightly 

delayed from the insolvency projections made in the prior fiscal year due to the Bipartisan American Miners 

Act in FY 2019. The likelihood of insolvency does not vary greatly with the expected future use of 

suspensions and partitions under MPRA.

Figure 1 – Multiemployer Program Insolvency Risks

MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM INSOLVENCY TIMING

An illustration of PBGC’s multiemployer fund balance, assuming future benefit suspensions or partitions, 

provides additional insight into the drivers of Multiemployer Program fund insolvency. Figure 2 compares 

the assets as of the beginning of the fiscal year to the projected premiums and projected average financial 

assistance payments for that fiscal year.

12 Assets projected as of the beginning of FY 2025 are anticipated to 

cover PBGC’s obligations for that year. However, as of the beginning of FY 2026, projected assets are 

significantly less than the anticipated financial assistance payments net of anticipated premiums, illustrating 

the expected insolvency of the Multiemployer Program fund at some point in that year.

12 Assets are shown as of a point in time – the beginning of the fiscal year – and compared with the cash flow generated due to 

premiums and financial assistance for that following year (items of lesser significance, including investment income and 

administrative expenses, are not shown).
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Figure 2 – PBGC Multiemployer Fund Assets, Assistance Payments, and Premiums by 

Fiscal Year

The illustration uses the mean of the projected premiums and the financial assistance payments derived from 

the simulations. It shows that average projected financial assistance payments rise dramatically over the next 

10 years due to the increasing needs of plans that run out of money and become insolvent in the 2020s. 

Annual financial assistance payments continue to rise more rapidly than premiums in the second decade, 

when assistance is expected to exceed $3 billion in every year and continue to grow to above $4 billion. The 

Multiemployer Program’s resources, reflected in the premiums line above, will represent only a small fraction 

of the amount required to pay benefits at current guarantee levels.

The illustration shown in Figure 2 is similar to Figure 4 in the FY 2018 Projections Report. The primary 

differences for FY 2019 are the slightly more favorable solvency results due to the enactment of the 

Bipartisan American Miners Act, which provides federal funding to the United Mine Workers Plan, and 

favorable FY 2019 asset performance in the multiemployer fund.

For most plans, the projected financial assistance shown remains the average (mean) level of financial 

assistance from the simulations in each year. For the seven largest plans that are likely to become insolvent 

prior to FY 2026, the average financial assistance across all simulations has been replaced with a projection of 

financial assistance payments using the median projection. This approach better simulates the pattern of 

program outlays in the near term as it approaches insolvency. Adding uncertainty to plan asset returns and 

other outcomes shifts the pattern of near-term insolvencies forward or back in time depending on the plan. 

Using the median rather than the average result for near-term insolvencies leads to a somewhat sharper yearby-year adjustment in both financial assistance and assets but does not change the overall pattern shown in 

prior reports.

Consistent with recent experience, these plans are also assumed to change their plan’s fiscal year as a means 

of paying full benefits for a partial year before insolvency, and then move to a plan year with benefits paid at 
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the guaranteed level, avoiding any year with benefits paid at intermediate levels between plan levels and 

guarantee levels.

MULTIEMPLOYER SUMMARY PROJECTIONS 

PBGC projections continue to show an ongoing decline of the Multiemployer Program’s net financial 

position, resulting in insolvency during the projection period. As in the past, these projections assume that

PBGC maintains its financial assistance at current guarantee levels, even though there is no source of 

additional resources under current law if assets and premiums are insufficient. The deficit is the present value 

of future financial assistance, less projected assets, plus any unfunded amounts for prior years carried forward 

(with interest).

13 The adjustment for unfunded liabilities reflects the current schedule of guarantees and 

financial assistance in years prior to the projection date. 

Figure 3 shows the actual net financial position for the program for FY 2010 through FY 2019 and selected 

ranges of projected net financial positions for the following 10 years. The FY 2019 net financial position for 

the Multiemployer Program was negative $65.2 billion. The deficit is expected to grow in the future and the 

uncertainty around the financial position increases, as reflected by the widening cone of results. This year’s 

mean projected net financial position for FY 2029 is negative $82.3 billion (expressed as a present value (PV) 

as of September 30, 2019). The nominal value of the mean projected net financial position for FY 2029 is

negative $100.7 billion.

Figure 3 – Multiemployer Program Projected Net Financial Position

Figure 4 shows the full range of 500 outcomes projected by the model for PBGC’s Multiemployer Program’s 

financial position in FY 2029. This includes the scenarios that fall below the 1st percentile and above the 99th

13 Unfunded amounts carried forward with interest are effectively treated as if PBGC could borrow them. This enables the 

completion of the present value calculation so that the total liability can be displayed, but it is not intended to imply that PBGC has 

borrowing authority.
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percentile. For each value of PBGC’s projected net financial position along the horizontal axis, the height of 

the line shows the frequency of that net financial position. Like last year, none of the 500 projections show a 

positive net financial position.

Plan contributions have not kept pace with new benefit promises and amortizing existing underfunding. 

When this underfunding is coupled with maturing plan populations, plan deficits are projected to increase. 

This increases the likelihood of multiemployer plan insolvency.

Figure 4 – Potential FY 2029 Multiemployer Program Net Financial Position

Overall, the outcomes in the FY 2019 projections are somewhat worse than the outcomes shown in last year’s 

projections. The mean, median, and distribution of the FY 2029 net financial position are more negative than 

the FY 2028 projections reported last year, despite enactment of the Bipartisan American Miners Act. This is 

primarily due to an approximately 100-basis-point decline in both the projected investment returns and in the 

projected discount rates from the FY 2018 to FY 2019 reports.

VARIABILITY IN MULTIEMPLOYER PROGRAM FINANCIAL POSITION

As described above, there is significant uncertainty in the projections of PBGC’s Multiemployer Program. 

Post-MPRA, there are three major sources of uncertainty in the multiemployer system: 

• Probability of new claims.

• Variability in the timing and amount of financial assistance payments.

• Extent to which plans will use suspensions, partitions, and facilitated mergers under MPRA.
PEN SION B EN EF IT G U A RA NT Y C ORPO RA T ION 12 F Y 2 0 1 9 | PROJ EC T ION S REPO RT

The first two are subject to the stochastic modeling process; and their impact on the financial position 

outcomes is summarized in Figure 5, while the third is a behavioral dynamic. These sources of uncertainty 

are discussed below.

Figure 5 – Variability in 2029 Multiemployer Net Financial Position*

Present Value at the end of FY 2019 ($ in billions)

Mean 15% - 85% range 1% - 99% range

PBGC net financial position

1. FY 2019 actual ($65.2) N/A N/A

2. FY 2029 projected** ($82.3) ($123.1) - ($50.7) ($189.3) - ($37.5)

Present value of expected 2019-2029

3. New claims*** $41.2 $10.0 - $79.8 ($0.5) - $144.4

4. Financial assistance payments $15.3 $13.3 - $17.3 $11.8 - $19.1

5. Premiums received**** $3.6 $3.6 - $3.7 $3.5 - $3.7

* Estimates of program deficits and financial assistance shown assume that PBGC will provide financial assistance at the current

 level of guarantees. As noted previously, PBGC will be unable to provide financial assistance at the current level of the 

 guarantee after the Multiemployer Program becomes insolvent, projected to occur in FY 2026.

** If expressed in nominal terms, the mean projected net financial position for FY 2029 is negative $100.7 billion. 

*** New claims are the present value of future financial assistance at the time plan insolvency becomes probable.

**** Premiums plus $2.9 billion in assets as of 9/30/19 are available to pay financial assistance during the projection period.

Net New Claims

Projected new claims arise primarily from plans that are currently in poor financial condition. Net new claims 

reflects liabilities recorded when a plan is first included in PBGC’s financial statement liability, offset by the 

value of liabilities removed from the books when a plan’s financial condition improves, and financial 

assistance is no longer expected to be needed.14

Uncertainty about future financial assistance payments reflects the volatility of plans’ investment returns, 

changes in contributions, and changes to contributions and benefits made by plans approaching insolvency.

Contributions to multiemployer plans are determined using a contribution rate, usually for each hour worked 

by plan participants. When the participant population changes, the contribution amount does too.

Contributions may drop significantly in the years before a claim.

14 This is the present value of net PBGC obligations for plans projected to be booked during the next 10 years, offset by the reversal 

of liabilities for plans “unbooked” over the 10-year projection period. The liability “unbooked” is the value in the year of removal; it 

reflects how the liability has evolved over time along a particular economic path and is not the same liability at which the plan was 

initially booked. 
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As shown in Figure 5 above, the mean present value of net new claims is about $41.2 billion over the next 10 

years. The median present value of net new claims totaled over the next 10 years is $25.1 billion, indicating 

that there are some scenarios with very large net claims that pull up the mean value.

The information in Figure 5 shows that the middle 70 percent of outcomes for the present value of the 

Multiemployer Program’s projected net financial position ranges from negative $123.1 billion to negative 

$50.7 billion, a range of $72.4 billion.

Present Value of Financial Assistance Payments

ME-PIMS estimates PBGC’s financial assistance payments needed by insolvent multiemployer plans to pay 

retiree benefits at the PBGC guarantee level and to pay plan administrative expenses. PBGC generally 

provides financial assistance only after a plan becomes insolvent; payments projected over the next 10 years 

are due to both prior claims (i.e., plans already booked as losses) and future claims from plans projected to 

become insolvent within the next 10 years. Figure 5 shows the mean and range of projected financial 

assistance payments.

Over the period from FY 2019 to FY 2029, financial assistance payments are projected to exceed PBGC’s 

resources. Assets in the Multiemployer Program at FY 2019 are about $2.9 billion; and the present value of 

projected premiums over the 10-year period is about $3.6 billion, totaling about $6.5 billion in resources.

Even in the best scenarios, the expected financial assistance payments are significantly higher than the 

program’s resources. This indicates that PBGC will need substantial additional funds to pay the guaranteed 

benefits at the current level.

The projected financial assistance payments are higher than in the FY 2018 report because they are one year 

closer to the projected insolvencies of several large troubled plans. With the passage of time, there is now one 

less year of small financial assistance payments at the beginning of the projection period and one more year of 

very large financial assistance payments at the end of the 10-year projection period.

