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

We hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Father’s Day. I’m blessed to still have my Dad with us (95 years young). In addition, I have two sons and two sons-in-law who are wonderful fathers. It was a terrific day!

Regarding ARPA and the PBGC’s implementation of that critical pension legislation, there was some activity during the previous week. However, the filing portal remains temporarily closed for those plans still seeking relief through the SFA grants. That said, there are still 17 applications that are currently being reviewed with 6 of those nearing the 120 deadline for action. Those six plans are seeking nearly $5.5 billion in SFA. As a result, the rest of June is going to be busy for the PBGC.

The Pension Plan for the Arizona Bricklayers’ Pension Trust Fund received approval for its application. They will receive $10.7 million to protect the pensions for the 666 members of the plan. This non-priority plan received approval on their initial application. In other news, there were no applications either denied or withdrawn. However, the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters National Pension Fund joined Central States as the only other plan to repay excess SFA as a result of a death audit. In this case, they are repaying just over $8 million.

Have a great week. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you like to learn more about cash flow matching and how it can be used to extend and protect the SFA grant assets so vital to ensuring that the pension promises are met for your participants.