Cite as: 508 U. S. 602 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
Congress ultimately agreed, see id., at 217, and passed the MPPAA, which was signed into law by the President on September 26, 1980. Under certain provisions of the MPPAA (which when enacted had an effective date of April 29, 1980, 29 U. S. C. § 1461(e)(2)(A) (1976 ed., Supp. V)), if an employer withdraws from a multiemployer plan, it incurs "withdrawal liability" in the form of "a fixed and certain debt to the pension plan." Gray, supra, at 725. An employer's withdrawal liability is its "proportionate share of the plan's 'un-funded vested benefits,' " that is, "the difference between the present value of vested benefits" (benefits that are currently being paid to retirees and that will be paid in the future to covered employees who have already completed some specified period of service, 29 U. S. C. § 1053) "and the current value of the plan's assets. 29 U. S. C. §§ 1381, 1391." Gray, supra, at 725.2
B
The MPPAA provides the procedure for calculating and assessing withdrawal liability. The plan's actuary, who is subject to regulatory and professional standards, 29 U. S. C. §§ 1241, 1242; 26 U. S. C. § 7701(a)(35), must determine the present value of the plan's liability for vested benefits.3 In
the absence of regulations promulgated by the PBGC, the actuary must employ "actuarial assumptions and methods which, in the aggregate, are reasonable (taking into account the experience of the plan and reasonable expectations) and which, in combination, offer the actuary's best estimate of anticipated experience under the plan." 29 U. S. C.
2 In various places the statute uses the terms "participant" and "beneficiary," and these terms are defined at 29 U. S. C. §§ 1002(7), 1002(8). For simplicity, we will use the term "covered employee" to refer depending on context both to those earning service credits and to those entitled to benefits.
3 Even if no employer withdraws, ERISA requires an assessment of the plan's liability at least annually. See 29 U. S. C. § 1082(c)(9) (1988 ed., Supp. III).
609
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