Utilization of MPRA Suspension, Partition, and Facilitated Merger

MPRA gives plans in critical and declining status additional options to address the risk of insolvency. Under 

MPRA, some plans facing insolvency within the next 20 years may take additional steps to improve long-term 

solvency, including benefit suspensions. To suspend benefits, plans must be in critical and declining status 

and apply to Treasury for approval of the benefit suspensions. The application must meet a number of 

conditions, including demonstrating that (1) the proposed benefit suspensions will avoid plan insolvency; (2)

benefit reductions are equitably distributed among plan participants; and (3) the plan’s trustees have taken all 

reasonable measures to avoid insolvency, and have provided notice to participants describing the proposed 

suspensions. In addition, a vote by participants must be held on the proposed reductions.

The ME-PIMS model estimates plan participant demographics and a benefit distribution for each plan. That 

information is used to project assets and liabilities and to determine, at each point along each economic path, 

(1) whether the plan is in critical status; (2) if the plan is projected to become insolvent within the ensuing 20-
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year period and meets the criteria to be in critical and declining status15; (3) the amount of benefits protected 

under MPRA; and (4) whether plans that would otherwise be projected to be insolvent would be projected to 

be solvent long-term if approved for either benefit suspensions alone or partition assistance. For critical and 

declining status plans, ME-PIMS then applies assumptions as to whether a plan’s board of trustees will 

undertake and successfully complete the requirements of benefit suspension and partition (if needed).

The degree to which eligible plans will apply for and implement benefit suspensions is within the complete 

discretion of each plan’s trustees. Modeling this behavior is particularly uncertain due to limited experience.

At the end of FY 2019, 14 plans have implemented benefit suspensions (including three with partitions). 

These 14 plans are reflected in the FY 2019 results. As of June 2020, 29 plans had applied for benefit 

suspensions (including five with partitions).

The assumptions for these future benefit suspensions reflect two primary factors: whether a plan’s board of 

trustees will apply for a suspension that meets the requirements for approval by the Treasury under MPRA 

and, if a plan is not “systemically important,” whether participants will vote to override the suspension. For 

“systemically important” plans whose applications are approved by Treasury, the law requires that Treasury 

implement either the proposed suspension or a modified version of the proposed suspension, 

notwithstanding the results of the participant vote.16

This report continues to assume a zero percent likelihood that the largest critical and declining plan will 

suspend benefits, a 30 percent likelihood that other plans will apply for suspension, and a 10 percent 

likelihood that other plans will apply for both suspension and partition. 

MULTIEMPLOYER RECONCILIATION FROM FY 2018 TO FY 2019

Figure 6 provides a detailed reconciliation of the changes from FY 2018 to FY 2019. ME-PIMS projects that 

the present value of PBGC’s FY 2029 multiemployer obligations will be significantly higher than last year’s 

projections – a mean present value deficit of $82.3 billion for FY 2029 compared to the previous projection 

of a mean present value deficit of $66.2 billion for FY 2028, an increase of $16.1 billion. 

The 10-year projections show the Multiemployer Program’s net financial position deteriorated from last year’s 

projections. This is primarily due to a decrease in the discount rates that are used to convert future financial 

assistance cashflows to a present value. Projected future financial assistance also increased due to lower asset 

return assumptions for the full universe of multiemployer plans, resulting in earlier and larger projected 

insolvencies. These increases were partially offset by the projected effects of the Bipartisan American Miners 

Act on the solvency of the United Mine Workers Plan.

15 Under MPRA, plans in critical status must perform either 15- or 20-year projections to determine whether they will become 

insolvent, qualifying as “critical and declining.” The 20-year test applies if the plan is less than 80 percent funded or has a ratio of 

inactive to active participants of more than 2 to 1; it is rare for a plan to be in critical status if one of these conditions does not apply.

16 Under the statute, a plan is “systemically important” if, absent the suspensions, it would be projected to need more than $1 billion 

(indexed with the National Average Wage Index after 2014) in financial assistance from PBGC. In 2020, the indexed amount is 

$1,135,000,000. 
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Figure 6 – Reconciliation of Changes in Multiemployer Results

Present Value at the end of FY 2019 ($ in billions)

1. FY 2028 Mean Net Financial Position from FY 2018 Projections Report ($66.2)

2. Passage of Time (2.8)

3. Expected Year 2029 Mean Net Financial Position [(1) + (2)] ($69.0)

4. Changes

a) New Plan Data $5.8

b) Economic Assumptions (24.1)

c) Model Improvements (1.0)

d) Legislative Changes $6.0

e) Total Changes ($13.3)

5. FY 2029 Mean Net Financial Position [(3) + (4e)] ($82.3)

6. Adjustment from Present Value to Nominal Value ($18.4)

7. Nominal Value of FY 2029 Mean Net Financial Position [(5) + (6)] ($100.7)

Note: The order of changes impacts the magnitude of each change.

Passage of Time. The FY 2018 report projected PBGC’s net financial position in FY 2028 and presented 

the results valued in 2018 dollars. To compare with the FY 2019 report, which projects to FY 2029 with 

values reported in 2019 dollars, the FY 2018 projections are rolled forward to project one additional year with 

one less year of discounting. In addition, the FY 2019 projection includes one additional year of projected 

new insolvencies compared to the FY 2018 projection (i.e., those in FY 2029, are projected to become 

insolvent through FY 2039, whereas the FY 2018 projection only includes projected insolvencies through FY 

2038). The effect of the roll forward is a deterioration of $2.8 billion in the projected net financial position.

New Plan Data. Changes in the starting data between FY 2018 and FY 2019 reflect new plan data provided

on plans’ Forms 5500.

17 This includes higher-than-expected returns on assets and changes in participant data 

and contributions. Use of the updated data improves the projected net financial position by $5.8 billion.

Economic Assumptions. The different economic climate in FY 2019 compared to FY 2018 results in

changes to the economic assumptions upon which all the ME-PIMS projections are based. Because interest 

rates declined by about 100 basis points, expected returns on assets are reduced, which increases projected 

future financial assistance. Because future financial assistance is paid well into the future, the present value is 

highly sensitive to interest rates, and the present value of the assistance increased significantly due to the 

17 Information about Form 5500 and its attachments is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/key-topics/reporting-andfiling/form-5500.
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lower interest rates. Reflecting these changes further reduces the projected net financial position by $24.1

billion.

ModelImprovements. Various minor improvements were made to the ME-PIMS model in conjunction with 

this report. These modifications include (1) determining separate partition percentages for vested terminated 

participants and retirees and (2) more precisely estimating benefit payments for inactive participants. The

combined effect of these changes reduced the projected net financial position by $1.0 billion. 

Legislative Changes. This year’s model reflects the enactment of the Bipartisan American Miners Act, which

provides federal funding for the United Mine Workers Pension Plan. The future amounts of that federal 

funding are not known with certainty but are projected to prevent the plan’s near-term insolvency. The 

amounts of future federal funding available for the United Mine Workers Pension Plan are dependent on 

several factors, including the amounts needed each year by certain United Mine Worker retiree health plans. 

Using estimates of the amounts of federal funding provided by the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for the United Mine Workers Pension Plan shortly after enactment in December 2019, the legislation

improves PBGC’s projected net financial position by $6.0 billion. See the ME-PIMS – Assumptions section 

of the Appendix for more details, including analysis of the sensitivity of the PBGC’s projected FY 2029 net 

financial position to lower future federal transfers to the United Mine Workers Pension Plan.

SENSITIVITY OF CHANGES TO THE MULTIEMPLOYER MODEL 

Discount Rate

The sensitivity information provided below relates to the discount rate for PBGC obligations. Only the 

discount rate for calculating PBGC liability values is changed; no other related variables, such as inflation or 

asset returns, are changed in the sensitivity calculations. The information is presented as present values in 

2019, but the rate used to discount the projected FY 2029 net position back to 2019 is not changed for this 

sensitivity analysis.

Figure 7 – Sensitivity to Discount Rate Changes in Multiemployer Results

Present Value at the end of FY 2019 ($ in billions)

+50 Basis Points Baseline -50 Basis Points

FY 2029 Multiemployer Net Financial 

Position ($76.2) ($82.3) ($89.4)

If market prices for annuities were based on discount rates 50 basis points higher than in the base projections, 

the mean present value of the FY 2029 Multiemployer Program net financial position would improve by $6.1 

billion. Discount rates 50 basis points lower would further deteriorate the deficit by $7.1 billion in FY 2029.

See Appendix for more details.
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PBGC also publishes other sensitivity tests of the model on the PIMS page on PBGC’s website.18

Future Wage Index

PBGC’s primary assumption on future wage growth is derived from the intermediate assumption of the 

Social Security Administration projection assumptions. Using an alternative lower wage growth assumption 

derived from the Social Security Trustees’ high-cost assumption results in the mean present value of the FY 

2029 multiemployer deficit increasing by $1.4 billion to $83.7 billion. 

18 The PIMS page is available at https://www.pbgc.gov/about/projections-report/pension-insurance-modeling-system. Links to 

sensitivity test memos are included under the column labeled “Information About PIMS.”
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SINGLE-EMPLOYER PROGRAM

SINGLE-EMPLOYER PROGRAM OVERVIEW

PBGC’s Single-Employer Program covers defined benefit pension plans that generally are sponsored by a 

single private-sector employer. The program covers about 25 million participants in about 24,000 pension 

plans. The program’s financial status has evolved from very recent deficits to a positive net financial position 

projected to grow over the next 10 years. The improved net financial position is due primarily to low claims 

activity and increasing premium revenue. Higher premium revenue has resulted from higher premium rates, 

especially from plans that have underfunded vested benefits subject to the variable rate premium. Despite the 

projected improvement in the program’s financial position, significant risk of higher claims remains.19

The information in this report starts with PBGC’s existing assets and liabilities as of FY 2019. SE-PIMS is used

to project:

• Future premium income.

• Assets and liabilities for single-employer plans which may become future PBGC claims that increase 

PBGC’s benefit obligations (assets include plan assets and additional assets that may be recovered 

from the sponsors of terminating plans).

• Future investment income on PBGC assets, based on PBGC’s investment policy and asset 

allocations.

