John Langhans

John F. Langhans, FSA, MAAA, works closely with the firm’s lawyers in advising clients on a variety of actuarial issues, with an emphasis on those arising under Title IV of ERISA. John joined the firm after retiring from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in 2006, where he served as Deputy Manager of the PBGC’s Actuarial Services Division for most of his 14 years at the agency.

During his PBGC career, John was extensively involved in the early warning program and in bankruptcy litigation. One of his principal roles was the estimation of unfunded benefit liabilities and unpaid employer contributions and related lien amounts for defined benefit pension plans that were sponsored by companies experiencing financial difficulties, including in particular those in bankruptcy. He also advised and assisted PBGC’s attorneys on a broad range of actuarial issues in litigation cases. He provided expert testimony in court or in depositions in seven cases, including serving as the PBGC’s primary expert witness in the litigation involving the validity of the PBGC’s claim for unfunded benefit liabilities in the US Air bankruptcy.

John served as the PBGC’s expert witness in a variety of other litigation matters, including cases involving the determination of benefit amounts, transactions to evade pension liabilities, and plan spin-off issues. John also assisted the PBGC’s Financial Operations Department in evaluating and cashing out group annuity contracts that had been held in pension funds that were later trusteed by the PBGC and in estimating unpaid variable premium amounts for terminated plans. He also played a key role in supervising the work of PBGC actuaries and of outside actuarial firms responsible for calculating liability amounts for the agency.

Prior to his employment with the PBGC John had more than 20 years experience as a consulting actuary to a variety of corporate and government organizations that sponsored pension plans, acting as enrolled actuary and advisor to plan sponsors in plan design and funding. He also served as the plan’s actuary in the termination of over 100 plans.