The PBGC is considering expanding its search for missing participant benefits to defined contribution plans.
In a request for information Tuesday, agency officials asked for public input on problems experienced by participants in terminated DC plans, and whether a searchable database would be worthwhile.
“We wanted to know the scope of the problem,” said Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. spokesman Marc Hopkins in an interview.
According to the most recent Department of Labor figures, there were 650,000 defined contribution plans and 29,000 defined contribution plan terminations in 2010.
The current PBGC database for terminated defined benefit plans, which includes an interactive tool for searching by name or company location, has more than $300 million in unclaimed pensions ranging from 12 cents to nearly $1 million.