SINGLE-EMPLOYER SUMMARY PROJECTIONS

The projections show that the Single-Employer Program net financial position is likely to continue to 

improve. This is similar to the pattern reported last year.

Figure 8 shows PBGC’s actual net financial position for FY 2009 to FY 2019, and selected ranges of 

projected net financial positions for the next 10 years. As shown in the FY 2019 Single-Employer Program

financial statements, assets of $128.1 billion and liabilities of $119.4 billion result in a positive net financial 

position of $8.7 billion at the beginning of the projection period. The uncertainty of PBGC’s financial 

position, as shown by the widening cone of results, grows in the future. This year’s mean projected present 

value net financial position is $46.3 billion in FY 2029, an increase of $19.6 billion from the comparable 

numbers in the FY 2018 report. Expressed in nominal terms, the mean projected net financial position in FY

2029 is $57.7 billion.

19 The Single-Employer Program’s loss exposure to reasonably possible terminations (such as underfunded plans sponsored by 

companies with credit ratings below investment grade) was $154.7 billion in FY 2019. See PBGC FY 2019 Annual Report, p. 91.
PEN SION B EN EF IT G U A RA NT Y C ORPO RA T ION 19 F Y 2 0 1 9 | PROJ EC T ION S REPO RT

Figure 8 – Single-Employer Program Projected Net Financial Position

The projected improvements to PBGC’s net financial position over the 10-year period are due to a general 

trend of improving plan funding in single-employer plans and projected PBGC premiums exceeding 

projected claims.

Figure 9 shows the full range of the 5,000 outcomes projected by the model for PBGC’s Single-Employer 

Program’s financial position in FY 2029. This includes the scenarios that fall below the 1st percentile and 

above the 99th percentile. For the Single-Employer Program, there are a few scenarios that result in a 

negative net financial position. For each value of PBGC’s projected net financial position along the horizontal 

axis, the height of the shaded area shows how many paths have that net financial position as a result. The 

higher the curve, the more simulations have results at that point in the distribution. The further any point is

to the right of the curve, the better the financial position associated with that point. 

Figure 9 – Potential FY 2029 Single-Employer Program Net Financial Position
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Vertical lines on the graph show the present value of PBGC’s projected FY 2029 net financial position at the 

15th and 85th percentiles and the mean and median values of projected net financial positions. The median is 

a $45.9 billion positive net financial position in FY 2029, while the mean is a $46.3 billion positive net 

financial position. The potential range of results on the FY 2029 net financial position goes from negative 

$32.0 billion to $119.8 billion. Although the majority of outcomes result in a positive net financial position, 

the negative outcomes show the tail risks in the Single-Employer Program. 

VARIABILITY IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER FINANCIAL POSITION

As described above, there is significant uncertainty in PBGC’s Single-Employer Program projections. Figure 

10 shows the mean net financial position and liabilities, along with the results for the 15th to 85th and 1st to 

99th percentiles and the range of outcomes for factors that have a significant impact on the FY 2029 net 

financial position. The considerations related to each factor are explored in the rest of this section.

Figure 10 – Variability in 2029 Single-Employer Net Financial Position

Present Value at the end of FY 2019 ($ in billions)

Mean 15% - 85% range 1% - 99% range

PBGC net financial position

1. FY 2019 actual $8.7 NA NA

2. FY 2029 projected* $46.3 $31.9 - $60.4 $4.8 - $88.8

Present Value of expected 2019-2029

3. New claims incurred $15.2 $4.8 - $26.0 $1.1 - $55.3

4. Asset/Liability gain $6.0 ($12.0) - $22.9 ($31.5) - $57.2

5. Premiums received $46.8 $30.0 - $64.2 $22.6 - $87.3

 * If expressed in nominal terms, the mean projected net financial position for FY 2029 is $57.7 billion. 

Financial Position

Figure 10 shows the present value of estimates of PBGC’s net financial position at the end of the 10-year 

projection in this report. The variability in results comes from the uncertainty around future claims, premium 

income that is expected to increase when plan underfunding increases, and investment returns on the portion 

of PBGC assets not matched to PBGC’s benefit liabilities. Within the 15th to 85th percentile range of

outcomes, the Single-Employer Program’s present value of projected financial position in FY 2029 varies by 

$28.5 billion (discounted to September 30, 2019).

Bankruptcy and New Claims

When companies in bankruptcy or financial distress terminate their underfunded plans, the underfunding is 

the basis for a new PBGC claim. A claim is the excess of the present value of the plan benefits (up to the 
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legal limit) that PBGC is expected to pay over the value of the plan’s assets and any recovery from the 

sponsoring firm. There is no claim if plan assets are sufficient to cover future benefit payments up to the level 

of PBGC guarantees or if a plan sponsor can continue to maintain its plan. A “new claim” is the claim for a 

plan that was not included in the most recent financial statements.

20 Figure 10 shows the mean and the range 

of outcomes for new claims.

In Figure 11, the inner cone around the projected mean represents the range of outcomes between the 15th 

to 85th percentiles while the full cone represents the 1st to 99th percentile level of claims.

21 The projections 

displayed for net new claims are for each year’s results, so patterns in the amount of variability reflect longterm trends rather than cumulative effects. The very high level of claims at the 99th percentile is related to 

economic crisis scenarios where both the level of bankruptcy and the amount of pension underfunding 

increase significantly at around the same time.

Figure 11 – Single-Employer Program Net New Claims

Investment Outcomes

When PBGC trustees a single-employer plan, the plan’s assets are transferred to PBGC’s Trust Fund, as are 

any additional assets recovered from the sponsor during bankruptcy proceedings. Premium income received 

is invested in PBGC’s Revolving Fund, which is primarily invested in Treasury securities. The total pool of 

Single-Employer Program assets is invested according to PBGC’s investment policy, which employs a 

liability-driven strategy where most of the change in liability due to interest rate changes will be mirrored by 

changes in the asset value.

A small portion of assets is invested in a portfolio of fixed income and equity investments with the objective 

of achieving higher returns. PBGC’s investment policy operates to reduce the return-seeking portion of assets 

20 No specific determination of “probable” claims is included in the projections.

21 The figure does not include claims for plans currently booked by PBGC but not yet terminated (“Probable” plans). Since these 

plans had not terminated as of September 30, 2019, their claims are not included in the historic claims and they are excluded from 

the projections of future claims (since they are reflected in the balance sheet values that are projected forward in PIMS).
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as PBGC’s net financial position improves (i.e., a “glidepath” approach). PBGC’s assets are invested mostly in 

fixed income investments in order to mitigate much of the interest rate risk in PBGC’s liabilities. Thus, 

although the investment returns for PBGC’s assets are somewhat volatile, high investment returns tend to 

offset increases in the value of PBGC’s liabilities, and low investment returns tend to be offset by decreases in 

the value of PBGC’s liabilities.

Figure 10 shows the asset-liability gain, which is the difference between projected investment income and the 

change in PBGC’s liability due to interest rates. The numbers represent the range of cumulative outcomes that

lie between the 15th and 85th percentiles and the 1st and 99th percentiles. For the 10-year projection period, 

the outcome ranges from a $22.9 billion gain to a $12.0 billion loss in the 15th to 85th percentiles, expressed

as present values discounted to 2019.

Premium Income

PBGC’s premium structure and levels are set by Congress, but variable rate premium income changes with 

the underfunding in single-employer plans and fixed rate premium income changes with the number of plan 

participants. For example, fixed rate premiums decrease when plans pay lump sums or transfer plan liabilities

for some participants by purchasing group annuity contracts from an insurance company. Variable rate 

premiums increase when plan underfunding increases due to certain events such as drops in interest rates or

investment losses. 

Variable rate premiums are a significant factor motivating the amounts of plan sponsors’ contributions to 

their pension plans. The assumption in SE-PIMS for contributions from single-employer plan sponsors has 

reflected this incentive for many years but has adjusted contributions in a uniform way for all plan sponsors. 

For the FY 2019 report, each plan sponsor’s projected contribution is based on its plan’s funded status in 

each economic scenario. The new assumption recognizes that some plans remain underfunded and pay a 

variable rate premium despite the financial incentive to fund at a higher level and reduce the PBGC premium. 

This new assumption results in higher projected premium income compared to the prior assumption. In 

recent years, variable rate premiums have provided substantially more revenue to PBGC than fixed-rate 

premiums, but because plans are assumed to gradually become better funded, variable premium revenue is 

expected to trend down during the projection period. 

Even though additional premium revenue improves PBGC’s net financial position, higher variable premiums 

are associated with downside scenarios where asset returns are low and interest rates decrease, both of which 

increase plan underfunding. In other words, when the size of potential claims increases, premiums also 

increase, and vice versa, which reduces the ultimate impact of interest rates and investment returns on 

PBGC’s future net financial position. The combined effect of the investment strategy and premium structure 

helps dampen volatility and mitigate risks in the Single-Employer Program.
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SINGLE-EMPLOYER RECONCILIATION FROM FY 2018 TO FY 2019

Figure 12 provides a detailed reconciliation of the projection results due to changes in the model and data 

from FY 2018 to FY 2019. The mean projected position at the end of the projection period has improved by 

about $19.6 billion, to a present value of projected net financial position of $46.3 billion. The change results 

primarily from updated data and improvements to the SE-PIMS model.

Figure 12 – Reconciliation of Changes in Single-Employer Results

Present value at the end of FY 2019 - ($ in billions)

1. FY 2028 Mean Net Financial Position from FY 2018 Projections Report $26.7

2. Passage of Time $2.8

3. Expected Year 2029 Mean Net Financial Position [(1) + (2)] $29.5

4. Changes

a) New Plan, Sponsor, and PBGC Data $5.2

b) Economic Assumptions $2.3

c) Model Improvements $10.7

d) Legislative Changes ($1.4)

e) Total $16.8

5. FY 2029 Mean Net Financial Position [(3) + (4e)] $46.3

6. Adjustment from Present Value to Nominal Value $11.4

7. Nominal Value of FY 2029 Mean Net Financial Position [(5) + (6)] $57.7

Note: The order of changes impacts the magnitude of each change.

