Pension Plans:
Hidden Liabilities Increase Claims Against Government Insurance Program
HRD-93-7: Published: Dec 30, 1992. Publicly Released: Dec 30, 1992.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC) pension plans and its vulnerability to unfunded liabilities, focusing on: (1) factors which cause hidden liabilities; (2) the impact on recent claims against the pension insurance program; and (3) PBGC ability to control these factors.
GAO found that: (1) PBGC exposure to private pension unfunded liability claims totalled $2.7 billion, which included $990 million in hidden liabilities; (2) when pension plans terminated with insufficient assets, PBGC frequently absorbed unfunded liabilities which were considerably greater than the plan reported; (3) 81 percent of the hidden liabilities increased because of pension plan liabilities and decreases in pension plan assets; (4) differing actuarial assumptions including interest rates, mortality rates, and retirement age accounted for 31 percent of discrepancies between the reported plan liabilities and PBGC calculations; (5) reasons for reductions in pension plan assets included lump sum payments, annuity purchases, unpaid contributions, market losses, inappropriate asset use, and asset overvaluation; (6) 25 percent of PBGC liability resulted from company pension plan shutdown benefits; (7) PBGC has few tools to control its exposure to unfunded liabilities, since PBGC guarantees worker pensions without regard to the amount of unfunded liability; (8) PBGC inability to restrict claims has created an institutional moral hazard for plan sponsors by giving them incentives to shift their liabilities onto PBGC; and (9) tools which could assist in controlling hidden liabilities could impose additional costs on plan participants, plan sponsors, and the government.
Jun 4, 2018
Central States Pension Fund:
Department of Labor Activities under the Consent Decree and Federal LawGAO-18-105: Published: Jun 4, 2018. Publicly Released: Jun 4, 2018.-
Central States Pension Fund:
Investment Policy Decisions and Challenges Facing the PlanGAO-18-106: Published: Jun 4, 2018. Publicly Released: Jun 4, 2018.
May 22, 2018
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Retirement Plan Investing:
Clearer Information on Consideration of Environmental Social and Governance Factors Would Be HelpfulGAO-18-398: Published: May 22, 2018. Publicly Released: May 22, 2018.
May 21, 2018
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Railroad Retirement Board:
Additional Controls and Oversight of Financial Interchange Transfers NeededGAO-18-323: Published: Apr 19, 2018. Publicly Released: May 21, 2018.
May 17, 2018
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Social Security Administration:
Observations on Use and Costs of Social Security CardsGAO-18-507T: Published: May 17, 2018. Publicly Released: May 17, 2018.
Mar 7, 2018
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Social Security Administration:
Continuing Leadership Focus Needed to Modernize How SSA Does BusinessGAO-18-432T: Published: Mar 7, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 7, 2018.
Mar 5, 2018
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Workplace Retirement Accounts:
Better Guidance and Information Could Help Plan Participants at Home and Abroad Manage Their Retirement SavingsGAO-18-19: Published: Jan 31, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 5, 2018.
Feb 21, 2018
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Railroad Retirement Board:
Actions Needed to Improve the Effectiveness and Oversight of Continuing Disability ReviewsGAO-18-287: Published: Feb 21, 2018. Publicly Released: Feb 21, 2018.
Jan 8, 2018
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Social Security Disability:
Additional Measures and Evaluation Needed to Enhance Accuracy and Consistency of Hearings DecisionsGAO-18-37: Published: Dec 7, 2017. Publicly Released: Jan 8, 2018.
Oct 18, 2017
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The Nation's Retirement System:
A Comprehensive Re-evaluation Is Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement SecurityGAO-18-111SP: Published: Oct 18, 2017. Publicly Released: Oct 18, 2017.
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