The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation said Wednesday it is lifting the overall $59,320 yearly payout cap for retirees who roll over defined contribution assets from a company plan into an underfunded defined benefit plan the agency has taken over from the same company.

Also, rollover amounts generally would remain untouched by PBGC's so-called five-year phase-in limits. Normally, benefit increases from changes to a plan in the five years before it ends are partially guaranteed. For instance, 20 percent of the increase is paid after one year, 40 percent after two years and so on. Under the new proposal, these restrictions generally would not apply.

To enable more workers to have the certainty and security of lifetime income from failed defined benefit plans it has taken over, the PBGC announced Tuesday it wants employees with rollover options to move their benefits from defined contribution plans to defined benefit plans.

The move is designed to encourage retirees to place more of their money into lifetime income streams.

The agency said it does not know how many companies and workers this will affect.