Passage of Time. The FY 2018 report projected PBGC’s net financial position in FY 2028 and presented 

the results valued in 2018 dollars. To compare with the FY 2019 report, which projects to FY 2029 with 

values reported in 2019 dollars, the FY 2018 projections are rolled forward to project one additional year with 

one less year of discounting. The effect of the roll forward is an increase of $2.8 billion in the projected net 

financial position.

Plan, Sponsor, and PBGC Data. Between the FY 2018 and FY 2019 Annual Reports, PBGC’s net financial 

position improved from $2.4 billion to $8.7 billion. This is a larger one-year improvement in PBGC’s net 

financial position than was projected with FY 2018 SE-PIMS, primarily due to lower claims and higher 

premiums than expected. Additionally, updated single-employer plan data results in both claims and 

premiums being projected at higher levels than were projected last year. The combination of these updates 

improves the projected net financial position by $5.2 billion.
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Economic Assumptions. Long-term interest rates fell by over 100 basis points since the starting point of 

last year’s projections. This increases estimated liability values and decreases expected future investment 

returns in the model. Both effects result in lower plan funding levels and, in turn, increase projected claims. 

However, projected variable rate premium revenue also increases and more than offsets the higher claims 

cost. The net effect of these changes further increases the projected net financial position by $2.3 billion.

Model Improvements. Plan sponsors’ assumed contribution behavior has been updated to reflect their 

specific circumstances in each economic scenario and the key incentives relevant to those circumstances. The 

new contribution assumption is based primarily on three key incentives: (1) making minimum required

contributions; (2) reducing variable rate premiums (VRPs); and (3) maintaining desired levels of funding often 

based on pension liability measurements used in corporate financial accounting. The prior version of SEPIMS used the first two incentives, but the updated assumption adjusts the percentage of plan sponsors using 

each of these incentives based on the VRP rate. As premium rates increase, more plan sponsors are assumed 

to make contributions with the objective of reducing their premium payments. The effect of the VRP per 

participant cap is considered in determining the VRP rate assumed to drive plan sponsor behavior. The cap is 

a primary reason that some plan sponsors may continue to pay VRPs as the VRP rate continues to rise, 

because plans over the cap are less affected by future premium increases. The third incentive does not have a 

significant impact on the projection results since it is associated primarily with plans that have eliminated the 

VRP by fully funding the plan’s PBGC vested benefit liability (VBL). 

Plan sponsors funded below 80 percent on a Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) basis are assumed to 

fund with the objective to eliminate restrictions on benefits.22 For plan sponsors that experience bankruptcy 

in the projections, contributions for the three years prior to bankruptcy are reduced to zero, even if no credit 

balance is available, to represent the conservation of cash in a financially distressed business. Overall, the new 

assumption better represents the impact on premiums of both plans with significant VBL underfunding and 

those that maintain high levels of funding. Relative to the assumption used in previous projections, this

approach results in lower contributions from plans that have not fully funded PBGC’s VBL, resulting in 

higher projected VRPs. The new contribution assumption does not have a significant impact on projected 

claims. More detail on this assumption is available in the SE-PIMS – Assumptions section of the Appendix.

Other changes made to the modeling system include improving data on valuation rates used to value liabilities 

for VRP calculations and refinements to projections of plan participants’ retirement and mortality rates, and 

improvements to the modeling of amortizations of plans’ gains and losses. These also include minor 

assumption changes. The impact of these additional changes to the projected net financial position was 

minimal.

The combined effect of these changes increases the projected net financial position by $10.7 billion. 

Legislative Changes. Section 206 of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 

(SECURE) Act of 2019 (Division O of The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Public Law 116-

22 PPA basis is the measure of assets and liabilities used to determine the Adjusted Funding Target Attainment Percentage (AFTAP). 

Liabilities are measured based on prescribed segment rates or a full yield curve. Assets may be smoothed. PPA basis reflects the 

original PPA law plus provisions of subsequent funding relief legislation - the Workers Relief and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 

(WRERA), Pension Relief Act of 2010 (PRA), Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), Highway and 

Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA), and Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA).
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94) set lower PBGC premium rates for cooperative and small-employer charity (CSEC) plans. Implementing 

this provision in the model results in decreases in projected premiums and decreases the projected net 

financial position by $1.4 billion.

RECENT SINGLE-EMPLOYER PLAN TRENDS

The projections do not assume that plans are terminated voluntarily by healthy companies, only by companies 

in distress. However, some healthy companies do close their pension plans by purchasing annuities, paying 

lump sums to participants, and undertaking a standard termination. In these cases, PBGC’s current 

obligations are not affected, risk of a future claim is eliminated, and those companies cease paying premiums. 

PBGC will continue to monitor the effect of these actions and the implications for the model. 

In addition to standard terminations, some plan sponsors have reduced the size of their plans through annuity 

purchases and lump sum “windows,” which are not modeled in SE-PIMS. In addition to reducing premium 

income, these transactions could reduce PBGC’s exposure and the size of future claims. PBGC continues to 

gather data on these transactions from premium filings and has performed testing of the sensitivity of the SEPIMS model to these trends.23 PBGC intends to continue its investigation of this trend and the implications 

for the model.

SENSITIVITY OF CHANGES TO SINGLE-EMPLOYER MODEL’S 

DISCOUNT RATE

The sensitivity information provided below relates to the discount rate for PBGC obligations. Only the 

discount rate for calculating PBGC liability values is changed; no other related variables, such as inflation or 

asset returns, are changed in the sensitivity calculations. The information is presented as present values in 

2019, but the rate used to discount the projected FY 2029 net position back to 2019 is not changed for this 

sensitivity analysis.

Figure 13 – Sensitivity to Discount Rate Changes in Single-Employer Results

Present Value at the end of FY 2019 ($ in billions)

+50 Basis Points Baseline -50 Basis Points

FY 2029 Single-Employer Net Financial 

Position $49.8 $46.3 $42.4

If market prices for annuities were based on discount rates 50 basis points higher than in the base projections, 

the mean present value of the FY 2029 Single-Employer Program net financial position would improve by 

$3.5 billion. The likelihood of a positive net financial position of the Single-Employer Program in FY 2029

would increase from 99.4 percent to 99.8 percent. Discount rates 50 basis points lower would decrease the 

mean present value of the net financial position by $3.9 billion and reduce the likelihood of a positive net 

financial position in FY 2029 to 98.3 percent. See Appendix for more details.

23 See https://www.pbgc.gov/sites/default/files/derisking-sensitivity-economic-downturn-stress-test-fy-2017.pdf
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STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION

We, the undersigned, certify that this actuarial evaluation has been prepared in accordance with generally 

accepted actuarial principles and practices and, subject to the disclaimers herein, to the best of our

knowledge, fairly reflects the possible distribution of projected outcomes relative to the operations and status 

of the Corporation’s Single-Employer Program and Multiemployer Program as of September 30, 2019. 

In preparing this evaluation, we have relied upon information provided to us regarding plan and participant 

data, plan sponsor financial information, historic asset yield and bankruptcy information and other matters. 

We have checked this information for reasonableness as appropriate based on the purpose of the evaluation; 

the responsibility for the source information obtained from Forms 5500 and elsewhere rests with the 

preparers of these data. 

Subject to the disclaimers herein, in our opinions, 

(1) The techniques and methodology used are generally acceptable within the actuarial profession.

(2) The assumptions used are appropriate for the purposes of this report. 

(3) The resulting evaluation represents a reasonable estimate of the possible distribution of projected 

outcomes relative to the operations and status of these programs. 

The undersigned are available to discuss the material in this report.

I, Theodore A. Goldman, am the Director of PBGC’s Policy, Research and Analysis Department (PRAD). I 

am a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and an Enrolled 

Actuary. I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial 

opinion contained in this report.

I, Jarred Scott, am an actuary of PBGC’s Policy, Research and Analysis Department (PRAD). I am an 

Associate of the Society of Actuaries and an Enrolled Actuary. I meet the Qualification Standards of the 

American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained in this report.

Jarred Scott 

Theodore A. Goldman, FSA, EA, MAAA Jarred Scott, ASA, EA 

Director, Policy, Research and Analysis Department, PBGC PIMS Division Manager, Policy, Research and Analysis 

Member, American Academy of Actuaries Department, PBGC
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APPENDIX

OVERVIEW OF PIMS

The analysis in this report uses ME-PIMS and SE-PIMS. The PIMS models are primarily models of pension 

plans, rather than of plan participants. They use data reported by multiemployer plans and a sample of singleemployer pension plans to model the future funding status of the universe of private sector pension plans. 

Both models project long-term financial outcomes by running many simulations, each modeling year-by-year

changes over 20 years into the future. Each simulation starts with known facts about the economy, the 

universe of PBGC-insured plans, and PBGC’s financial position. The models then introduce random year-byyear changes (within certain bounds) to simulate economic fluctuations, producing 500 simulations for 

alternate economic paths through time. Within a simulation, each plan’s outcomes from one year form the 

following year’s starting point for that plan, and so on. The models recognize that all single-employer plan 

sponsors have some chance of bankruptcy, that all multiemployer plans have some chance of insolvency, and 

that these probabilities change over time depending on a variety of factors.

Neither PIMS model is predictive. ME-PIMS reflects anticipated employer behavior through contribution rate

assumptions related to zone status. It does not anticipate withdrawal by individual employers. SE-PIMS does

not attempt to anticipate companies’ more general behavioral responses to changed circumstances, such as

whether to continue to sponsor defined benefit plans.

Future Outcomes Are Expressed in Present Value Terms

This report expresses future outcomes in present value terms (i.e., discounted back to the end of FY 2019), 

but shows nominal values in certain figures. Results are explicitly noted as expressed in nominal or present 

value terms. Present values are higher when interest rates are low and vice versa.

The uncertainty in future interest rates is modeled in both versions of PIMS. Therefore, the rates change in 

each year in each simulation. Each simulation’s outcomes are discounted based on the 30-year Treasury bond 

yields projected for that simulation, regardless of whether the underlying simulated cash flows are generated 

from holdings of equities, corporate bonds, or U.S. Treasury bonds.

How Projections Compare to PBGC’s Financial Statement Liabilities

PIMS treats PBGC’s most recent financial statement liabilities as the starting point and estimates how they 

may vary in the future, adding the effects of projected new claims, benefit payments, and asset returns. The 

projections of future financial statement information in this report do not explicitly determine liabilities for 

plans which are “probable for financial assistance” (multiemployer) or are “probable to terminate” 

(single-employer).

