By: Russ Kamp, CEO, Ryan ALM, Inc.

Good morning and welcome to another update related to the PBGC’s implementation of the ARPA pension legislation. I wish good luck to those of you in the Northeast corner of the U.S., as we are getting rocked by another massive snowstorm. Hard to believe that the Mets open their regular season at home in 31 days! Good luck!

Thankfully, the PBGC continues to churn through applications that included two approved applications in the past week – both funds are Priority Group 1 members. Participants in these funds have waited a long time for this day. As you may recall, Priority Group 1 members began submitting applications back in 2021. Bricklayers Union Local No. 1 Pension Fund of Virginia and U.T.W.A. – N.J. Union – Employer Pension Plan will collect $25.7 million for their combined 844 members.

In other ARPA news, two funds withdrew applications. These initial applications had been submitted to the PBGC back in October and were coming up on the 120-day deadline for acceptance. Because they were submitted prior to December 31, 2025, they will be permitted to submit a revised application until 12/31/26. Good luck!

The PBGC’s e-Filing portal remains temporarily closed. As such, there were no new applications submitted last week. Fortunately, there were no applications denied nor were any funds asked to repay a portion of the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) due to census errors. Finally, there were no new pension funds seeking to be added to an already crowded waitlist.

To date, the PBGC has awarded SFA to 157 pension funds totaling $75.3 billion in grants and covering the promised benefits for 1,877,277. Amazing!