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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Pension Insurance


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 more than 26,000 pension plans.

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 more than 26,000 pension plans.


In order to qualify for single-employer pension plans, you must participate in a covered single-employer pension plan. Beneficiaries of employees covered in single-employer pension plans may be eligible for benefit payments.

Multiemployer pension plans are set up pursuant to collective bargaining agreements involving more than one unrelated employer, generally in one industry.

To find out if your single employer or multi-employer pension plan is insured, please visit the Insured Pensions Search.


For more information about the pension insurance program, please visit the New to PBGC page.

You may also call PBGC's Contact Center, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday - Friday:
1-800-400-7242 (toll free) or 202-326-4000

You can also find an unclaimed pension by using the Unclaimed Pension Search.