PBGC Announces Relief Window for Delinquent Plans with Unpaid Premiums

On February 9, 2012, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (?Ç£PBGC?Ç¥) announced a limited voluntary compliance window for covered defined benefit plans that have never paid required premiums to pay past due premiums without penalty. PBGC will waive premium payment penalties as well as information penalties for failure to timely file premium information. The relief, however, does not apply to late payment interest charges. To obtain relief, the plan administrator must (i) contact PBGC by July 31, 2012 and (ii) pay all past-due premiums and file required premium information by August 31, 2012. PBGC has indicated that after the end of this voluntary compliance period, it intends to step up its enforcement efforts. For any covered plan that has never paid PBGC premiums, the penalties can be quite substantial. A copy of PBGC?ÇÖs policy statement can be found here.