August 2, 2023

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Projections Report. The new projections show that the Multiemployer Program is likely to remain solvent for more than 40 years, with a median projected insolvency after 2062, the end of the projection period. Prior to enactment of the American Rescue Plan’s SWACCA-supported Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program, the PBGC projected that its Multiemployer Program would become insolvent in 2026.

PBGC explains that the projected financial condition of the Multiemployer Program is modestly improved from last year’s report because plan asset losses in 2022 were more than offset by the significant increase in expected future plan asset returns due to the sharp rise in interest rates during 2022.

The new projections also include an updated estimate of the total amount of SFA to be paid under the program of $79.7 billion. The updated estimate incorporates data from plan applications and is lower than the PBGC’s previous estimate of $82.7 billion and lower than the Congressional Budget Office’s September 2022 estimate of $90.4 billion.

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