Ann Orr has been named acting director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
President Joe Biden designated Orr to the post on May 3 following the departure of Gordon Hartogensis, whose five-year term ended April 30.
No stranger to the PBGC, Orr since June 2021 has served as the agency’s chief policy officer overseeing the coordination of policy development, research and legislative affairs, as well as agency communications and interactions with PBGC stakeholders, according to a news release.
She also served as chief of staff at the PBGC from 2011 to 2019, where she helped manage top agency priorities and provided strategic advice to the director and agency officials. In that role, she worked as liaison to the PBGC’s board of directors, White House officials and Congress, the news release said.
As acting director, Orr will oversee the continued implementation of the Special Financial Assistance Program, a massive aid program for struggling multiemployer pension plans. To date, the PBGC has approved $53.9 billion in SFA funds to troubled multiemployer plans that cover 786,157 workers, retirees and beneficiaries.
With Orr’s move, the PBGC’s deputy chief policy officer, Michael Rae, will be performing the duties of chief policy officer, according to the agency.
Biden can nominate a new director who will have to go through the Senate confirmation process.
