Compliance December 11, 2008

RMD Bill Also Includes PPA Technical Corrections

December 11, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A broad pension relief measure approved by U.S. House lawmakers that includes a one-year required minimum distribution moratorium also features a variety of other measures that had been sought by business trade groups.
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While the provision   calling for a moratorium on required minimum distributions from 401(k) plans and other defined contribution accounts until the end of 2009 garnered headlines in the mainstream press,theWorker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act (H.R. 7327) also included a number of technical updates to the Pension Protection Act (PPA) having to do with pension funding.

For example, H.R. 7327 also includes:

  • clarification of pension plan “smoothing,” allowing plans to recognize unexpected asset gains and losses over 24 months;
  • multiemployer plan relief, permitting plan sponsors to elect to temporarily freeze the status of certain multiemployer plans at the same funding status held in the previous plan year;
  • a rule easing the requirement that would otherwise compel employers to restrict the accrual of pension benefits; and
  • improved transition to the new funding rules, in which the phased-in funding threshold would hold at 92% for another year.

“Americans have seen trillions of dollars evaporate from their retirement accounts over the last few months as a result of our economic crisis,” said U.S. Representative George Miller (D-California), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, in a committee news release. “I’m glad that Congress worked swiftly, and in a bipartisan way, to provide important relief to seniors who may face a steep tax if they do not make a withdrawal from their depleted retirement accounts.”

While the bill addresses the RMD issue for 2009, the Washington Post reported the bill’s sponsors decided to let the Treasury Department handle the RMD issue for this year.    (See House Passes Pension, RMD Relief).

Retirement services industry trade groups praised the House lawmakers for taking on what the trade group officials contended are important financial issues, and demanded their Senate counterparts quickly follow suit.

"ERIC applauds the House for approving the pension relief legislation as an important first step to preventing a crisis next year as plan sponsors face potentially billions of dollars in funding requirements and plan participants face benefit limitations as a result of the extraordinary economic downturn," said President Mark Ugoretz of the ERISA Industry Committee, in a statement. "ERIC strongly encourages the Senate to immediately approve the bill."

"House passage of the   Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Actgives hope to employer pension plan sponsors fighting against the current economic downturn," said American Benefits Council President James A. Klein, in a statement. "We strongly urge the Senate to follow suit - today if possible - and mitigate the effects of the financial crisis on jobs, economic recovery and retirement security."

The legislation is  here .

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