William (Bill) G. Beyer, Jr.

William (“Bill”) G. Beyer, Jr. died in 2018 at age 72. He was a Charter Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Bill was a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA (B.S., Business Administration, 1972), and Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC (J.D., 1976, and LL.M., Taxation, 1978).

Starting in high school and continuing until his graduation from law school, Bill worked as a computer and systems programmer: first for Johnson & Johnson and then at the Pentagon as a member of the United States Army.

He entered government practice with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) in Washington, DC, in 1976 and served as its Deputy General Counsel from 1991 to 2004. In 1992, Bill was awarded the PBGC’s highest honorary award, the Distinguished Career Service Award.

Bill played a major role in virtually all PBGC legislative, regulatory, and litigation matters, and was its leading bankruptcy expert, supervising its legal teams in some of the nation’s largest bankruptcy cases, including LTV Corp., Bethlehem Steel Corp., and US Airways. He testified on pension and PBGC issues before the National Bankruptcy Review Commission in connection with the development of bankruptcy reform proposals.

In 2004, President Bush honored him with the Distinguished Senior Professional Presidential Rank Award, the nation’s highest honor for service as a career federal executive.

In January of 2005, Bill left the PBGC and joined James Keightley and Harold Ashner in the establishment of Keightley & Ashner, a boutique law firm handling ERISA (“Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974”) compliance issues.

Bill was a frequent speaker on a wide range of PBGC matters at professional conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”), and others.

He authored or co-authored many monographs and articles, including the ABI’s “Pension Manual: A Practical Guide to Pension Issues Arising in Business Bankruptcy Cases.”

He taught an ERISA course for over a decade as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.

Bill cherished time with his family and had a wide variety of interests, including being a Harley Davidson and Mustang enthusiast, an amateur radio operator (particularly as an emergency services volunteer), and an active participant in the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Knights of Columbus.

Photo Source: The Decade Book, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel 2000-2010