Dear PBGC Colleagues,
After four years at PBGC — the longest tenure of any PBGC ED or Director — it is time for me to move on, and next month I will do so. We now have three children in college, and I promised my wife that this year I would return to the private sector.
Of course I have mixed emotions about leaving. I love working at and with PBGC. This is a great agency with dedicated and talented public servants, working on one of the major social challenges of our time. We have accomplished much. American Airlines was a reminder that PBGC is more than a safety net. That it can preserve pensions as well as replace them; 130,000 workers and their families are better off as a result. There are many other examples. Working with Treasury, we were able to undo at least one unjust abuse of the church plan exemption and to help preserve a very large troubled multiemployer plan. Internally, BAPD is well on the road to updating its programs, meeting ever higher standards of financial integrity while maintaining exemplary customer service. And PBGC is recognized as a reliable source — often the reliable source — for information and analysis of retirement issues.
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Another reason for ambivalence is that much remains to be done. PBGC's analysis and creativity will be essential if multiemployer plans are to be saved. Public policy continues to encourage companies to shun lifetime income in favor of lump sum payments. And PBGC itself remains financially unsound and our multiemployer program is in danger of insolvency.
Nonetheless, there will always be unfinished challenges. Making the change now will guarantee a new Director two full years in which to work — and PBGC now has a full career leadership team that can carry on these efforts.
Since this is not my last day, I will save some of my sentiment for then. It has been one of the honors of my life to work alongside you, and I am confident that you will continue to be a leading force in this important work.
This sentiment is not mine alone. Below is a note from Tom Perez, the Secretary of Labor and chair of our board. Although the letter is addressed to me, it is really about you and the important work PBGC does in preserving retirement security.
Thank you for your service, and, as I have said many times, "Keep those cards and letters coming."
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