About Mount Nittany Health

Participant information

The total number of participants in the Plan as of the Plan’s valuation date was 2,655. Of this number, 1,537 were active participants, 560 were retired or separated from service and receiving benefits, and 558 were retired or separated from service and entitled to future benefits.

Funding & investment policies

Every pension plan must have a procedure to establish a funding policy for plan objectives. A funding policy relates to how much money is needed to pay promised benefits. The funding policy of the Plan is to contribute an amount that meets the minimum contribution required by law, plus any additional amount the Center deems appropriate. Pension plans also have investment policies. These are generally written guidelines or general instructions for making investment management decisions. The investment policy of the Plan is to keep the trust fund invested without distinction between principal and income and in such securities or property, including but not limited to stocks (common or preferred), bonds and other evidence of indebtedness or ownership. At all times in making investments of the trust fund, the trustee shall consider, among other factors, the short- and long-term financial needs of the Plan.

Under the investment policy, the Plan's assets were allocated among the following categories of investments, as of the end of the Plan Year. These allocations are percentages of total assets:

Asset allocations percentage

1. Cash (interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing): 0.
   
2. U.S. government securities: 0.0%
   
3. Corporate debt instruments (other than employer securities)

   Preferred: 0.0%
   All other: 0.0%

4. Corporate stocks (other than employer securities)
   Preferred: 0.0%
   Common: 0.0%

5. Partnership/joint venture interests: 97.4%
   
6. Real estate (other than employer real property): 0.0%
   
7. Loans (other than to participants): 0.0%
   
8. Participant loans: 0.0%
   
9. Value of interest in common/collective trusts: 0.0%
   
10. Value of interest in pooled separate accounts: 0.0%
    
11. Value of interest in master trust investment accounts: 0.0%
    
12. Value of interest in 103-12 investment entities: 0.0%
    
13. Value of interest in registered investment companies (e.g., mutual funds): 0.0%
    
14. Value of funds held in insurance co.  general account (unallocated contracts): 0.0%
    
15. Employer-related investments:

    Employer securities: 0.0%
    Employer real property: 0.0%

16. Buildings and other property used in plan operation: 0.0%
    
17. Other: 2.6%

Right to request a copy of the annual report

Pension plans must file an annual report with the U.S. Department of Labor. The report is called Form 5500 and contains financial and other information. You may obtain an electronic copy of your plan’s annual report by going to efast.dol.gov and using the search tool. Annual reports are also available from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Public Disclosure Room, at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, room N-1513, Washington, DC 20210 or by calling 202.693.8673. You may also obtain a copy of the Plan’s annual report by making a written request to the plan administrator. Annual reports do not contain personal information, such as the amount of your accrued benefits. You may contact your plan administrator if you want information about your accrued benefits. Your plan administrator is identified in the section entitled, “Where to get more information.”

Summary of rules governing termination of single-employer plans

If a plan terminates, there are specific termination rules that must be followed under federal law. A summary of these rules follows.

There are two ways an employer can terminate its pension plan. First, the employer can end a plan in a “standard termination,” but only after showing the PBGC that the Plan has enough money to pay all benefits owed to participants. Under a standard termination, a plan must either purchase an annuity from an insurance company (which will provide you with periodic retirement benefits, such as monthly for life or for a set period of time when you retire) or, if the Plan allows, issue one lump-sum payment that covers your entire benefit. Your plan administrator must give you advance notice that identifies the insurance company (or companies) selected to provide the annuity. The PBGC’s guarantee ends upon the purchases of an annuity or payment of the lump sum. If the Plan purchases an annuity for you from an insurance company, and that company becomes unable to pay, the applicable state guaranty association guarantees the annuity to the extent authorized by that state’s law.

Second, if the plan is not fully funded, the employer may apply for a distress termination. To do so, however, the employer must be in financial distress and prove to a bankruptcy court or to the PBGC that it cannot remain in business unless the Plan is terminated. If the application is granted, the PBGC will take over the Plan as trustee and pay plan benefits, up to the legal limits, using plan assets and PBGC guarantee funds.

Under certain circumstances, the PBGC may take action on its own to end a pension plan. Most terminations initiated by the PBGC occur when the PBGC determines that plan termination is needed to protect the interests of plan participants or of the PBGC insurance program. The PBGC can do so if, for example, a plan does not have enough money to pay benefits currently due.

Benefit payments guaranteed by the PBGC

When the PBGC takes over a plan, it pays pension benefits through its insurance program. Only benefits that you have earned a right to receive and that cannot be forfeited (called “vested benefits”) are guaranteed. Most participants and beneficiaries receive all of the pension benefits they would have received under their plan, but some people may lose certain benefits that are not guaranteed.

The amount of benefit that PBGC guarantees is determined as of the plan termination date. However, if a plan terminates during a plan sponsor’s bankruptcy, then the amount guaranteed is determined as of the date the sponsor entered bankruptcy.

The PBGC maximum benefit guarantee is set by law and is updated each calendar year. For a plan with a termination date or sponsor bankruptcy date, as applicable in 2020, the maximum guarantee is $5,812.50 per month, or $69,750.00 per year, for a benefit paid to a 65-year-old retiree with no survivor benefit. If a plan terminates during a plan sponsor’s bankruptcy, the maximum guarantee is fixed as of the calendar year in which the sponsor entered bankruptcy. The maximum guarantee is lower for an individual who begins receiving benefits from PBGC before age 65, reflecting the fact that younger retirees are expected to receive more monthly pension checks over their lifetimes.

Similarly, the maximum guarantee is higher for an individual who starts receiving benefits from PBGC after age 65. The maximum guarantee by age can be found on PBGC’s website, pbgc.gov. The guaranteed amount is also reduced if a benefit is provided to a survivor of a plan participant.

The PBGC guarantees basic benefits earned before a plan is terminated, which include:

• Pension benefits at normal retirement age
• Most early retirement benefits
• Annuity benefits for survivors of plan participants
• Disability benefits for a disability that occurred before the date the Plan terminated or the date the sponsor entered bankruptcy, as applicable

   

  The PBGC does not guarantee certain types of benefits:

• Benefits for which you do not have a vested right, usually because you have not worked enough years for the company
• Benefits for which you have not met all age, service or other requirements at the time in which the Plan terminates
• Benefit increases and new benefits that have been in place for less than one year (those that have been in place for less than five years are only partly guaranteed)
• Early retirement payments that are greater than payments at normal retirement age — for example, a supplemental benefit that stops when you become eligible for social security
• Benefits other than pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay or severance pay

The PBGC generally does not pay lump sums exceeding $5,000.

In some circumstances, participants and beneficiaries may still receive some benefits that are not guaranteed. This depends on how much money the terminated plan has and how much the PBGC recovers from employers for plan underfunding.

For additional general information about the PBGC and the pension insurance program guarantees, go to “General FAQs About PBGC” on PBGC’s website, at pbgc.gov/generalfaqs. Please contact your employer or plan administrator for specific information about your pension plan or pension benefit. PBGC does not have that information. See “Where to get more information” below.
 Where to get more information

For more information about this notice, you may contact Mount Nittany Medical Center c/o Rebecca Mason, Manager Benefits, at 1800 E. Park Avenue, State College, PA 16803-6797, 814.231.7396. For identification purposes, the official plan number is “001,” and the plan sponsor’s name and employer identification number, or “EIN,” are “Mount Nittany Medical Center” and 24-0795682.