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H.R. 3669 (107th): Employee Retirement Savings Bill of Rights
- Introduced:
- Feb 04, 2002 (107th Congress, 2001–2002)
- Sponsor:
- Rep. Robert “Rob” Portman [R-OH2]
- Status:
- Died (Reported by Committee)
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
3/20/2002--Reported to House amended,
Part
I. Employee Retirement Savings Bill of Rights - Title I
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Defined Contribution Plan Protections
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a retirement plan, in the case of a plan permitting a participant to direct the investment of all or some of his or her account, or a plan in which a participant's accrued benefit depends on hypothetical investments directed by the participant, to provide investment education notices on at least a quarterly basis and on enrollment in the plan. Establishes a tax of $100 per plan participant for failure to provide such notice.
Section
102
-
Establishes an excise tax on the failure of a pension plan to provide notice of transaction restriction periods, with special rule for employer securities.
Section
103
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Requires a plan holding employer securities to: (1) permit a participant to reinvest the applicable percentage of employer securities annually (from 20 percent in 2003 to 100 percent in years 2007 and thereafter); (2) offer at least three investment options other than employer securities; and (3) permit elections at least quarterly.
Section
104
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Provides, with respect to the treatment of qualified retirement planning services, that no amount shall be included in the gross income of any employee solely because the employee may choose between any qualified retirement planning services provided by a qualified investment advisor and compensation which would otherwise be includible in the gross income of such employee.
Section
105
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Provides for a delayed effective date for amendments made by this title for plans maintained pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement.
Title
II
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Other Tax Provisions Relating to Pensions
Modifies the special funding rule under the Retirement Protection Act of 1994 for plans sponsored by a company engaged primarily in interurban or interstate passenger bus service by making the rule permanent and treating the plan as meeting certain levels of funded.
Section
202
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Directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor to modify the requirements for filing annual returns with respect to one-participant retirement plans to ensure that such plans with assets of $250,000 or less as of the close of the plan year need not file a return for that year. Permits the filing of a simplified annual return for any retirement plan which covers fewer than 25 employees on the first day of a plan year and meets certain other requirements.
Section
203
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Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to continue to update and improve the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System giving special attention to specified aspects. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to effectuate these and any other employee plans correction policies, including waiving income, excise, or other taxes to ensure that any tax, penalty, or sanction is not excessive and bears a reasonable relationship to the nature, extent, and severity of the failure.
Section
204
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Directs the Secretary to specify by regulation circumstances under which plans can use a facts and circumstances test, which was in effect before 1994, to satisfy nondiscrimination, coverage, and line of business rules.
Section
205
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Exempts plans maintained by any governmental entity from certain nondiscrimination rules.
Section
206
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Directs the Secretary to modify specified regulations to require: (1) that the applicable distribution notice period be not more than 180 (currently, 90) and not less than 30 days before the date distribution commences; and (2) the description of a participant's right, if any, to defer receipt of a distribution include a description of the consequences of failing to defer such receipt.
Section
207
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Reduces Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums for new plans of small employers. Sets the flat-rate premium at five dollars per plan participant for the first five years of a new single-employer plan of an employer with 100 or fewer employees.
Section
208
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Reduces PBGC additional premiums for new and small plans. Phases in, over a six-year period, the variable-rate premium for a new defined benefit plan. Limits, for a plan maintained by an employer with 25 or fewer employees, the variable-rate premium to no more than five dollars times the number of plan participants at the end of the preceding year.
Section
209
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Authorizes the PBGC to pay interest on premium overpayment refunds.
Section
210
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Revises rules for substantial owner benefits in terminated plans. Reduces the phase-in periods for guaranteed benefits for a ten-percent or more owner (substantial owner) in the case of plan termination. Applies the allocation of asset rules to a substantial owner with less than 50 percent ownership in the same manner as other participants.
Section
211
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Directs the Secretary of Labor to report on: (1) model small employer group plans; and (2) the effect of this Act on pension plan coverage.
Section
212
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Applies to 2001 the 2002 and 2003 special interest rate range for additional funding requirements for pension plans by the PBGC.
Section
213
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Sets forth provisions relating to the retroactive effect of certain amendments to pension plans or annuity contracts.
Title
III
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Stock Options
Excludes incentive stock options and employee stock purchase plan stock options from the definition of wages (thus excluding them from employment taxes, including social security taxes, railroad retirement taxes, and unemployment taxes). Provides that wage withholding is not required on: (1) disqualifying dispositions; and (2) compensation where the option price is between 85 and 100 percent of the value of the stock.
Title
IV
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Social Security and Medicare Held Harmless
Provides that the amounts transferred to any trust fund under the Social Security Act shall be determined as if this Act had not been enacted.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
No summary available.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
United States Code
The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)
- Title 29: LABOR
- Chapter 18: EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY PROGRAM
- Subchapter III: PLAN TERMINATION INSURANCE
- Subtitle A: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
- Section 1306: Premium rates
- Section 1307: Payment of premiums
- Subtitle B: Coverage
- Section 1321: Coverage
- Section 1322: Single-employer plan benefits guaranteed
- Subtitle C: Terminations
- Section 1341: Termination of single-employer plans
- Section 1342: Institution of termination proceedings by the corporation
- Section 1343: Reportable events
- Section 1344: Allocation of assets
Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.
- 100 Stat. 2519