Capital Market Assumptions

The following economic variables are stochastically projected in both versions of PIMS:
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Interest Rates, Stock Returns, and Related Variables. These variables are determined by the 

underlying means, standard deviations and correlation matrix established for the PIMS projections.

Related variables include inflation, wage growth, and increases in benefits for flat-dollar plans.

• Stock returns are modeled as independent from one period to the next. To determine a 

simulated sequence of stock returns, the model randomly draws returns from a distribution that 

reflects historical experience going back to 1926.

• Interest rates are modeled as correlated over time. The Treasury yield for a given period is 

expected to be equal to the yield for the prior period, plus or minus a randomly generated

amount.

• The random draws affecting the bond yields and stock returns are correlated according to an 

estimate derived from the period 1973 to 2007.

24 Stock returns are more likely to be high when 

the Treasury yield is falling and vice versa. Credit spreads on investment-grade corporate bonds 

are modeled to regress toward their historic mean values.

Asset Allocation. A single representative asset allocation is assumed for all plans, based on an internal 

study of historic asset returns among large plans. Using the financial rates directly modeled in PIMS 

(stock market returns, long-term Treasury bond returns and yields), the study estimated mixtures of those 

rates to best fit the historic returns of plans in the study. PIMS uses the following weighting: 48 percent 

stock market returns, 23 percent long-term Treasury bond returns, and 30 percent long-term Treasury 

bond yields. Returns are adjusted down by 2.5 basis points (percentages are rounded). 

ME-PIMS

ME-PIMS — Overview

Each year, in preparing its financial statements, PBGC analyzes insured large (over 35,000 participants) and 

medium (between 2,500 and 35,000 participants) multiemployer plans to identify those ongoing plans that 

might become claims against the insurance program. In determining whether a plan should be classified as a

probable risk of requiring financial assistance in the future and recorded in PBGC’s financial statements as a 

balance sheet liability, PBGC evaluates whether the plan can be expected to become insolvent within the 

following 10 years, often taking into account detailed available plan and industry data. Each plan is 

determined to either be “booked” as a liability for the financial statements for a given year or not to be 

included in the accrued liabilities at all.

In the Multiemployer Program, a probable liability is generated (and booked on PBGC’s financial statements)

when cash-flow insolvency is projected within 10 years. To estimate future claims against the Multiemployer 

Program that are not already booked in the current financial statements, ME-PIMS projects, separately for 

each simulation, a plan’s funding status, cash flow, asset base, and change in the contribution base, to 

determine whether that plan would be booked as a liability according to the criteria described above. 

24 This assumption has been subsequently reviewed by PBGC; it was determined that the estimate derived in that time frame is still 

representative of current correlation rates. 
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ME-PIMS — Data

The model uses Form 5500 data for each plan in the universe of multiemployer plans, including terminated 

and insolvent plans. Selected numeric entries from Schedules MB, R, and H/I are downloaded from the 

Form 5500 datasets to the PIMS database. 

For a sample of plans for which PBGC has complete data, information on plan provisions, demographics of 

active workers, and plan assumptions as to future demographic changes is used to impute data to other plans 

of similar size, demographics, or industry, as appropriate. A brief description of the methodology follows: 

• Plans in the prior year’s ME-PIMS database are categorized into major industries. 

• Within each industry, the 25th percentile, the 75th percentile, and the median active-to-inactive ratio 

is determined.

• For each plan not in the sample, the downloaded data is extended by imputing plan provisions, 

census, and assumptions from the closest match to the 25th percentile, the 75th percentile, or 

median active-to-inactive ratio.

• The set of sample plans and the closest matches remain unchanged from the prior year to avoid 

volatility.

Robust contributing employers’ information is not generally available and thus not used in this model; all 

contribution information is on a plan level.

Data is reviewed for outliers and missing fields. Data on critical and declining zone status plans receives

special scrutiny, and Form 5500 information is extended with filed participant notices and other information 

available to PBGC.

For booked plans, PBGC collects additional data, which is subject to confidential treatment requests under 29 

CFR 4901.24.

ME-PIMS — General Methodology

ME-PIMS projects PBGC’s potential financial position by combining simulated claims with simulated paths 

for premiums, expenses, PBGC’s investment returns, and changes in PBGC liability; that is, the present value 

of benefits and expenses payable pursuant to claims recognized by PBGC. The probability of any particular 

outcome is estimated by dividing the number of simulations with that outcome by 500, the number of

multiemployer simulations.

In each simulation, the model generates 50-year projections for each plan under each of the 500 economic 

scenarios. The model first generates future benefit payment streams and future normal cost streams from a 

simulated census. These cash flow streams are then projected forward year by year, assuming experience 

matches the events modeled along each simulated path and that the demographics of future hires are the 

same as the current active distribution. Projected benefit accruals are adjusted to reflect assumed changes in 

benefit formula (e.g., to a one percent of contribution formula or the removal of early retirement subsidies

upon critical status) and active population changes. 
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There is typically a long time-lag between PBGC’s booking of a multiemployer plan and the start of PBGC’s 

financial assistance payments. Payments begin only after the plan has depleted its assets. In ME-PIMS’ 

simulation of the Multiemployer Program, a plan can be booked as a probable claim in one year of a 

projection and then, if economic conditions improve sufficiently in the simulation, it can become “unbooked” (in the model) in a later year. Conversely, a plan’s condition can deteriorate further following the 

initial recognition.

ME-PIMS reflects un-bookings as negative claims, which are considered in the mean and median claim 

amounts. However, financial improvements during the projection period that are insufficient to cause claims 

to be un-booked are not reflected in the un-booked ME-PIMS claims values. As a result, the change in net 

financial position over the projection period may fall short of the amount that would be determined when

reflecting the present values of simulated premiums, financial assistance, expenses, and investment returns 

over that period.

The median level of claims is used, rather than the average, for the seven largest plans that are likely to 

become insolvent prior to FY 2026. This approach better simulates the pattern of program outlays as it 

approaches insolvency. Using the median result for near-term insolvencies leads to a somewhat sharper yearby-year adjustment in both financial assistance and assets.

To mitigate the modeling and methodological differences between the model used for financial reporting and 

ME-PIMS, a scale factor is applied to the extent necessary to match the multiemployer liability reported in 

PBGC’s Annual Report. The scale factor used for the FY 2019 Projections Report is 0.975.

ME-PIMS — Plan Sponsor Behavior

Multiemployer funding rules create situations where plans may make decisions or alter their behavior based 

on funded status, projected insolvency, or other conditions. These behavioral adaptations are modeled to 

some extent in ME-PIMS.

The model assumes that plans in critical status will increase contribution rates and make other plan changes. 

These assumptions are different for critical status plans that have “exhausted all reasonable measures” 

(ERM). All critical and declining status plans are assumed to have ERM for FY 2019.

The model also reflects the suspension of benefits and partition of critical and declining plans, based on the 

financial status of each sample plan along each modeled economic path. Plans that are critical and declining at 

any point in the projection are assumed to make a one-time decision whether to apply for suspensions and 

partitions based on the assumptions regarding partition and suspension probabilities.

To determine whether a plan will need suspension or partition assistance at any point in the projection, MEPIMS uses the imputed plan cash flows to calculate benefits at the maximum suspension level (110 percent of 

PBGC’s guarantee, with estimated additional protections for aged and disabled participants). If the 

suspension reduction is enough to achieve long-term solvency, the plan election will be for suspension-only 

or no changes (depending on a random-number draw). If the suspension is inadequate, the plan is further 

processed to determine whether an election for suspension plus partition will be modeled. 
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For a suspension-only plan, the maximum suspensions are adjusted using aggregate cash flows to calculate 

benefit levels just high enough to achieve long-term solvency over 30 years. The requirement for longer-term 

solvency is modeled on a simplified basis by requiring a funding ratio of at least 20 percent at the end of 30 

years. ME-PIMS includes a suspension “re-test.” Suspended plans are retested every five years to determine if 

the suspension percentage can be modified. The model increases the suspension percentage if a plan is 

projected to be insolvent due to financial deterioration. Should the financial condition of a plan improve or 

deteriorate, the model will allow a maximum of 50 percent of the change in the suspension percentage to be 

implemented. For this suspension retesting process, a more conservative asset return of four-and-a-half

percent is used. These conditions are added to minimize issues related to plans going in and out of 

suspensions during the projections. 

For a “suspension plus partition” plan, the benefits are reduced to the maximum suspension level, and the 

amount of partition assistance required is determined to maintain solvency. If the present value of partition 

assistance required is less than the present value of future assistance by more than a de minimis amount, 

assuming no partition occurs, the plan is assumed to pass MPRA’s expected long-term loss test (see ERISA 

§4233(b)(3)(A)). Should the plan meet these requirements, it is then modeled as electing between suspension 

and partition or no changes. Plans projected to receive a partition remain in the partition status throughout

the projections. 

ME-PIMS does not separately model other forms of financial assistance such as facilitated merger assistance.

Since they are subject to similar limits on plans (except the requirement for maximum suspensions), they are

modeled as part of the potential partition universe. Given MPRA’s impairment tests (see ERISA§4233(b)(4) 

and §4231(e)(2)(c)), the effect on PBGC outcomes is likely similar whether financial assistance is provided 

through facilitated merger or partition.

ME-PIMS — Cash Flow Development

ME-PIMS uses information reported on the Form 5500 to develop long-term benefit payment projections by 

current participant status, which are calibrated to each plan’s reported current liability and benefit payments, 

as well as normal cost. 

Active participant scatters and decrement assumptions were collected for about 300 plans for the FY 2019 

report. The model utilizes this data to simulate active census data for the remaining multiemployer plans 

based on industry and the percentile position of active-to-inactive ratio. Cash flows for active participants are 

generated based on the decrement for each of the active age and service cell combinations. 

