By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc.

The portal for PBGC application review is open. According to the PBGC’s website, “the e-Filing portal is open only to plans at the top of the waiting list that have been notified by PBGC that they may submit their applications. Applications from any other plans will not be accepted at this time.” Before we discuss the waiting list and lock-in applications, there is still some activity related to the initial 6 Priority Groups. That said, there were no applications approved or rejected or SFA funds paid, but there was one plan, the Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan, a Priority Group 2 plan (MPRA Suspension) that pulled its initial application that had been filed with the PBGC on 12/22/22. That application was seeking $240.6 million in SFA for its 5,399 plan participants. As we’ve discussed recently, Priority Group candidates do not get to jump to the head of the waitlist line at this point.

With regard to the waitlist, four additional plans have requested to be added to the waitlist, while 74 plans have lock-in the valuation date joining 25 other plans that had previously lock-in the valuation date of December 31, 2022. I clearly don’t know the reasons why each and every plan is locking in a valuation date of December 31, 2022, but some of the plans must be thinking that US interest rates will be rising which reduces the potential SFA payment.

The PBGC is/has notified a subset of the waitlist candidates to have them file the SFA application. They have 7 days to get those applications into the PBGC or they forfeit their current place on the list. We should have some knowledge of how many of these plans have been given instructions to submit. Much more to come.