Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. v. LTV Corp.
United States Supreme Court
496 U.S. 633 (1990)
After PBGC terminated LTV's underfunded pension plans due to insurance-program risk, LTV negotiated follow-on plans replicating similar benefits using PBGC insurance, which PBGC viewed as abusive; once PBGC later determined the original risk had subsided, it moved to restore the original plans to LTV under ERISA § 4047, but lower courts found PBGC's informal adjudication process lacked adequate procedural safeguards and was therefore arbitrary and capricious.
Whether the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation may restore a terminated pension plan if restoration is consistent with its duties under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and whether, absent due-process issues or specific statutory mandates, a court may impose procedural requirements on a federal agency beyond those in the Administrative Procedure Act.