For inactive participants, a different process is used since age/service data is not available for all plans. A 

simplified calibration process extrapolates inactive participants from a census distribution of a large 

multiemployer plan using each plan’s estimated accrual rates and inactive participant count. Across-the-board 

shifts in the largest multiemployer plan’s inactive census distribution by age and service are then applied to 

match the current liability reported on Schedule MB of the Form 5500. This is done separately for terminated 

vested participants versus in-pay retirees and beneficiaries.
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ME-PIMS — Assumptions

The following variables are stochastically projected:

Plan Demographics. Starting with the plan’s active employee population data from the Form 5500 (grouped 

by age and service bands), the distribution of active participants for each plan in the future varies according to 

that plan’s actuarial assumptions regarding retirement, disability, and termination of employment. Age and 

service also vary over time due to hiring assumptions that are determined separately in each scenario of the 

projections. Hiring patterns vary with stochastic projections; the general assumption is that a plan’s historical 

hiring distribution continues and hiring occurs (or not) to bring the size of the active population up to the 

size indicated by the continued trend as needed after plan decrements (retirement, termination of 

employment, disability) take place. 

ME-PIMS does not currently assume industry-specific employment trends. For all but critical and declining

plans, the model incorporates annual variability assumptions, resulting in a mean net decrease in the active 

multiemployer population of 1.3 percent per year across all simulated paths. The annual active population 

decline assumption for critical and declining plans is set to zero percent in order to align with the level future 

contribution assumption used for programming simplification.

The following non-stochastic assumptions are also used in ME-PIMS projections:

Mortality. Mortality uses the RP-2014 Combined Healthy table, projected to 2032 with the MP-2016 

improvement scale.

Credit Balances. Each plan’s credit balance is increased each year by the plan’s valuation interest rate and 

decreased by the amount by which modeled contributions are less than the minimum required.

Per Capita Contribution Rate Increases. The primary annual per capita contributions increase is based on 

the historical increase rate observed between 2009 and 2017. The annual estimated per capita contribution 

growth rate is as follows:

• Green Zone (Neither Endangered nor Critical) Plans – The most recent historical per capita growth 

rate will phase down over 15 years to the wage growth assumption.

• Yellow Zone (Endangered) Plans – Implement a funding improvement plan that includes a 

maximum of 12 percent increase in per capita contribution growth for up to 10 years. Per capita 

contribution growth is lowered to inflation after 10 years.

• Red Zone (Critical) Plans – Implement a rehabilitation plan that includes a maximum of 7 percent 

increase in per capita contribution growth for up to 15 years (including up to 10 years of increases in 

yellow zone, if applicable). Per capita growth is lowered to inflation after 15 years.

• Critical and Declining Plans – Annual per capita contribution growth is assumed to remain level.

The per capita contribution rate is further limited to a multiple of the 2009 per capita rate – 1.5 times for 

critical and declining status or ERM plans and three times for other plans but not less than the current per 

capita contribution rate.
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Benefit Improvements. For green zone plans with a flat dollar benefit formula, benefit improvements are 

made by amendment to track changes in wages over time. For green zone plans with a percent of 

contribution formula, no past service benefit improvements are assumed. 

Benefit Improvement Restriction. Critical status and endangered status plans do not adopt future benefit 

improvements.

Mass Withdrawal. In the model, all plans are assumed to go through mass withdrawal upon plan insolvency; 

no plans are assumed to go through mass withdrawals prior to plan insolvency.

PBGC Premiums. Premiums are paid in accordance with current law. There is no allowance for write-offs 

of uncollectable premiums or for the fact that a portion of the premium collected is not credited with interest 

under MPRA.

Discounting Future Claims. Future claims are discounted with a single interest factor that models the curve 

of interest factors described in the 2019 financial statements. Those factors are based on a survey of privatesector annuity market prices.

Discounting Future Present Values Shown in Report Tables. Future amounts, other than claims, are 

discounted using the simulated 30-year Treasury rate generated for the particular year and economic path.

Assumptions to Facilitate Suspension and Partition. Assumes zero percent likelihood that the largest 

critical and declining plan will suspend benefits, a 30 percent likelihood that other plans will apply for 

suspension, and a 10 percent likelihood that other plans will apply for both suspensions and partitions. 

Determination of suspension and partition amounts follows this process and assumptions:

• In a partition, the guaranteed portion of benefits for some participants is spun off to a separate, 

insolvent plan, for which PBGC will provide financial assistance.

• The assumed average return on plan assets used in MPRA solvency tests is 5 percent (6 percent was 

used in the FY 2018 model).

• Plans that have gone through a suspension will be re-tested every five years. Deterioration in 

financial conditions will allow plans to further suspend benefits up to a limit of 110 percent of 

PBGC’s guarantee. To be conservative, a lower asset return of 4.5 percent is used to test for 

suspension percentage changes (5.0 percent was used in the FY 2018 model).

Bipartisan American Miners Act. This legislation authorized federal funding over time for the United Mine 

Workers Plan and amended current law provisions related to federal funding for United Mine Workers retiree 

health benefits. Under the new law, subject to a cap, Treasury will make annual transfers of unappropriated 

general revenues to the United Mine Workers 1974 Pension Fund until the plan is fully funded. Transfers are 

effective retroactively, beginning with fiscal year 2017. The plan is subject to certain restrictions and 

additional reporting requirements. Prior to the new law, the plan had projected that it would become 

insolvent in its July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 plan year.

Because the United Mine Workers Pension Plan’s existing assets are declining and future employer 

contributions to the plan are very small, the future federal funding is the principal source of solvency for the 

pension plan going forward. Thus, long-term solvency projections for the plan are sensitive to variations in 

the expected amounts of future federal transfers to the plan. However, the amounts of future federal funding 
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available for the United Mine Workers Pension Plan are not known with certainty because the amounts

available for the pension plan depend on the amounts needed each year by certain United Mine Workers

retiree health plans, among other things.

Shortly after enactment in December of 2019, PBGC received estimates of projected transfers to the United 

Mine Workers Pension Plan from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These transfers were 

provided to OMB by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), U.S. 

Department of the Interior. In the ME-PIMS model, these estimated annual amounts are treated as additional 

contributions in the projections of plan assets. There are no estimates of transfers to the pension plan beyond 

FY 2030, so for purposes of the projections in this report, the estimated transfer amount is assumed to stay 

level after FY 2030 until the United Mine Workers Plan is fully funded. Also, as a means of estimating the 

possible liabilities for the insurance program, for purposes of the projections in this report only, PBGC does

not assume federal funding would cover PBGC financial assistance in any scenarios in which the plan is 

projected to have a temporary or permanent period of insolvency. No legal position or effect should be 

inferred from use of this modeling assumption, or any other assumption in this report. 

The annual federal transfer amounts provided by OMB for FY 2020 through FY 2030 and used for the 

projections in this report (until the plan is fully funded) are as follows:

Fiscal Year

Transfer Amount 

(in millions)

FY 2020 $1,576

FY 2021 $321

FY 2022 $332

FY 2023 $387

FY 2024 $389

FY 2025 $395

FY 2026 $401

FY 2027 $405

FY 2028 $406

FY 2029 $405

FY 2030 and later $406

Given the uncertainty of the future amounts of federal transfers to the pension plan, a sensitivity analysis was 

prepared using lower estimates of future federal transfers to the plan. Those lower estimates assume $150 

million less per year beginning in FY 2021. Using these lower transfers to the plan does not change PBGC’s 

projected insolvency year but does increase the chance the United Mine Workers Plan could become 

insolvent during the projection period. There is also a small impact to PBGC’s projected FY 2029 mean net 
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financial position: a worsening of the projected deficit by about $0.2 billion compared to the results in this 

report.

Plan Demographics to Facilitate Cash Flow Modeling. To determine cash flows, ME-PIMS utilizes

these assumptions:

• Proportion of active population assumed to be male: 70 percent.

• Proportion of retirees (in ongoing plans) assumed to be male: 80 percent.

• Proportion of terminated vested participants (in ongoing plans) assumed to be male: 94 percent.

• Age difference: females three years younger than their male spouses.

• Proportion of active population assumed to elect joint and survivor form: 60 percent.

• Proportion of retirees assumed to possess a joint and survivor form: 30 percent.

• Proportion of terminated vested assumed to elect joint and survivor form: 35 percent.

• Joint and survivor form: joint and 50 percent survivor benefit.

• Proportion of participants assumed married for pre-retirement death benefit: 80 percent.

• Conversion factors based on PBGC rates for the joint and 50 percent survivor benefit: 0.8730 for 

male participants; 0.9135 for female participants.
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SE-PIMS

SE-PIMS — Overview

PBGC’s expected claims under the Single-Employer Program depend on two factors: the amount of 

underfunding in the pension plans that PBGC insures (i.e., exposure) and the likelihood that corporate 

sponsors of these underfunded plans will encounter financial distress that results in bankruptcy and plan 

termination (i.e., the probability of claims). Claims are sensitive to interest rates and investment returns, 

contributions, changes in benefits, changes within industries, and economic conditions which impact

bankruptcies.

SE-PIMS starts with PBGC’s current net financial position and data on the funding status of more than 500

very large plans, with results for this group scaled up to represent the full single-employer universe. The 

model produces 5,000 simulations (500 economic paths times 10 bankruptcy simulations). The probability of 

any particular outcome is estimated by dividing the number of simulations with that outcome by 5,000. The 

model uses funding rules as prescribed by current law.

SE-PIMS — Data

SE-PIMS uses the data for more than 500 actual plans, sponsored by more than 330 companies. These plans

represent over half of PBGC’s insurance exposure in the single-employer defined benefit system measured 

from the 2017 Form 5500 filings. SE-PIMS also reflects contribution data from later years’ filings to the 

extent available when the initial results are generated. 

The database includes:

• Summary statistics on plan demographics.

• Plan benefit structure.

• Asset values.

• Liabilities.

• Actuarial assumptions.

• Key financial information about the employer sponsoring the plan.

Plan data for the past six years are downloaded from Schedules SB, R, H, and I of the Form 5500 database

into the PIMS database. In addition, information on plan provisions, demographics of active workers, and 

plan assumptions for future demographic changes are manually entered and reviewed against signed forms 

and attachments. If demographic information is missing for a particular plan, data from other plans of similar 

size, demographics, or industry is used for that plan.

