Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (United States)
Agency overview
Formed	September 2, 1974
Headquarters	1200 K Street, NW Washington, D.C. 38°54′8″N 77°1′43″W / 38.90222°N 77.02861°W / 38.90222; -77.02861
Employees	800 (2010)
Annual budget	$445 million (2009)
Agency executives	Joshua Gotbaum, Director Vince Snowbarger, Deputy Director
Website
www.pbgc.gov

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is an independent agency of the United States government that was created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits, and keep pension insurance premiums at the lowest level necessary to carry out its operations. Subject to other statutory limitations, the PBGC insurance program pays pension benefits up to the maximum guaranteed benefit set by law to participants who retire at age 65 ($54,000 a year as of 2011). The benefits payable to insured retirees who start their benefits at ages other than 65, or who elect survivor coverage, are adjusted to be equivalent in value.

During fiscal year 2010, the PBGC paid $5.6 billion in benefits to participants of failed pension plans. That year, 147 pension plans failed, and the PBGC's deficit increased 4.5 percent to $23 billion. The PBGC has a total of $102.5 billion in obligations and $79.5 billion in assets.[3]

Revenues and expenditures
The PBGC is not funded by general tax revenues. Its funds come from four sources:
• Insurance premiums paid by sponsors of defined benefit pension plans;
• Assets held by the pension plans it takes over;
• Recoveries of unfunded pension liabilities from plan sponsors' bankruptcy estates; and
• Investment income.

PBGC pays monthly retirement benefits to approximately 631,000 retirees of 3,800 terminated defined benefit pension plans. Including those who have not yet retired and participants in multiemployer plans receiving financial assistance, the PBGC is responsible for the current and future pensions of about 1.3 million people.

The PBGC regularly updates its investment strategy. In 2004, it chose to invest heavily in bonds. Under new leadership, the agency in 2008 shifted a substantial portion of its assets into stocks. Because of the market decline, PBGC's equity investments lost 23% during the year ending September 30, 2008.