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

I hope that last week was great for you. I didn’t recognize anyone from the PBGC at the IFEBP in Honolulu last week, but I suspect that there must have been a few attendees. Why? Well, for the first time that I can recall since I began producing these weekly updates, there is nothing to report in terms of the PBGC’s implementation of the ARPA pension legislation. NOTHING!

Now, I’m sure that a lot is going on behind the scenes, especially given the announcement that Janet Dhillon has been confirmed as the 17th Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, but in the weekly update produced as of Friday, November 14th, there were no applications submitted, as the PBGC’s e-Filing portal remains temporarily closed. No pension plans received approval for SFA nor were any denied. There were no withdrawals of previously submitted applications. Lastly, there were no multiemployer plans asking to be added to the growing waitlist.

As we get closer to the legislation’s deadline for new applications to be submitted, we are down to about 6-7 weeks until December 31, 2025. Having a week in which nothing concrete was reported reduces the odds that most of those plans yet to file will actually be given that opportunity.

The graph above reflects the activity through November 7th. Despite the lack of activity last week, the PBGC deserves high praise for their handling of this critical legislation that has helped som many American workers and pensioners. Lastly, at the IFEBP was asked to touch on ARPA/SFA and how best to incorporate ALM strategies to mitigate risk. I’ve had the privilege to speak on this topic numerous times. In summation, the allocation of Special Financial Assistance (SFA) to multiemployer plans is truly of gift. That allocation is not likely to ever be repeated. As such, plans should take every precaution to ensure the maximum coverage of benefits (and expenses) while minimizing the risk through their investments. Call on us (ryanalm.com) if we can help you think through the use of Cash Flow Matching to SECURE those promises.