U.S. Department of Labor
Julie A. Su, Acting Secretary of Labor, and Chair, PBGC Board of Directors
Lisa M. Gomez, Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Ali Khawar, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, EBSA
John Warner, Special Assistant, EBSA
Nicole Swift, Division Chief, EBSA
Sonja Hoover, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Labor, Office of the Secretary
Janelle Leung-Tat, Employee Benefits Law Specialist, EBSA
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury
Eric Van Nostrand, Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy
Annelise Britten, Special Advisor, Economic Policy
W. Moses Kim, Director, Office of Financial Institutions Policy
Carol Weiser, Benefits Tax Counsel
Jung Ho Hwang, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Financial Institutions Policy
U.S. Department of Commerce
Vipin Arora, Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Sam Marullo, Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary
Julia Beckhusen, Senior Economist, U.S. Census Bureau
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Gordon Hartogensis, Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Karen L. Morris, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board
Kristin Chapman, Chief of Staff
Ann Orr, Chief Policy Officer
John Hanley, Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring
Robert Scherer, Chief Information Officer
David Foley, Chief of Benefits Administration
Alice Maroni, Chief Management Officer
John Greenberg, Chief Investment Officer
Michael Rae, Deputy Chief Policy Officer
PBGC Office of Inspector General
Brooke Holmes, Deputy Inspector General
John Seger, Assistant Inspector General for Audit
PBGC Office of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Constance Donovan, Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Camille Castro, Senior Associate Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
Emily Spreiser, Associate Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate
PBGC Advisory Committee Members
Jeanmarie Grisi, Chair
Kweku Obed
Joe LoCicero
Mike Jacobson
PBGC Advisory Committee Consultants
Preston Crabill
Lynn Franzoi
Guy Pinkman
The Chair called the virtual meeting to order and welcomed the attendees. The Chair recognized PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis.
Director Hartogensis thanked the Board and staff. The Director provided an update on the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program, noting the agency’s approval of over $53 billion in SFA payments to multiemployer plans covering over 763,000 workers and retirees, and current review of 23 initial and revised SFA applications. He provided an update on PBGC’s investment performance, noting the effective hedging of assets and liabilities.
The Chair thanked the Director and asked about feedback on the PBGC FY2022 projections report. The Director reported that feedback was positive as it demonstrates the strong position of PBGC’s insurance programs. The Chair asked about the status of opening the SFA application portal. The Director reported that PBGC expects to open the portal later in the year. The Chair recognized Secretary Yellen who noted the value of PBGC’s investment strategy. Director Arora thanked the Director for his update. The Chair requested future updates on the Smaller Asset Manager Program.
The Director introduced the PBGC Advisory Committee chair, Jean Grisi, who described her professional background. The remaining Advisory Committee members—Mike Jacobson, Joe LoCicero, and Kweku Obed, as well as the Advisory Committee consultants—Preston Crabill, Lynn Franzoi, and Guy Pinkman—provided introductions. The Chair thanked the Committee for its service.
John Greenberg, the PBGC Chief Investment Officer (CIO) reported on the PBGC’s Investment Policy Statement (IPS), which must be reviewed by the Board at least every two years and approved by the Board at least every four years. While no major changes were recommended, the CIO highlighted collaboration with the PBGC Advisory Committee and the Board Representatives to recommend minor changes to the IPS. The Chair and the CIO discussed the investment glide path and the conditions for its end state having been met. Secretary Yellen expressed support for the proposed changes to the IPS, thanking those who reviewed and updated it to make measured changes aligned with federal investment policies. Director Arora concurred with Secretary Yellen and thanked the CIO and the Advisory Committee for their work.
The Chair requested a motion to approve the IPS. Secretary Yellen so moved, Director Arora seconded, and the motion was approved by voice vote.
The Chair recognized PBGC Deputy Inspector General Brook Holmes. The Deputy Inspector General (Dep IG) introduced John Seger, the PBGC Assistant Inspector General for Audit. The Dep IG described her office’s June 2023 White Paper on deceased participants in plan census data, as a follow up to a 2018 publication on the same topic. The 2023 report concludes by encouraging PBGC to use the Social Security Administrations Full Death Master File.
Next, the Dep IG highlighted the results of the FY2023 Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) review, finding that PBGC operated at an effective level of cybersecurity for the third year in a row. The Dep IG concluded by mentioning a new evaluation of PBGC’s contract types.
The Chair thanked the Dep IG and discussed improvement of PBGC’s FISMA score with the Dep IG, who noted that PBGC’s score improves year over year. The Board thanked the Dep IG for the update.
As there were no further questions, the Chair and the Board Members thanked Director Hartogensis and adjourned the meeting.
AGENDA
MEETING OF THE BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION (PBGC)
August 28, 2023
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
- Introduction by Acting Secretary Su
- Director’s Report
- PBGC Advisory Committee Introductions
- Investment Policy Statement Briefing and Approval
- OIG Update