The PBGC reported a record deficit of $35.7 billion as of Sept. 30 in its annual report released Friday.
The 4% increase from the deficit of $34.4 billion the year before is primarily because of the declining financial condition of multiemployer plans, said Joshua Gotbaum, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in a conference call on Friday.
The deficit for multiemployer plans increased to $8.3 billion from $5.3 billion the year before, according to the annual report. At the end of fiscal year 2011, the multiemployer deficit was $2.8 billion.
Mr. Gotbaum said in the conference call that without changes, the PBGC's multiemployer program will run out of money in the next 10 to 15 years.
“That is something on which the Congress is clearly trying to work, on a bipartisan basis, that involves both business and labor to preserve those plans,” said Mr. Gotbaum.
“Within the next 10 years, more and more plans are going to run out of money. That is a big deal,” he added.
There was better news from single-employer plans. The deficit for those plans declined in the fiscal year, to $27.4 billion from $29.1 billion.
The PBGC's potential exposure to future pension terminations by financially weak companies also declined slightly, to $292 billion from $295 billion.
The fiscal year 2013 annual report is available from the PBGC's website.
