In this article, Timothy O'Toole and Michael Khalil* discuss the termination of defined benefit pension plans and the related question of who should serve as the trustee of the terminated plan to ensure assets are fairly distributed to participants, in the event that the plan is terminated with insufficient funds. Title IV of ERISA established the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which guarantees pension payments of underfunded terminated plans up to legal limits. The authors examine the problems of allowing the PBGC to serve as trustee.

*Former Miller & Chevalier attorney