The plans included are primarily those with the largest plan liabilities where (1) sufficient data is available on 

the sponsor for the SE-PIMS bankruptcy probability model and (2) plan details can be sufficiently captured in 

the SE-PIMS model. 
PEN SION B EN EF IT G U A RA NT Y C ORPO RA T ION 37 F Y 2 0 1 9 | PROJ EC T ION S REPO RT

Data on firms is from Compustat provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence and linked to plan sponsors.

Where there is missing data for a plan sponsor, data is imputed using industry averages, averages for plan 

sponsors of comparable size, or other measures.

Historical economic data is gathered from Federal Reserve Economic Database tables, Interest Rate Tables 

provided by the Internal Revenue Service, and SBBI® Yearbooks. Data on PBGC’s historical financial 

position is based on PBGC sources, which also supply the information published in PBGC’s Data Tables.

PBGC reviews the data inputs – including the economic inputs (annual returns of stock and bond market 

indices, other historical data, generated stochastic paths), regulatory inputs (various IRS pension plan limits 

and information regarding CPI and national average wage growth), firm data (plan affiliation, firm economic 

data, weight as part of sample universe), and plan data (Form 5500 data and adjustments for missing or 

inconsistent data).

SE-PIMS — General Methodology

The SE-PIMS sample is weighted (scaled up) to represent the full universe of PBGC-insured, single-employer 

plans. The weighted sample represents total liabilities and underfunding, and the distribution of funding levels

among plans in the PBGC-insured universe based on data available as of the preceding spring.

The weighting process uses scaled copies of the plan sponsors’ business (called “partners”) and their pension 

plans. Each partner begins each simulation with the financial conditions copied from their source sponsors 

but are scaled in relation to the size of each sponsor’s balance sheet entries and employment. The financial 

conditions and bankruptcy experience for each partner is projected separately. Because the SE-PIMS sample 

is drawn from larger than average plans and corporations, each partner (sponsor and plan size) is scaled to

one-fifth the size of its source.

Partners are allocated to sponsors in SE-PIMS to create a weighted sample that approximates the distribution 

of plan liabilities by funding status in the insured universe. For example, the weighted sample’s total value of 

plan liabilities among plans 50 to 60 percent funded is compared to the same total for the insured universe, 

and similarly for plans 60 to 70 percent funded, 70 to 80 percent funded, etc. Partners are allocated for a best 

fit to the entire distribution.

SE-PIMS simulates contributions, premiums, and underfunding for these plans using the minimum funding 

and premium rules, and then extrapolates the results to the universe of single-employer plans.

SE-PIMS also uses each employer’s financial information as the starting point for assigning probabilities of 

bankruptcy.

Projections of claims against the insurance program are made stochastically. Claims are modeled by 

simulating the occurrence of bankruptcy for plan sponsors. The model reflects the relationship from 1980 to 

1998 between the probability of bankruptcy and variables representing financial health, such as equity-to-debt 

ratio, cash flow, firm equity, and employment.

25 For each period, the model assigns random changes in each 

25 The FY 2017 independent PIMS peer review, required by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 112-141), 

titled “Bankruptcy and Mass Withdrawal Modeling in PIMS”, dated October 1, 2019, collected updated bankruptcy data through 

2017 which verified the appropriateness of the model assumptions. 
PEN SION B EN EF IT G U A RA NT Y C ORPO RA T ION 38 F Y 2 0 1 9 | PROJ EC T ION S REPO RT

of these variables for each firm, which are correlated with changes in the economy. The simulated financial 

health variables determine the probability of bankruptcy for that year.

SE-PIMS models contributions from plan sponsors based on meeting minimum funding requirements, 

avoiding variable rate premiums, maintaining or regaining prior funding levels (based on liability 

measurements used in corporate financial accounting), and incentives to attain a funding threshold that 

eliminates restrictions on the form of benefit payments. When sponsors are simulated to experience 

bankruptcy, the model retroactively overrides modeled contributions for the three years prior to bankruptcy 

to assume zero contributions for those years. The model runs 500 economic paths (varying interest rates and 

equity returns) with each plan’s sponsor being “cycled” through each economic path 10 times (with varying 

financial health experiences, bankruptcy probabilities, etc.) for a total of 5,000 different simulations.

SE-PIMS then extrapolates the results of these simulations to the universe of insured single-employer plans.

SE-PIMS — Assumptions

26

The following variables are stochastically projected:

Sponsor Financial Health Variables. Equity-to-debt ratio, cash flow, firm equity, and employment.

Plan Demographics. Starting with plans’ population data from the Form 5500, the distribution of active 

participants for a plan varies throughout the forecast according to that plan’s actuarial assumptions regarding 

retirement, disability, and termination of employment. Age and service also vary over time due to hiring 

patterns that are determined separately in each simulated path of the projections. Unless the plan is frozen, 

PIMS assumes a stationary mean active participation level for the plan. The distribution of ages and benefits 

for retired and terminated vested participants are imputed from long-term projections of the starting active 

population and normalized to the actual counts furnished by the Schedules SB. All participants are assumed 

to be male and are assumed to elect straight life annuities.

Probability of Bankruptcy. Sponsors are subjected to an annual stochastic chance of bankruptcy. That 

probability of bankruptcy is based on the relationship between bankruptcies and various measures of 

companies’ financial health. The bankruptcy risks generated for PIMS are compared to market indices, and 

the largest outliers have their modeled risk recalibrated to equal the mean of the market estimate of 

bankruptcy risk for their class of bonds. Bankruptcy probability formulas generally do not vary by industry.

27

In bankruptcy, plans with modest levels of underfunding are less likely than severely underfunded plans to 

result in claims on PBGC. Thus, for modeling purposes, a plan presents a loss to participants and/or the 

pension insurance program if its sponsor is simulated to experience bankruptcy and the plan is less than 80 

percent funded for termination liability. If the sponsor of a plan is simulated to experience bankruptcy and 

the plan is more than 80 percent funded for termination liability, the plan is assumed to be terminated 

through the standard termination process.

26 For additional information on SE-PIMS and the assumptions used in running the model, see 

https://www.pbgc.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/docs/PIMS-Overview-2011.pdf.

27 SE-PIMS makes an exception for the financial and utilities industries, where relatively high degrees of leverage are considered not to 

signal a risk of bankruptcy. SE-PIMS also increases the bankruptcy probabilities of a few large companies whose model probabilities 

greatly underestimate the risk of bankruptcy as measured by their bond ratings.
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The following non-stochastic assumptions are also used in SE-PIMS projections:

Mortality.

28 For sample plans’ year-by-year mortality experience during the projection period: the blended 

RP-2014 annuitant and non-annuitant mortality table times 1.09, projected with MP-2018 (using just the 

ultimate improvement rates for all years after 2019) to the specified projection year on a static basis. 

For the present value of PBGC benefit payments: the blended RP-2014 Healthy male mortality table times 

1.09, projected for the approximate duration of PBGC’s estimated future liability using the MP-2018 scale. 

For purposes of determining minimum funding requirements, the blended IRS table for 2020 is used, 

projected on a static basis each year beyond 2020 using scale MP-2018. For calibrating to the most recently 

available Schedule SB target liability, which was 2017 for most plans in the sample, the RP2000-based blended 

IRS table was used. The blended IRS table for 2019 was approximated by starting with the blended IRS table 

for 2020 table and backing out the ultimate MP-2018 improvement scale for one year. 

It is assumed that collectively bargained plans have received approval from IRS to use a substitute mortality 

table with mortality rates 9 percent higher than the standard table.

All adjustments to mortality tables above are based on a study of PBGC-insured participants and used in 

PBGC’s financial statements.

Contributions and Credit Balances. The assumption on how sponsors of single-employer plans make 

contributions has been changed effective with the FY 2019 report. 

Contributions are assumed to be driven by incentives such as complying with minimum contribution 

requirements, reducing the variable rate premium (VRP), and maintaining funded status at certain levels, 

potentially based on accounting, termination, or other liability measures. The primary funded ratio measure 

driving contribution behavior is assumed to be based on the vested benefit liability (VBL) used to determine

the VRP. The PPA minimum required contribution is assumed to be a floor for any specific contribution 

behavior. For plan sponsors that experience bankruptcy in the projections, contributions for the three years 

prior to bankruptcy are reduced to zero.

Plans that have already eliminated the VRP by funding to or beyond 100 percent of the VBL are assumed to 

be motivated by different factors than plans that have not funded to that level. The VBL funded level 

changes throughout the projection period, thus the factors motivating contribution behavior and the 

parameters used to determine projected contribution amounts also change.

Plans funded above 100 percent of the VBL within the last three years are assumed to make the largest of the 

following contributions.

• A multiple of the normal cost determined under PPA assumptions – a multiple of 1.5 for plans 

below 105 percent VBL funded grading down to a multiple of 1.0 for plans above 130 percent VBL 

funded; 

28 PBGC uses a mortality table based on the actual experience of trusteed plan populations with generational projections to determine 

the pension benefit liability in the Annual Report, but the generational projections are not used for the 10-year projections in the 

Projections Report.
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• The amount needed to eliminate a portion of the VBL deficit relative to the highest VBL funded 

ratio in the last three years – 30 percent of the deficit for plans below 110 percent VBL funded, 20 

percent for plans above 115 percent VBL funded, otherwise 25 percent; or

• For plans that fall below 100 percent VBL funded, the amount needed to fully fund the VBL over 1-

4 years for plans above 80 percent VBL funded, or over 7-10 years for plans below 80 percent VBL 

funded.

Sponsors of plans that have not been funded above 100 percent of the VBL in any of the past three years are 

assumed to make contributions that reflect a combination of possible contribution behaviors based on the 

plan’s Adjusted Funding Target Attainment Percentage (AFTAP) or VBL funded ratio, as shown in the tables 

below. The combination of contribution behaviors represents that plan sponsors in the same circumstances 

may use different contribution approaches.

