On October 16, 2026, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued a notice on proposed changes to expand the information it collects from multiemployer defined benefit (DB) plans that received special financial assistance (SFA). If finalized, the changes would require these plans to submit additional information and documentation with their Annual Statement of Compliance (ASOC). Comments are due by December 15, 2026.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) established the PBGC-administered SFA program to provide one-time financial assistance to eligible financially distressed multiemployer DB plans. Plans that receive SFA must submit an ASOC each year through 2051 to demonstrate compliance with PBGC’s SFA restrictions and conditions, including required financial, actuarial, investment, and related supporting information. This article summarizes PBGC’s proposed changes to the ASOC filing instructions.
Additional investment-related information
PBGC is proposing changes to the information collected with the ASOC, under which plans would need to provide their latest “investment policy statement, investment guidelines, asset allocation policy, investment committee charter, or other written policy or governing document” used by trustees or investment or other fiduciary committees to “guide, monitor, or evaluate the investment of plan assets, including SFA assets.”
PBGC also proposes to require copies of meeting minutes at which investment policy or other investment-related service providers were discussed, along with any investment-related reports reviewed at those meetings or incorporated into the minutes. Plans may provide relevant portions of meeting minutes and may remove privileged content, personally identifiable information, and sections unrelated to investment policy, investment results, SFA compliance, or oversight of investment service providers, as long as the submission still clearly shows the meeting date, the fiduciary group involved, the materials considered, any actions taken, and any votes or decisions concerning plan investments. If no relevant meeting occurred during the plan year being reviewed, if no applicable minutes or materials are available, or if the plan does not have a written investment policy statement or similar written investment guidelines, the plan must include a statement saying so.
Missing participant procedures and plan misconduct disclosures
PBGC also proposes to require plans to submit information about missing participants and documentation describing the plan’s procedures for finding and contacting them. “Missing participants” refers to participants the plan is not able to locate, such as those with incorrect or incomplete contact or census information, as well as those whose mail or email cannot be delivered.
In addition, PBGC proposes updating the ASOC instructions for filers to indicate whether any criminal violations involving the plan have taken place.
Preparing for potential changes to SFA annual reporting
If finalized, PBGC’s proposal would expand annual SFA compliance reporting and require multiemployer plans that received SFA to include additional information when submitting their ASOC. Plan sponsors, trustees, and service providers may want to assess their current governance records, minute-taking practices, document retention procedures, and participant-location protocols now so they are better positioned to comply with these requirements if the changes are adopted.