PBGC Pension Insurance: We've Got You Covered
Congress set up PBGC to insure the defined-benefit pensions of working Americans. Defined-benefit pension plans are traditional pensions that pay a certain amount each month after you retire. If you have a pension from a private-sector job, you are probably one of the 40 million Americans covered by PBGC insurance protection. PBGC insures nearly 24,000 pension plans.
Finding Your Insured Pension Plan
PBGC insures two types of defined-benefit pension plans in two separate insurance programs.
Single-employer pension plans are pensions that employers set up only for people who work for their company. PBGC insures about 34 million people in single-employer pension plans.
Multiemployer pension plans cover workers of more than one employer, usually companies in the same industry, such as construction, trucking or coal mining. PBGC insures about 10 million people in multiemployer pension plans.
In addition to our single-employer and multiemployer insured pension plan search tools, we also offer lists of both in Excel format on our Open Government page.
What PBGC Does Not Insure
While we insure most private-sector pension plans, Congress has also defined exceptions that PBGC does not insure. For example, PBGC does not insure:
- federal, state, and local/municipal government pensions,
- military pensions,
- pensions associated with religious institutions (including hospitals and schools with religious affiliation),
- pensions for small professional practices (a doctor, lawyer, or other professional with fewer than 25 employees),
- 401(k) plans,
- IRAs,
- profit-sharing plans,
- health benefits,
- employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs),
- thrift savings plans, or
- money purchase plans.
Learn More
To learn more about PBGC and your pension insurance, check out these resources:
