GAO report on PBGC

US GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT: “Pension Benefit Guaranty
    Corporation:  Governance Structure Needs Improvements to Ensure Policy
    Direction and Oversight” (GAO-07-808, July 2007, .pdf format, 37p.).

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07808.pdf

Executive summary:  Although PBGC’s board has provided greater attention to PBGC since 2003, the board has limited time and resources to provide policy direction and oversight and has not established comprehensive written procedures and mechanisms to monitor PBGC operations. Because PBGC’s board is composed of three cabinet secretaries, who have numerous other responsibilities, the board structure does not guarantee that PBGC’s board is active and diverse. For example, since 1980, a span of 27 years, there were only 18 official board meetings, as shown below. Further, the board has not established formal procedures to ensure that PBGC management provides it information on all policy matters nor has it developed standing committees to oversee operations. Instead, the board relies on PBGC’s Inspector General and management’s oversight committees to ensure that PBGC is operating effectively. However, there are no formal protocols concerning the Inspector General’s interaction with the board, and PBGC internal managementare not independent and are not required to routinely report all matters to the board. Even though PBGC uses informal channels of communication to inform its board members, the board’s oversight may be limited, because it cannot be certain that it is receiving high quality and timely information about all significant matters facing the corporation.