Notice2026-09334
No Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Abstract
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is notifying the public that its civil monetary penalty amounts will not increase for the 2026 calendar year. PBGC is generally required by statute to amend its regulations annually to adjust for inflation the maximum civil penalty for failure to provide certain notices or other material information and for failure to provide certain multiemployer plan notices. In accordance with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), PBGC will continue to use the 2025 civil monetary penalty levels because there will be no cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25936-25937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09334]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
No Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is notifying
the public that its civil monetary penalty amounts will not increase
for the 2026 calendar year. PBGC is generally required by statute to
amend its regulations annually to adjust for inflation the maximum
civil penalty for failure to provide certain notices or other material
information and for failure to provide certain multiemployer plan
notices. In accordance with guidance from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), PBGC will continue to use the 2025 civil monetary penalty
levels because there will be no cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Wilson
(<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3849a9f809c9ddd929d97819684c2b383919490dd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bbccd2d7c8d4d595dad5dfc9decc8afbcbd9dcd895dcd4cd">[email protected]</span></a>), Attorney, Legislative and Regulatory
Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101; 202-860-
8354. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, or have a speech disability,
please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary
This notice informs the public that there will not be an increase
to the maximum civil monetary penalties under 29 CFR part4071 and 29
CFR part4302 for failures to provide certain notices and information,
including reportable event filings, 4062(e) event and withdrawal
notices, premium filings, standard termination filings, annual
financial and actuarial information reports, and multiemployer plan
insolvency and mass-withdrawal filings.
Because there will be no cost-of-living multiplier for 2026, the
maximum civil penalties that PBGC may assess under sections4071 and
4302 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
will remain at $2,739 for section 4071 penalties and $365 for section
4302 penalties.
[[Page 25937]]
Background
PBGC administers title IV of ERISA. Title IV includes two different
provisions that authorize PBGC to assess civil monetary penalties.\1\
Section4071 authorizes PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 a
day for failure to notify PBGC of: the occurrence of certain reportable
events under 29 CFR part 4043 (OMB control nos. 1212-0013 and 1212-
0041); section 4062(e) events and substantial employer withdrawals (OMB
control no. 1212-0073); premium filings under 29 CFR part 4007 (OMB
control no. 1212-0009); standard terminations under 29 CFR part 4041
(OMB control no. 1212-0036); and annual financial and actuarial
information reporting under 29 CFR part 4010 (OMB control no. 1212-
0049). Section4302 authorizes PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to
$100 a day against multiemployer plans for failure to make required
filings under 29 CFR part 4245 (Duties of Plan Sponsor of an Insolvent
Plan, OMB control no. 1212-0033); and filings under 29 CFR part 4281
(Duties of Plan Sponsor Following Mass Withdrawal, OMB control no.
1212-0032).
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\1\ Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
of 1990, a penalty is a civil monetary penalty if (among other
things) it is for a specific monetary amount or has a maximum amount
specified by Federal law. Title IV also provides (in section 4007)
for penalties for late payment of premiums, but those penalties are
neither in a specified amount nor subject to a specified maximum
amount.
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No Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 2026
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements
Act of 2015,\2\ requires agencies to adjust civil monetary penalties
for inflation and to publish the adjustments in the Federal Register.
An initial adjustment was required to be made by the interim final rule
published by July 1, 2016, and effective by August 1, 2016. Subsequent
adjustments must be published by January 15 of each year after 2016.
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\2\ Sec. 701, Public Law 114-74, 129 Stat. 599-601 (Bipartisan
Budget Act of 2015).
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On April 17, 2026, OMB issued memorandum M-26-11 informing agencies
of the cancelation of the inflation adjustment for 2026.\3\
Accordingly, PBGC will continue to apply the 2025 civil monetary
penalty levels.
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\3\ See M-26-11, Cancellation of Penalty Inflation Adjustments
for 2026, Regarding the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment
Act Improvements Act of 2015, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M-26-11-Cancellation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2026-Regarding-the-Federal-Civil-Penalties-Inflation-Adjustment-Act-Improvements-Act-of-2015.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M-26-11-Cancellation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2026-Regarding-the-Federal-Civil-Penalties-Inflation-Adjustment-Act-Improvements-Act-of-2015.pdf</a>.
Jack Lund,
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2026-09334 Filed 5-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P
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