In a letter to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the American Benefits Council applauded the organization's efforts to modernize its enforcement policy for companies that cease their operations but said it was still concerned about the agency's philosophy and approach.

Under ERISA Section 4062(e), if an employer with a pension plan shuts down operations at a facility, and as a result of that shutdown, more than 20 percent of the employer's employees who are plan participants are separated from employment, the employer is required to provide the PBGC with short-term security in the form of a bond or escrow amount based on the plan's unfunded termination liability.

The PBGC's new enforcement policy under 4062(e) aims to target enforcement requirements to plans that are at the most risk and reduce requirements elsewhere by "using measures of financial soundness" such as credit rating.