Federal agency that insures pensions has record deficit

WASHINGTON â€”  In an ominous setback, the government agency that insures the pensions of 44 million Americans has amassed a record $33.5-billion deficit -- triple what it was just six months ago.

The bleak financial snapshot, in a report obtained by the Associated Press, raises new fears that a federal bailout eventually will be needed for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The beleaguered agency is being saddled with the underfunded pension plans of companies going bankrupt in the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.

A rare midyear financial update requested by Congress shows the $11.1-billion deficit the agency posted at the end of its fiscal year on Sept. 30 has swelled by $22.5 billion, to its highest level in the agency’s 35-year history.

But the agency’s acting director says that the more than 640,000 people who currently receive PBGC checks need not worry about the deficit.

“We have plenty of money to make those monthly payments promised to them for the near future,� Vince Snowbarger said Tuesday. “We’re comfortable that for the time being we’ve got a way to make sure those payments are going to be there.

“Long term there is going to have to be some resolution of that deficit. I think at some point in time it’s going to require congressional attention.�

The agency does not insure 401(k) plans, but its fate is important not only to the workers covered by more than 29,000 employer-sponsored benefit pension plans but to all taxpayers, who could be asked to foot the bill on a bailout if the agency becomes insolvent.

Its balance sheet has taken heavy hits in recent years. Nine of the 10 largest pension plan terminations in its history, including United Airlines, Bethlehem Steel and Kaiser Aluminum, have occurred since 2001.

On Tuesday, the PBGC announced that it has assumed responsibility for two pension plans covering about 4,300 workers and retirees of Lenox Group Inc., a bankrupt maker of tableware, giftware and collectibles based in Eden Prairie, Minn.

The flurry of pension plans that have either been terminated or probably will end up being taken over by the PBGC is the largest reason for the agency’s rising deficit. Declining interest rates was listed as the second-largest reason for the shortfall. Investment losses from the stock market were the third contributing factor.

The agency is closely monitoring the auto, retail, financial services and healthcare industries, all in financial distress. The PBGC estimates that pension underfunding in the auto sector alone is $77 billion.

“Participants in auto sector pension plans and the other stakeholders of the pension insurance program are at substantial risk of loss if these plans are terminated,� Snowbarger said.