September 2011 

Information about PBGC Premium Filings 

This notice is for plan administrators and other practitioners who prepare premium filings and submit them to 

the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) via My Plan Administration Account (My PAA). 

2012 Premium Instructions 

The filing requirements for 2012 are almost identical to the filing requirements for 2011. PBGC expects to post 

the premium instructions on its website at www.pbgc.gov/premium-payment-instructions in December 2011. 

Here are two key items to note for 2012: 

PBGC will determine the inflation-adjusted per-participant flat premium rates in October and include them in 

the online premium instructions. 

The earliest filing due dates for calendar-year plans are as follows: 

o The estimated flat-rate filing is due 02/29/2012 for large plans (those with 500 or more participants for 

the prior plan year).

o The comprehensive filing is due 10/15/2012 for large plans and mid-size plans (those with 100 to 499 

participants for the prior plan year).

o The comprehensive filing is due 04/30/2013 for small plans (those with fewer than 100 participants for 

the prior plan year). 

Please read the premium filing instructions completely and carefully before preparing and submitting your 

premium filings. For example, in the past some filers: 

Used the wrong discount rates to calculate the premium funding target. 

Failed to report unfunded vested benefits (UVB) data, but did not report that an exemption applied. 

Calculated the variable-rate premium (VRP) using the alternative premium funding target, but did not make 

an election to do so in the current year’s filing and did not have an election in effect from a prior year’s filing.

Elected to use the alternative premium funding target, but calculated the VRP using the standard premium 

funding target. 

Did not reconcile a comprehensive filing in which the VRP reported in the original filing was an estimate. 

Reported an invalid UVB valuation date (e.g., a date that was not within the plan year). 

Premium E-Filing Reminders 

Keep your My PAA account active and updated. Log in at least once per year; and update your account when 

there are changes (e.g., name and e-mail address). For security, PBGC deactivates unused accounts. 

Please be patient - only click a button once and wait until the action is complete before clicking other buttons. 

Verify that the correct filing and payment information is reported (e.g., bank routing number). 

Verify that the filing is successfully submitted by reviewing PBGC’s confirmation of the date/time the filing 

was received (e.g., on the Plan Page) or reviewing the plan’s online Account History. Note that if you see the 

Filing Manager Page for a filing, the filing has not been submitted. 

Review the plan’s online Account History to confirm whether an election is in effect and to verify the 

premium status for the plan year (i.e., paid in full, overpaid, or underpaid). 

To help you e-file, review the online demos, FAQs, and other information on the My PAA Page of our Web 

site and consider signing up for What’s New auto e-mails (www.pbgc.gov). If you have any questions, call 1-

800-736-2444 and select the “premium” option or send an e-mail to premiums@pbgc.gov.