• Sponsors of plans that have an AFTAP below 80 percent make contributions based on the following

combinations of possible contribution behaviors: 

AFTAP

Contribution Behavior 

Percent of Plan Sponsors Assumed to Use Behavior

Increase AFTAP to 80%

Minimum Required Contribution 

(MRC) only, using 90% of available 

credit balance

0% - 70% 0% 100%

70% - 75% 50% 50%

75% - 80% 100% 0%

• All other sponsors of plans make contributions based on the following combinations of possible 

contribution behaviors:

The VRP factor is based on the “effective” VRP rate, i.e. the VRP rate adjusted for the impact of 

the VRP cap. The VRP factor is equal to 50 percent if the effective VRP rate is $30 per $1,000 

unfunded VBL, and is adjusted upwards for higher VRP rates, with all plans assumed to 

immediately fully fund the VBL if the VRP rate ever reached $100. The VRP factor is adjusted 

downwards for VRP rates lower than $30 with no plans funding toward the VBL at a VRP rate of 

$0.

Contribution Amount Contribution Behavior

Sum of the two contribution 

behaviors times the VRP factor

Fully fund VBL over 1-4 years for plans above 

80% VBL funded, over 7-10 years for plans 

below 80% VBL funded

Eliminate 30% of the deficit relative to highest 

VBL funded ratio in last 3 years

Plus: the following behavior times 

(100% minus the VRP factor) MRC, using 90% of available credit balance
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Actual 2017 and 2018 contributions and the associated minimum required contributions are used to update 

the information from the 2017 Form 5500 filings where available as of the data compilation date.

Form of Payment. Except for certain cash balance plans, SE-PIMS assumes all benefits will be paid as 

annuities. It is assumed that cash balance plans will pay participants the full accrued benefit (i.e., the account 

balance) as a lump sum upon termination or retirement unless benefit restrictions apply (see below).

Benefit Improvements. For flat-dollar plans, benefit multipliers are assumed to increase annually by the rate 

of inflation and productivity growth. For salary-related plans, the benefit formula is assumed to remain 

constant, but annual salary increases are reflected based on the rate of inflation, productivity growth, and a 

factor representing merit and seniority. 

Benefit Restrictions. The statute provides that certain restrictions apply if the plan’s Adjusted Funding 

Target Attainment Percentage (AFTAP) is less than a specified percentage. Liabilities underlying the AFTAP 

calculation are determined using stabilized discount rates. Assets are the actuarial value of assets reduced by 

the credit balance. The benefit restriction provisions of Section 436 of the Internal Revenue Code are 

reflected as follows:

• Benefit Improvement Restriction. Because the benefit improvement restriction does not apply to 

benefit increases unless they exceed the average wage increase, the benefit improvement restriction 

is not applicable for SE-PIMS.

• Lump Sum Restriction. The lump sum benefit restriction is reflected to the extent a cash balance 

plan is projected to have an AFTAP below 80 percent.

• Benefit Accrual Restriction. Plans with funding percentages below 60 percent are assumed to freeze 

benefits and to remain frozen even if the percentage increases above 60 percent in the future.

Credit Balance Waivers. Because assets underlying the AFTAP calculation are reduced by credit balances 

(see above), sponsors are permitted to “waive” credit balances to the extent needed to avoid benefit 

restrictions. SE-PIMS assumes that sponsors will choose to waive credit balances to the extent necessary to 

avoid freezing benefits when funding drops below the 60 percent threshold. In addition, because cash balance 

plans are assumed to pay the full accrued benefit as a lump sum, such plans are assumed to waive credit 

balances to achieve 80 percent funding, if possible.

PBGC Premiums. SE-PIMS models premiums based on current law, including the provisions regarding 

future indexing and provisions in the SECURE Act of 2019 for lower premium rates for CSEC plans. There 

is no allowance in premium projections for write-offs of uncollectable premiums. Premiums are assumed paid 

by the employer rather than from the plan assets.

PBGC Guarantee Limits. SE-PIMS models the level of benefits PBGC will pay in projected claims as the 

lesser of participants’ vested benefit levels and PBGC’s maximum guarantee level. Circumstances where 

benefits might be further limited, or where PBGC might be required to pay in excess of the maximum 

guarantee level are not modeled. 
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PBGC’s Assets. PBGC’s asset allocation as of September 30, 2019, is reflected as the starting point and

portfolio risk is assumed to be gradually reduced as PBGC’s funding status improves, in accordance with the

investment policy.

29

Discounting Future Claims. When SE-PIMS discounts future amounts, the discount factor is a singleinterest factor that approximates the yield curve that would be used for PBGC’s financial statements at the 

time of the projected calculation. Those factors are based on a survey of private-sector annuity market prices.

There is an assumed reversion to the relationship of market interest rate and annuity pricing factors observed 

prior to the 2008 financial crisis. 

Determining Discounted Future Present Values Shown in Report Tables. For results presented as 

present values in this report, the discount rate used to adjust nominal values is the simulated 30-year Treasury 

rate generated for the particular year and economic path.

29 https://www.pbgc.gov/sites/default/files/april-2019-ips-pbgc.pdf.
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SAMPLE STATISTICS FROM FY 2019 RUNS IN ME-PIMS AND SE-PIMS

The following tables show selected output statistics from runs of ME-PIMS and SE-PIMS for this report. 

Figure A-1

Arithmetic Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations of Key Financial Market Values

FY 2019 Single-Employer Model Runs* 

(across 2020-2029 for 500 economic paths)

Long-Term

Treasury Yield

Return on 30-year 

Treasury Bonds

Stock Market

Return

Mean 2.3%** 2.0% 7.9%

Standard Deviation 0.8% 6.9% 20.0%

Correlations:

Long-Term Treasury Yield 1.00 -0.32 -0.02

Return on 30-year Treasury 1.00 0.21

Stock Market Return 1.00

* ME-PIMS yields economic returns within 0.1 percent and correlations within 0.02 of the single-employer results. ME-PIMS

 forecasts over 50 years as opposed to 20 years for SE-PIMS and, consequently, is prone to more extreme stochastic paths over

 the longer span of the projection. 

** The discount rate used to value PBGC liabilities and claims is this rate minus 13 basis points for both insurance programs.

Figure A-2

Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations of Market Rates Derived from Projected Long-Term

Treasury Yields in FY 2019 Single-Employer and Multiemployer Model Runs

Long-Term

Corporate Rate Inflation Rate

Wage, Salary and Flat 

Benefit Growth Rate

Mean 3.4% 2.7% 4.2%

Standard Deviation 0.8% 0.8% 0.8%
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Figure A-3

Projected Plan Returns

FY 2019 Single-Employer and Multiemployer Model Runs

Arithmetic Mean 4.9%

Geometric Mean 4.4%

Standard Deviation 10.0%

Figure A-4

Projected Annual Bankruptcy Probabilities30

FY 2019 Single-Employer Model Runs

Arithmetic Mean 0.6%

Standard Deviation 1.9%

Figure A-5

Annual Rate of Plans’ Projected Insolvency

FY 2019 Multiemployer Model Runs

Assuming MPRA Election Rates

Arithmetic Mean 0.9%

Standard Deviation 0.2%

30 The bankruptcy probability modeling methods and results are described in Boyce, S. and Ippolito, R.A. (2002), The Cost of Pension 

Insurance. Journal of Risk and Insurance, 69: 121–170. doi: 10.1111/1539- 6975.00012.
PEN SION B EN EF IT G U A RA NT Y C ORPO RA T ION 45 F Y 2 0 1 9 | PROJ EC T ION S REPO RT

CHANGES FROM THE PRIOR YEAR

FY 2019 ME-PIMS includes the following changes from the FY 2018 Projections Report:

Model Improvements. The ME-PIMS model was improved from FY 2018 to (1) determine separate 

partition percentages for vested terminated and retirees and (2) more precisely estimate benefit payments for 

inactive participants.

Legislation Affecting the United Mine Workers Plan. The Bipartisan American Miners Act (P.L. 116-94) 

provided federal funding for the United Mine Workers Plan.

FY 2019 SE-PIMS includes the following changes from the FY 2018 Projections Report:

Mortality Table Used to Determine the Amount of Underfunding at Termination. The only mortality 

change was to update the scaling factor from MP-2017 to MP-2018.

Mortality Table Used to Determine Plan Experience. The only mortality change was to update the 

scaling factor from MP-2017 to the MP-2018.

Contribution Policy. The FY 2019 SE-PIMS model changed the approach to modeling single-employer plan 

contribution behavior. The prior version of SE-PIMS assumed that employers contributed the minimum 

required amount, but SE-PIMS then adjusted plan assets in a uniform way for all plan sponsors. The model 

now determines contributions based on the specific circumstances of a plan sponsor in each economic 

scenario. Plan sponsor contributions are assumed to be based primarily on three incentives: (1) meeting

minimum contribution requirements, (2) reducing PBGC’s variable rate premium, and (3) maintaining a 

certain funded level. More detail on the FY 2019 contribution policy can be found above in the 

Contributions/Credit Balances section of the Appendix.

Model Improvements. Changes made to the modeling system include improving data on valuation rates 

used to value liabilities for variable rate premium calculations and refinements to projections of plan 

participants’ retirement and mortality rates, and improvements to the modeling of amortizations of plans’

gains and losses.

CSEC Plans. The SECURE Act of 2019 set lower PBGC premium rates for cooperative and small-employer

charity plans (CSEC plans). This is built into FY 2019 SE-PIMS premium modeling.
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Both PIMS models include updated economic assumptions. The major assumptions are detailed below.

Figure A-6

Economic Assumption Changes for FY 2019

FY 2019 Single-Employer and Multiemployer Model Runs 

FY 2019 FY 2018

Long-Term Treasury Yield* 2.3% 3.3%

Return on 30-year Treasury Bonds* 2.0% 3.2%

Stock Market Return (Arithmetic)* 7.9% 9.0%

Long-Term Corporate Rate 3.4% 4.4%

Inflation Rate 2.7% 2.8%

Wage, Salary and Flat Benefit Growth Rate 4.2% 4.4%

Projected Plan Returns 4.9% 5.9%

Annual Bankruptcy Probability for SE Plans 0.6% 0.5%

Annual Rate of Plans’ Projected Insolvency for ME Plans** 0.9% 0.9%

* ME-PIMS yields economic returns within 0.1 percent of the Single-Employer Model. ME-PIMS forecasts over 50 years as

 opposed to 20 years for SE-PIMS and, consequently, is prone to more extreme stochastic paths over the longer span of the

 projection. The discount rate used to value PBGC liabilities and claims is this rate minus 13 basis points for both years for 

 both insurance programs.

** Assumption appears the same due to rounding.