PBGC Adjusts 2024 Civil Penalties for Failure to Provide Information

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued a final rule to adjust the penalties for failure to provide certain notices, including multiemployer plan notices, for annual inflation as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The rule adjusts the maximum civil penalties provided for in sections 4071 and 4302 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).​

The new maximum amounts are:

• $2,670 per day for section 4071 penalties for failure to provide certain notices or other material information (up from $2,586 per day in 2023).
• $356 per day for section 4302 penalties for failure to provide certain multiemployer plan notices (up from $345 per day in 2023).

Although the maximum penalty is increasing, it is uncommon for PBGC to assess this amount. The agency's goal is to encourage compliance. In most cases, when PBGC assesses an information penalty, it is for an amount significantly less than the maximum permitted.

The amounts were issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in memorandum M-24-07 released on December 19, 2023.

The adjusted amounts are effective January 12, 2024.