(a) Required information. An application for special financial assistance must include all of the following actuarial and financial information:

(1) For each plan year from the 2018 plan year until the most recent plan year for which the Form 5500 is required to be filed by the date the plan's initial application for special financial assistance is filed, the projection of expected benefit payments as required to be attached to the Form 5500 Schedule MB if the response to the question at line 8b(1) of the Form 5500 Schedule MB is “Yes”.

(2) For a plan that has 10,000 or more participants required to be entered on line 6f of the plan's most recently filed Form 5500 (as of the date the plan's initial application for special financial assistance is filed), a listing of the 15 largest contributing employers and the contribution amounts for each such contributing employer for the most recently completed plan year (before the date the plan's initial application for special financial assistance is filed).

(3) Historical plan financial information for the 2010 plan year through the plan year immediately preceding the date the plan's initial application was filed that separately identifies: Total contributions; total contribution base units; average contribution rates; number of active participants at the beginning of each plan year; and other sources of non-investment income, including, if applicable, withdrawal liability payments collected, contributions from reciprocity agreements, and other sources of contributions or income not already identified.

(4) Information used to determine the amount of the requested special financial assistance, including all of the following information—

(i) Non-SFA interest rate required under § 4262.4(e)(1), including supporting details on how it was determined, and SFA interest rate required under § 4262.4(e)(2), including supporting details on how it was determined.

(ii) Fair market value of plan assets determined as of the SFA measurement date; a certification from the plan sponsor with respect to the accuracy of this amount, including information that substantiates the asset value and any projections to the SFA measurement date (including details and supporting rationale); and a reconciliation of the fair market value of plan assets from the date of the most recent audited plan financial statement to the SFA measurement date showing contributions, withdrawal liability payments, benefit payments, administrative expenses, and investment income.

(iii) For the calculation method used to determine the requested amount of special financial assistance, the plan year in which the sum of annual projected benefit payments and administrative expenses for the year exceeds the beginning-of-year projected SFA assets.

(5) The amount of special financial assistance calculated under § 4262.4(a)(1) and information used to determine such amount, based on a deterministic projection, including all of the following information—

(i) Special financial assistance calculated under § 4262.4(a)(1) determined as a lump sum as of the SFA measurement date.

(ii) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: The projected amount of contributions, projected withdrawal liability payments reflecting a reasonable allowance for amounts considered uncollectible, and other payments expected to be made to the plan.

(iii) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: Payments described in § 4262.4(b)(1) attributable to the reinstatement of benefits under § 4262.15 that were previously suspended through the SFA measurement date.

(iv) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: Benefit payments described in § 4262.4(b)(1) (including any benefits restored under 26 CFR 1.432(e)(9)-1(e)(3) and excluding the previously suspended benefits described in paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section), separately for current retirees and beneficiaries in pay status, current terminated participants not yet in pay status, current active participants, and new entrants; and total benefit payments paid and expected to be paid from projected SFA assets separately from total benefit payments paid and expected to be paid from non-SFA assets after the projected SFA assets are fully exhausted.

(v) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: Administrative expenses paid and expected to be paid (excluding the amount owed PBGC under section 4261 of ERISA), separately for PBGC premiums and all other administrative expenses; and total administrative expenses paid and expected to be paid from projected SFA assets separately from total administrative expenses paid and expected to be paid from non-SFA assets after the projected SFA assets are fully exhausted.

(vi) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: The projected total participant count at the beginning of the year.

(vii) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: The projected investment income earned by assets not attributable to special financial assistance based on the interest rate required under § 4262.4(e)(1) and the projected fair market value of non-SFA assets at the end of each plan year.

(viii) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: The projected investment income earned by amounts attributable to special financial assistance based on the interest rate required under § 4262.4(e)(2) (excluding investment returns for the plan year in which the sum of the annual projected benefit payments and administrative expenses for the year exceeds the beginning-of-year projected SFA assets) and the projected fair market value of SFA assets at the end of each plan year.

(6) For MPRA plans, the amount of special financial assistance calculated under § 4262.4(a)(2)(i) and information used to determine such amount, based on a deterministic projection, including all of the following information—

(i) Special financial assistance calculated under § 4262.4(a)(2)(i) determined as a lump sum as of the SFA measurement date.

