PBGC Updates 2026 Premium Filing Instructions

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) posted the revised Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions for 2026 plan years. The filing requirements for 2026 are almost identical to the filing requirements for 2025, with a few changes.

Changes include:

• Elimination of paper check payment option. Premium payments for plan year beginning in 2026 must be made electronically either via pay.gov or through an electronic funds transfer (i.e., ACH or Fedwire).
• The early due date provisions that were applicable for plan years beginning in 2025 no longer apply, so in general, the due date rules are the same as they were for 2024. 
• Single-employer plan premium rates other than Cooperative and Small Employer Charity (CSEC) plans:
  The flat-rate premium is $111 per-participant, up from $106.
  The cap on the Variable-rate premium is $751 per person, up from $717.
  The variable-rate premium is no longer indexed and thus remains at $52 per $1,000 of unfunded vested
  benefits.
• Multiemployer plan premium rates: The flat-rate premium is $40 per-participant, up from $39. Multiemployer plans do not pay variable-rate premiums.