The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp.(PBGC)has officially become the trustee of Delta Air Lines’ pilots’ pension plan.

It has taken over the responsibility for paying pension benefits to more than 13,000 active and retired pilots.

The pension plan is underfunded by about US$3 billion, with $1.7 billion in assets to cover more than $4.7 billion in benefit liabilities.

Of the $3 billion in underfunding, the PBGC estimates that it will be liable for almost $920 million, making the Delta plan the sixth-largest claim in the agency’s 32-year history.

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