The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the “PPA”) is one of the most comprehensive pension reform legislations in the US.  The PPA addresses many diverse areas of pension benefits law, makes changes to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) rules governing the definition of pension plan assets, and adds new exemptions to ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is yet another pension benefit corporation which protects the pensions of “more than 44 million American workers and retirees in more than 29,000 private single-employer and multiemployer defined benefit pension plans.”  PBGC is a federal corporation created by the ERISA.  PBGC does not receive funds from general tax revenues and its expenses are met by “insurance premiums set by Congress and paid by sponsors of defined benefit plans, investment income, assets from pension plans trusteed by PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans.”