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3 6 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

m FBI! 1200 K Street, N.W.. Washington, DC. 20005-4026 m 

Re: Appeal Republic Retirement Plan (the 

"Republic Plan" or the "Plan" - formerly known as 

the Pension Plan of Republic Steel Corporation for 

Eligible Salaried Employees) 

We reviewed your appeal of PBGC's December 19, 1997 

determination of your Plan benefit. As explained below, we found 

that you presented no reason for increasing your monthly PBGCguaranteed benefit, and therefore, must deny your appeal. 

PBGC's Determination and Your Appeal , 

PBGC'S determination letter said that you are entitled to a 

guaranteed monthly benefit of $1,383.73 payable as a Straight Life 

Annuity ("SLAV'), which provides a benefit for your lifetime and no 

survivor benefit, starting on June 1, 1988, your Actual Retirement 

Date ("ARD"). It noted that this benefit is larger than the 

$1,379.41 estimated benefit you were then receiving. On April 1, 

1998, PBGC changed your monthly benefit to $1,383.73, and paid you 

the accumulated difference of $509.76' ($4.32 times 118 months) plus 

$159.63 in interest. An accompanying Benefit Statement showed how 

PBGC calculated your benefit. 

In your January 31, 1998 appeal, you said that deducting 

$589.80 ("Social Security Benefit") from your Rep+lic Plan benefit 

is incorrect. You explained that you retired from British 

Petroleum ("BPn) on June 1, 1988, and that they are also deducting 

social security from your "Kitt/Sohio/BPn benefit. You said that 

you believe deducting social security from both plans is a "double 

dip. " 

Discussion 

Enclosure 1 contains pertinent provisions of the 1980 Plan, 

the Plan in effect when Republic Steel Corporation ("Republic") 

transferred its stock in Kitt Energy Corporation ("KECn) to The 

Standard Oil Company of Ohio. ("Sohio") on June 1, 1982. Before 

June 1, 1982, KEC was a subsidiary of Republic, and your service 
with KEC allowed you to participate in the Plan. Enclosure')! is 

a copy of an addendum to the 1983 Republic Plan ,describing the 

terms of the Stock Transfer Agreement ("STA"), under which your 

service with.KEC and compensation paid by KEC after May 31, 1982 

could no longer be-considered in calculating your Republic Plan 

benefit. 

You have questioned .the portion of PBGC's benefit calculations 

that involve a reduction in your Republic Plan benefit for certain 

benefits payable under the Social Security Act. Under Republic 

Plan section 3.7(b) (2) on page 4 of Enclosure 1, your 30-year 

retirement benefit amount under the Plan's "1.5% Pension" must be 

reduced by 50% of your Plan-defined old-age Social Security benefit 

("SSBu) amount. The last paragraph of Plan section 3.7 (b) says 

that your SSB payable at age 65 must be calculated based on the 

Social Security Act in effect when your employment with KEC ended 

in 1982, and on the assumption that you would not have any earnings 

after May 31, 1982. 

PBGC's records show that PBGC accepted Republic's calculation . 

of your SSB amount. After recalculating your SSB based on the 

Republic Plan's definition cited above, we found that Republic 

calculated your Plan-defined SSB offset amount correctly. 

Please note that PBGC is not authorized under the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to pay benefits that are 

larger than those provided under the terms of a plan that 

terminates. Thus, because the Plan provisions require the 

reduction by the Plan-defined SSB offset amount, PBGC must apply 

the offset in determining your PBGC-payable'plan-defined benefit. 

You questioned the fact that the benefit calculations under 

other pension plans from which you are receiving benefits also 

include offsets for estimated Social Security benefits. Because 

PBGC is not the trustee of those other pension plans, the Appeals 

Board is unable to address your question. 

Decision 

Having applied the law, and Plan provisions to the issues you 

raised, we found that-you presented no basis for increasing your 

monthly PBGC-guaranteed benefit. 

This is PBGC1s final decision regarding the issues you raised 

in your appeal. You have exhausted your administrative remedies. 

and may, if you wish, ask a court to review this decision. 

If you have additional questions regarding your benefit, 
m please call PBGCSs Custofier Service Center at 1-800-400-7242. 

TD 

c Sincerely, 

Michel Louis 

Appeals Board Member 

Enclosures ' (2 )