NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 112

Note 15. Insurance and Guarantee Program Liabilities 

Insurance and Guarantee Program Liabilities as of September 30, 2019, and 2018 

(In billions of dollars) 2019 2018

Insurance and Guarantee Program Liabilities: 

Defined Benefit Pension Plans - Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ...... 181.1 158.0 

Federal Crop Insurance - Department of Agriculture ................................... 8.9 10.3 

National Flood Insurance Programs - Department of Homeland Security ..... 3.4 1.7 

Ginnie Mae's Mortgage-Backed Securities - Department of Housing and 

Urban Development ................................................................................ 1.0 - 

Other insurance and guarantee programs .................................................. 0.1 0.2 

 Total insurance and guarantee program liabilities .................................... 194.5 170.2 

The federal government incurs liabilities related to various insurance and guarantee programs as detailed in the table 

above. Note 18—Contingencies includes a discussion of contingencies and other risks related to significant insurance and 

guarantee programs. Insurance information, and related liability, concerning federal employee and veteran benefits is 

included in Note 12—Federal Employee and Veteran Benefits Payable. Social insurance and loan guarantees are not 

considered insurance under SFFAS No. 51, Insurance Programs. Loan guarantees are disclosed in Note 4—Loans 

Receivable and Loan Guarantee Liabilities, Net, and social insurance information is included primarily in the sustainability 

financial statements and in Note 22—Social Insurance. 

Insurance and guarantee program liabilities are recognized for known losses and contingent losses to the extent that the 

underlying contingency is deemed probable and a loss amount is reasonably measurable. Please see Note 18—Contingencies 

for discussion on the meaning of “probable” depending on the accounting framework used by each significant consolidation 

entity. As discussed in Note 1.L—Insurance and Guarantee Program Liabilities, certain significant consolidation entities (i.e.,

PBGC and FDIC) apply FASB standards, and such entities, as permitted by SFFAS No. 47, Reporting Entity, are 

consolidated into the U.S. government’s consolidated financial statements without conversion to FASAB standards. PBGC 

administers the largest insurance and guarantee program liability, the Defined Benefit Pension Plans, and applies FASB 

standards. 

As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, $181.1 billion and $158.0 billion, respectively, pertain to pension plans in 

PBGC’s single-employer and multi-employer programs. PBGC insures pension benefits for participants in covered defined 

benefit pension plans. The total increase of $23.1 billion in PBGC’s liability for insured pension plans includes increases of 

$11.2 billion and $11.9 billion for single-employer and multi-employer plans, respectively. For both single-employer and 

multi-employer programs, the increases were primarily driven by changes in actuarial assumptions related to changes in 

interest factors. As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, PBGC had total liabilities of $187.4 billion and $163.7 billion, and its 

total liabilities exceeded its total assets by $56.5 billion and $51.4 billion, respectively. Refer to PBGC’s financial statements 

for more information and to Note 18—Contingencies for additional information regarding insurance contingencies and 

exposure. PBGC is currently assessing the effect of the legislation enacted subsequent to September 30, 2019 on its liabilities

and contingency disclosures. Please see Note 27—Subsequent Events for additional information. 

As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, $8.9 billion and $10.3 billion, respectively, pertain to USDA’s Federal Crop 

Insurance Program. The Federal Crop Insurance Program is administered by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, who 

provides insurance to reduce agricultural producers’ economic losses due to natural disasters. 

As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, $3.4 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively, pertain to the DHS NFIP. The NFIP 

insurance liability represents an estimate based on the loss and loss adjustment expense factors inherent to the NFIP 

Insurance Underwriting Operations, including trends in claim severity and frequency. The estimate is driven primarily by 

flooding activity in the U.S. and can vary significantly year over year depending on the timing and severity of flooding 

activity. 

As of September 30, 2019, $1.0 billion pertains to the HUD Ginnie Mae’s MBS program. Ginnie Mae’s MBS program 

is an exchange transaction insurance program other than life insurance under SFFAS No. 51. Ginnie Mae’s MBS program 
 113 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on securities backed by pools of mortgage loans insured by FHA, 

Public and Indian Housing, and Rural Housing Service, or guaranteed by the VA.