(ii) All items identified in paragraphs (a)(5)(ii) through (viii) of this section that support the amount described in paragraph (a)(6)(i) of this section.

(7) For MPRA plans, if the amount calculated under § 4262.4(a)(2)(ii) is the greatest amount calculated under § 4262.4(a)(2), the amount of special financial assistance calculated under § 4262.4(a)(2)(ii) and information used to determine the amount under § 4262.4(a)(2)(ii), based on a deterministic projection, including all of the following information—

(i) Special financial assistance calculated under§ 4262.4(a)(2)(ii) determined as a lump sum as of the SFA measurement date.

(ii) For each plan year in the SFA coverage period: Benefit payments described in § 4262.4(b)(1) (excluding the previously suspended benefits described in paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section), separately for current retirees and beneficiaries in pay status, current terminated participants not yet in pay status, current active participants, and new entrants; and total benefit payments paid or expected to be paid. For each participant group except new entrants: benefit payments after reinstatement (excluding the previously suspended benefits described in paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section), the reduced benefit payments under the approved benefit suspension, and the difference due to the reinstatement of benefits.

(iii) The present value, as of the SFA measurement date using the SFA interest rate required under § 4262.4(e)(2), of the amounts described in paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section.

(iv) The present value, as of the SFA measurement date using the SFA interest rate required under § 4262.4(e)(2), of the difference in benefit amounts due to the reinstatement of benefits, as described in paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section.

(8) Projected contributions and withdrawal liability payments, reflecting a reasonable allowance for amounts considered uncollectible, used to calculate the requested special financial assistance amount in § 4262.4, including total contributions, contribution base units, average contribution rate(s), reciprocal contributions (if applicable), additional contributions from the rehabilitation plan, and any other contributions, and number of active participants at the beginning of each plan year. For withdrawal liability, separate projections for withdrawn employers and for future assumed withdrawals.

(9) A description of the development of the assumed future contributions (including assumed contribution rates) and future withdrawal liability payments described in paragraph (a)(8) of this section.

(10) For a plan that has 350,000 or more participants reported on line 6f of its most recently filed Form 5500 (as of the date the plan's initial application for special financial assistance is filed), the participant census data utilized by the plan actuary in developing the cash flow projections included in the application.

(11) Documentation of a death audit to identify deceased participants that was completed no earlier than 1 year before the plan's SFA measurement date, including identification of the service provider conducting the audit and a copy of the results of the audit provided to the plan administrator by the service provider.

(b) Information required for changed assumptions in initial and revised applications. An application for a plan that proposes to change any assumption used in the plan's most recently completed certification of plan status before January 1, 2021, must include all of the following information:

(1) A table identifying which assumptions used in demonstrating the plan's eligibility for special financial assistance or in calculating the amount of special financial assistance differ from those assumptions used in the plan's most recently completed certification of plan status before January 1, 2021, and detailed narrative explanations (with supporting rationale and information) as described in the special financial assistance instructions on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov as to why any assumption used in the certification is no longer reasonable and why the changed assumption is reasonable.

(2) Deterministic cash flow projection (“Baseline”) in accordance with the special financial assistance instructions on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov that shows the amount of special financial assistance that would be determined if all underlying assumptions used in the projection were the same as those used in the actuarial certification of plan status last completed before January 1, 2021 (excluding the plan's non-SFA and SFA interest rates, which must be the same as the interest rates required under § 4262.4(e)(1) and (2)). For purposes of this paragraph (b)(2), certain changes in assumptions as described in the special financial assistance instructions on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov should be reflected in the Baseline projection.

(3) In accordance with the special financial assistance instructions on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov, a reconciliation of the change in the requested special financial assistance due to each changed assumption from the Baseline to the requested special financial assistance amount in § 4262.4, showing, for each assumption change from the Baseline, a deterministic projection calculated in the same manner as the requested amount in § 4262.4.

(c) Information required for certain events. An application for a plan with respect to which an event described in § 4262.4(f) occurs on or after July 9, 2021, must include the applicable information related to the event specified in special financial assistance instructions on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov.

(d) Information required for changed assumptions in supplemented applications. Any supplemented application filed for a plan described in § 4262.4(g) must include the information specified in the supplemented special financial assistance instructions on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov.