Single-employer plans that have unfunded vested benefits must pay the PBGC a variable rate premium (VRP) equal to $9 per $1,000 of unfunded vested benefits. No VRP is due if the plan is fully funded. For 2004 and 2005, the unfunded vested benefits were valued using 85 percent of a rate based on investment-grade corporate bonds. Bill §301 would extend that methodology in 2006 and 2007. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, P.L. 109-171, created a temporary (five year) termination premium. The bill would require the use of the yield curve's segment rates for the premium calculation, would eliminate the full funding exception to the variable rate premium, and would make the termination premium permanent.¹

Commercial Airlines,

The bill would include relief for the airline industry in the form of a longer amortization period and a higher amortization interest rate. The bill also would add somewhat different rules which would apply to airlines that freeze their plans and those that do not. In addition, the bill would increase the termination premium paid to the PBGC by certain airlines.²

Limits on PBGC Guarantee of Shutdown and Other Benefits.

If a plan is amended to increase benefits, the PBGC guarantee of the increased benefits is phased in over five years from the date of the plan amendment. A shutdown benefit generally is based on a provision already in the plan, so the shutdown does not trigger a phase-in period. The bill would treat a shutdown or other contingent event as an amendment that triggers the phase-in of guaranteed benefits.³

Rules Relating to Bankruptcy of Employer.

The PBGC guarantees and asset allocations are tied to the date a plan terminates. The bill would provide that if a plan terminates after the employer goes into bankruptcy, the bankruptcy date is treated as the plan's termination date for purposes of: (1) determining the applicable maximum guarantee and the five-year phase in of the guarantee; and (2) determining who, and what benefit, is in asset allocation priority category three.⁴

PBGC Premiums for Small Employers.

Small plans do not pay a variable rate premium to the PBGC. The bill would require that an employer with 25 or fewer employees pay a special reduced variable rate premium for each participant equal to $5 times the number of participants in the plan.⁵

Interest on PBGC Premium Overpayments.

Presently, the PBGC charges interest on underpayments but is not authorized to pay interest on overpayments. The bill would authorize the PBGC to pay interest on premium overpayments.⁶

Substantial Owner Benefits in Terminated Plans.

Under current law, 10 percent owners are designated as “substantial owners” and special rules apply to them with respect to guaranteed benefits in terminated plans. The bill would simplify the rules by substituting majority owner rules (50 percent or more owners) for substantial owner rules and applying the special guarantee limitation (now on majority owners). The bill would also change the allocation of assets rules relating to majority owners.⁷

Acceleration of PBGC Computation of Benefits.

The PBGC shares benefit recoveries from an employer with participants based on the proportional losses of the PBGC and the participants. Smaller terminations use an average recovery ratio (SPARR) to accelerate processing (i.e., rather than applying separate ratios for each plan, the PBGC annually calculates an average ratio based on the last five years). Before doing the allocation, the PBGC must split the recovery between return of due and unpaid contributions (DUEC) and recovery of employer liabilities. The bill would change the SPARR rules so that the most immediate two years are not counted in the five-year averaging period. In addition, the bill would create a similar averaging ratio for DUEC.⁸

Controlled Groups--Cessation or Change in Membership.

When a plan spins off part of the plan, the allocation of assets and liabilities between the parties generally is done using the PBGC termination assumptions. The bill would add a special rule allowing the plan's interest rate to be used instead for certain corporate transactions involving fully funded plans and investment-grade employers.⁹

Missing Participants.

The bill would expand the PBGC's missing participant program to cover terminating multiemployer plans, terminating defined benefit plans of small professional plans, and terminating defined contribution plans.¹⁰

Director of PBGC.

The bill would make the PBGC executive director's position a presidential appointment subject to Senate confirmation by both the Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.¹¹

PBGC Annual Report.

The bill would require the PBGC's annual report to include additional information on the PBGC's microsimulation forecasting model (Pension Insurance Modeling System), including the specific parameters used for the PBGC forecast and the impact on the PBGC deficit or surplus.¹²

Title V--Disclosure.

Defined Benefit Plan Funding Notice.

The bill would require plan administrators to provide participants a summary of the annual report (SAR) 60 days after the annual report is filed. Plan administrators of certain underfunded single-employer defined benefit plans would be required to send a funding notice to participants and beneficiaries at the same time as they send the SAR.

Currently, multiemployer defined benefit plans must provide a funding notice within two months after the annual report. The bill would create a new funding notice that would be due 120 days after the beginning of the plan year for multiemployer and single-employer defined benefit plans, or with the filing of the annual report for plans with 100 or fewer participants.

The bill would require the plan administrator to send the notice to the PBGC, participants, beneficiaries, unions, and, in the case of multiemployer plans, employers contributing to the plan. The notice would include detailed information on plan funding. A multiemployer plan would provide additional information, including whether the plan is in endangered or critical status and information on how to get a copy of the funding improvement or rehabilitation plan. The Secretary of Labor would be required to publish a model notice within one year after the date of enactment.

The bill also would repeal ERISA §4011, which requires the plan administrator of a plan that is subject to the additional premium under ERISA §4006(a)(3)(E) to provide notice of the plan's funding status to participants and beneficiaries.¹³

Multiemployer Pension Plan Information.

The bill would expand the ability of participants, beneficiaries, unions, and contributing employers to get plan actuarial and financial information from multiemployer plans. Each multiemployer plan administrator would be required to furnish the plan information, upon written request, within 30 days. In addition, the plan sponsor or administrator of a multiemployer plan would be required to provide a notice containing estimates of potential withdrawal liability to contributing employers generally within 180 days after a written request. Civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day could be imposed for each violation. The bill also would require that contributing employers of defined benefit plans or individual account plans subject to the minimum funding standards underI.R.C. §412 be entitled to notice of any plan amendment that would significantly reduce the rate of future benefit accruals.¹⁴

Additional Annual Reporting for Defined Benefit Plans.

The bill would delete the SAR for defined benefit plans. Single-employer and multiemployer defined benefit plans would be required to provide additional information on the annual report filed each year. If liabilities to participants or beneficiaries under a plan at the end of the plan year consist of liabilities under two or more pension plans as of immediately before the plan year, the annual report would be required to include the funded percentage of each pension plan and of the plan for which the report is filed as of the last day of the plan year. A multiemployer plan also would be required to include information about contributing employers and participants for whom no employer was required to make a contribution. The DOL would be required to publish a model notice within one year after the date of enactment. In addition, a multiemployer plan would have to provide a summary of the required information to contributing employers and to employee organizations within 30 days of the annual report.¹⁵

Electronic Display of Annual Report Information.

The bill would require the DOL to electronically display annual report information in electronic form within 90 days after receiving it. The bill also would require employers with intranets to display the information on the intranet.¹⁶

ERISA §4010 Filings with the PBGC.

Currently, employers with plans with aggregate underfunding of $50 million or more must provide financial and actuarial information to the PBGC annually. The information is confidential and the PBGC may not make it public. The bill would eliminate the $50 million filing requirement and would substitute a requirement that all plans with a funding target attainment percentage less than 80 percent file plan actuarial and employer financial information. In addition to the current requirement that such plans provide actuarial and financial information to the PBGC, the bill would specify that the employer must provide additional funding information, including the plan's funding target determined as if the plan had been in at-risk status for at least five plan years. Also, while current law permits a Congressional committee to request the information, the bill would require that the PBGC annually submit to the labor and tax committees of the House and Senate a summary report of the information submitted to the PBGC.¹⁷

Disclosure of Termination Information to Plan Participants.

The bill would require the plan administrator or plan sponsor in a distress termination or in an involuntary termination instituted by the PBGC to provide participants with information that the employer gives to the PBGC, with certain confidentiality limitations, within 15 days of filing it with the PBGC. The bill also would require the PBGC to make the administrative record of the involuntary termination decision available.¹⁸

Notice of Freedom to Divest Employer Securities.

The bill would require that the plan administrator provide a written notice of the right to divest within 30 days before the first date on which an individual is eligible to divest employer securities. The bill would allow for a civil penalty of up to $100 per day for each participant or beneficiary to be imposed against a noncompliant plan administrator. The bill also would require the Treasury Secretary to issue a model notice within 180 days of enactment.¹⁹

Periodic Pension Benefit Statements.

The bill would set out specific requirements for single and multiemployer plans to provide to participants periodic benefit statements, which currently are not required on a regular basis. Defined benefit plans would be required to provide individual benefit notices every three years or upon written request. In the alternative, the defined benefit statement requirement could be met by notifying participants annually how to obtain the information. Defined contribution plans would have to provide individual benefit notices annually; however, where there is individual investment direction, the plan would be required to provide the notice quarterly. The bill would allow for a civil penalty of up to $100 per day for each participant or beneficiary to be imposed against a noncompliant plan administrator. In addition, the DOL would be required to develop model benefit statements within one year after the date of enactment.²⁰

Notice to Participants or Beneficiaries of Blackout Periods.

The bill would remove the blackout notice requirement imposed by §306 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for self-directed plans that are one-person or partner-only (or partners and their spouses) plans.²¹

Title VI--Investment Advice, Prohibited Transactions, and Fiduciary Rules.

Investment Advice.

Under current law, a fiduciary must act in a prudent manner and solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries. Parties-in-interest cannot deal with the plan except pursuant to a statutory, class, or individual exemption. A party-in-interest may provide investment advice using an objective computer model of investment alternatives subject to certain limitations as discussed in the DOL's Sun America opinion.

The bill would create a prohibited transaction exemption for investment advice tailored to a recipient and provided by a qualified fiduciary adviser--an adviser who is fully regulated by applicable banking, insurance, and securities laws--through an “eligible investment advice arrangement.”

Investment advice provided to a participant or beneficiary of an employer-sponsored retirement plan through a computer model that is certified by an independent eligible investment expert would qualify, as long as the only investment advice provided under the program is the advice generated by the computer model and the transaction occurs solely at the direction of the participant or beneficiary. Also, advice provided to employer-sponsored plans and IRAs by a qualified fiduciary adviser who charges a flat rate fee (without regard to the investments selected) would be permitted.

The prohibited transaction exemption would provide that: the arrangement must be expressly authorized by a plan fiduciary that is not the person offering the investment advice program, a person providing investment options, or an affiliate of either; an independent auditor must determine that the arrangement complies with the exemption provisions in a written report compiled after an annual audit; and the fiduciary adviser must provide a disclosure to the participant or beneficiary.

The disclosure would have to be written in a clear and conspicuous manner and provide information including: any fees and other compensation (for which the DOL would be required to issue a model form); any potential conflicts; past performance of the plan's investment options; available services; a statement that the adviser is acting as a fiduciary of the plan; a statement that the recipient of the advice may arrange for advice from an unaffiliated advisor; and how participant information will be used.

The disclosure also would have to be made before advice is first given, at least annually thereafter, whenever the worker requests the information, and whenever there is a material change to the adviser's fees or affiliations. The fiduciary adviser would be required to maintain evidence of compliance with the exemption for six years after providing the advice.

The bill also would direct the Secretary of Labor to determine, in consultation with Treasury and by the end of 2007, whether a computer model is available that takes into account the personal and subjective criteria about the account beneficiary, that would be appropriate for the broader range of investment options common to IRAs (and Archer MSAs, health savings accounts, and Coverdell education savings accounts), and that allows the account beneficiary sufficient flexibility in obtaining advice to evaluate and select investment options.

Under the bill, a certified computer model would be an option for providing investment advice related to IRAs only if the DOL determines an appropriate computer model is available; any person could ask the DOL to make such a determination. If the DOL were to determine that an appropriate model is not available, the DOL would issue a class exemption that protects IRA account holders from biased advice without requiring fee-leveling or a computer model. In addition, the exemption would sunset on the later of two years after an appropriate IRA computer model becomes available, or three years after issuance of the class exemption. The amendments provided by the bill would not alter existing individual or class exemptions.²²

Prohibited Transactions Related to Financial Investments.

The bill would provide statutory prohibited transaction exemptions for certain transactions involving block trading (in blocks of at least 10,000 shares with a market value of at least $200,000), regulated electronic communication networks, service providers who are not fiduciaries with respect to the assets involved, foreign exchange transactions, and cross trading (for plans with over $100 million in assets). The bill also would provide relief from certain bonding requirements for broker-dealers subject to other bonding requirements and would remove foreign and governmental plans from the numerator for purposes of determining whether more than 25 percent of a fund is from pension plan assets.²³

Correction Period for Securities and Commodities Transactions.

The bill would amend the correction period for prohibited transactions involving certain securities and commodities to 14 days after the party discovers or should have discovered that the transaction was prohibited. The bill also would provide for abatement of an assessed prohibited transaction excise tax if there is a correction.²⁴

Blackout Periods.

A plan fiduciary is protected from some liability in self-directed plans. The bill would eliminate the fiduciary's protection during blackout periods when a participant cannot self direct unless certain specified requirements regarding reasonable blackout periods are satisfied.²⁵

Bond Amount.

The bill would increase the fiduciary bond requirement from at least $500,000 to $1 million for plans that hold employer securities.²⁶

Penalties for Coercive Interference.

The bill would increase the penalties for coercive interference with the exercise of ERISA rights from a $10,000 fine and one year in prison to a $100,000 fine and 10 years in prison.²⁷

Participant Failures to Exercise Investment Elections.

The bill would extend fiduciary protections similar to those available in cases in which participants self direct their accounts to situations in which the participant does not make an investment choice and the plan sponsor makes a default investment consistent with DOL final regulations (to be issued within six months after the date of enactment).²⁸

Annuity Contracts As Optional Forms of Benefit.

The bill would require the DOL to issue regulations making clear that the “safest annuity available” standard under DOL Interpretive Bulletin 95-1 does not apply to annuities paid as an optional distribution from an individual account plan to a participant or beneficiary.²⁹

Title VII--Benefit Accrual Standards.

In response to litigation addressing the application of the age discrimination rules of the tax code, ERISA, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to hybrid defined benefit plans and to the conversion of traditional final-pay plans into hybrid plans, the bill would provide rules for testing defined benefit plans, including hybrid plans, for age discrimination under the code, ERISA, and ADEA. The bill would require a hybrid plan to meet certain conditions for vesting and for investment credits and would prohibit the “wearaway” of benefits the participant has earned in a conversion to a hybrid plan. The amendments would be prospective only, with no inference for the past. Applicable defined benefit plans (basically hybrid plans), defined below, would be permitted to treat the hypothetical account balance as the lump sum value for distributions after enactment.³⁰

The bill would amend the accrued benefit requirements to provide that a plan would not be treated as violating the prohibition against ceasing or reducing the rate of an employee's benefit accrual solely because the employee attains a particular age (i.e., the continued accrual requirement) as long as a participant's accrued benefit as of any date under the terms of the plan, disregarding the subsidized portion of an early retirement benefit or retirement-type subsidy, would equal or exceed that of a similarly situated younger individual who is or could be a participant.

The bill also would provide that a plan would not be treated as violating the continued accrual requirements solely because the plan: provides offsets against plan benefits that are allowable to applyingI.R.C. §401(a); provides a disparity in contributions or benefits with respect to which theI.R.C. §401(a) requirements are met; or provides for indexing of accrued benefits.

The bill would define an “applicable defined benefit plan” as a defined benefit plan under which all or part of the accrued benefit is calculated as the balance of a hypothetical account maintained for the participant or as an accumulated percentage of the participant's final average compensation.

Treasury regulations would have to include in the term's definition any defined benefit plan, or any portion of such a plan, which has an effect similar to an applicable defined benefit plan.

An applicable defined benefit plan would be treated as violating the continued accrual requirements unless the plan terms provide that any interest credit for any plan year must be at a rate that is at or below market rate (the calculation of which may be determined by regulation); the plan terms also would have to include specified language related to plan termination. A plan would not be precluded from providing for a reasonable minimum guaranteed rate of return or a rate of return that is equal to the greater of a fixed or variable rate, however.

If an “applicable plan amendment”--an amendment to a defined benefit plan has the effect of converting the plan to an applicable defined benefit plan--is adopted after June 29, 2005, the plan would be treated as failing to meet the continued accrual requirements unless, for each individual who was a participant in the plan immediately before the adoption of the amendment, the post-amendment accrual benefit under the plan terms is not less than the sum of his or her accrued benefit for years of service before and after the plan amendment's effective date; special rules would apply for early retirement subsidies. If the coordination of the benefits of two or more defined benefit plans established or maintained by an employer has the effect of adopting an applicable plan amendment, the plan sponsor would be treated as having adopted such a plan amendment as of the date coordination begins.

Under the bill, an applicable defined benefit plan would be treated as meeting the vesting period requirements ofI.R.C. §411(a)(2)/ERISA §203(a)(2) only if an employee who has completed at least three years of service has a nonforfeitable right to 100 percent of the employee's accrued benefit derived from employer contributions.

Regulations Relating to Mergers and Acquisitions. The bill would require the Treasury Secretary to issue regulations, within 12 months after the date of enactment, to deal with situations in which the conversion to a cash balance plan is made with respect to employees who become employees through a merger, acquisition, or similar transaction.³¹

Title VIII--Pension Related Revenue Provisions.

Deduction Limitations.

Generally, plans can deduct contributions up to 100 percent of the plan's current liability. Contributions in excess of the limit are subject to a 10 percent excise tax. Because the plan's liability on termination generally is higher than its current liability, there is an exception that allows a deductible contribution equal to 100 percent of the plan's termination liability, but only in the year of termination. The bill would increase the deductible limit for single-employer plans to the year's normal cost (generally the cost of benefits accrued in the year) plus the amount necessary to fully fund the funding target. In addition, employers can contribute and deduct a cushion, which is 50 percent of the funding target plus additional amounts reflecting projections of the participants' compensation and the statutory compensation limits.³²

The bill would increase the deduction limit for multiemployer plans to 140 percent of the plan's current liability.³³

Employers that sponsor both defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans face a combined limit on deductible contributions. The bill would provide that contributions to a PBGC-covered defined benefit plan are deductible without affecting the combined limit. For other plans, only contributions in excess of 6 percent of compensation count towards the combined limit.³⁴

EGTRRA Provisions Made Permanent.

The bill would make the pension and individual arrangement provisions made under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), P.L. 107-16, permanent by eliminating the 2010 sunset in EGTRRA §901.³⁵

The bill would make the EGTRRA provisions relating to theI.R.C. §25B Saver's Credit permanent by eliminating the sunset after 2006.³⁶

Portability, Distributions and Contributions.

Although the code restricts the purchase of pension benefits for service with another employer, special rules allow qualified retirement plans of state and local governments to allow participants to make after-tax contributions to purchase service credit under the plan for certain periods for which no credit had been given. The purchase of additional credits for years in which service credit has been given is not allowed. The rules also allow trustee-to-trustee transfers from §403(b) or §457 plans to purchase service credit without tax consequences. The bill would allow the purchase of additional service credits even for years when service credit was given and would provide more flexibility on prior educational service (elementary or secondary education) that would be treated as permissive service for purposes of buying credit. The bill also would provide more flexibility on trustee-to-trustee transfers so that the participant is not liable for income tax if the transferee plan improperly allows service purchase and allows the transfer between plans of unrelated employers.³⁷

The bill would allow rollovers of after-tax amounts in §403(b) annuities to a qualified plan.³⁸

The bill would clarify the minimum distribution rules for governmental plans by requiring the Secretary of Treasury to issue regulations providing relief from the minimum distribution rules for governmental plans as long as the plan complies with a reasonable good faith interpretation of the statute. It is intended that the regulations apply retroactively.³⁹

The bill would allow direct rollovers from eligible retirement plans to Roth IRAs.⁴⁰

Certain individuals who received a prior distribution from a plan may not participate in an eligible deferred compensation plan under §457. The bill would eliminate the prohibition on an individual participating in an eligible deferred compensation plan merely because of a distribution from the plan before the Small Business Job Protection Act 96, P.L. 104-188, was effective.⁴¹

The bill would modify the hardship regulations by requiring the Secretary of Treasury to issue regulations within 180 days after the date of enactment to expand “hardship” to include hardship of a beneficiary under the plan (even if it is not a spouse or dependent).⁴²

The bill would create a new exception from the 10 percent premature distribution tax for distributions before age 591/2 to a reservist (called up between September 11, 2001, and before Dec. 31, 2007, for more than 179 days), and would allow the money to be repaid within two years after the end of active service.⁴³

The bill would allow public safety officers to avoid the early 10 percent distribution penalty for distributions based on separation from service if the officer is at least 50 (rather than 55).⁴⁴

The bill would allow nonspouse beneficiaries to roll over to an IRA or other plan structured for that purpose amounts inherited as a designated beneficiary.⁴⁵

The bill would require the IRS to make available a form for a taxpayer to file with the IRS directing the IRS to send a refund directly to the taxpayer's IRA.⁴⁶

The bill would allow individuals who worked for a bankrupt employer whose officers were indicted and whose employer had a least a 50 percent match in the form of employer stock in its §401(k) plan to make an additional IRA catch-up contribution (three times the otherwise applicable catch-up amount). The contributions can be made for 2007, 2008, and 2009.⁴⁷

The IRS has issued guidance that would only allow compensation earned while an individual is a participant in the plan to be counted towards the defined benefit plan benefit limits. The bill would provide that the relevant test is compensation while working for the employer, not only when a participant.⁴⁸

The bill would provide for indexing the adjusted gross income levels for the saver's credit and IRAs for taxable years after 2006.⁴⁹

Health and Medical Benefits.

The code allows excess plan assets to be transferred from an ongoing defined benefit plan to a §401(h) health account (within the defined benefit plan) to be used for retiree health costs for retirees covered by the plan. The bill would allow a pension plan with assets in excess of 120 percent of the plan's current liability (or funding target) to transfer two or more years of estimated retiree medical costs to a health account under the plan. The maximum amount that could be transferred is the lesser of 10 years of estimated retiree medical costs or assets in excess of 120 percent of current liability. For all years for which a transfer has been made, the employer must make contributions sufficient to maintain the plan's 120 percent funding level (or transfer assets back from the health to the pension account). There also is a cost maintenance requirement that applies throughout the transfer period and four years thereafter. For employers meeting certain criteria, the cost maintenance requirement for multiyear transfers made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement may be modified through the collective bargaining agreement.⁵⁰

The bill would expand the right to transfer excess assets to a health plan to multiemployer pension plans.⁵¹

The bill would allow a plan maintained by a bona fide association to accumulate reserves of up to 35 percent of annual costs for medical benefits (other than post-retirement medical benefits).⁵²

Tax-free transfers are not available between annuity contracts without long-term care (LTC) riders and life insurance contracts with LTC riders. The bill would permit LTC riders on annuity contracts and provide special tax treatment for the LTC component of a life insurance or annuity contract including allowing the cash value of such contracts to pay the LTC benefit, making LTC payments to a reduction in basis, allowing tax-free transfers between annuity contracts even if one has a LTC rider (with similar rules for life insurance contracts), and providing special rules that would treat the LTC rider as a separate contract for certain purposes. The bill also would add new reporting requirements.⁵³

Pretax contributions for health insurance only are permitted out of wages. The bill would allow public safety officers to elect to annually defer up to $3,000 of retirement income to pay for health or long-term care benefits on a pretax basis.⁵⁴

Presently, there is a moratorium on the IRS disqualifying a state or local government plan because of a violation of the nondiscrimination rules. The bill would extend the moratorium to other government plans such as federal plans.⁵⁵

Miscellaneous Provisions.

Payments of life insurance after the covered party's death generally are not taxable to the recipient. The bill would require businesses to treat proceeds from corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) as income unless the insured was an employee within 12 months of death, or was a director or highly compensated employee or individual at the time the contract was issued, or the proceeds paid to the insured's beneficiary are used to buy back any equity interest owned by the insured at the time of death. The COLI provision also would include notice and consent requirements and add new reporting requirements.⁵⁶

The bill would provide that a church plan that self-annuitizes distributions does not fail the minimum distribution requirements as long as the plan satisfies the rules applicable to §403(b) plans.⁵⁷

The bill would extend the exemption for qualified retirement plans from unrelated business income tax for leveraged investment in real estate to church annuity plans.⁵⁸

The code limits the maximum benefit that participants can receive from defined benefit plans to highest-three year average compensation. The bill would eliminate this limit for nonhighly compensated employees covered by church plans.⁵⁹

The bill would provide that for purposes of allocating employer securities from a suspense account in a gratuitous transfer of employer securities, the applicable limit that can be allocated to a participant is based on the fair market value of the securities when allocated to participants.⁶⁰

¹ Bill §401; ERISA §4006. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

² Bill §402; ERISA §4022;I.R.C. §410. Generally effective for plan years ending after the date of enactment.

³ Bill §403; ERISA §4022. Effective for events occurring after July 26, 2005.

⁴ Bill §404; ERISA §§4022, 4044. Effective for bankruptcies initiated 30 days after the date of enactment.

⁵ Bill §405; ERISA §4006. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁶ Bill §406; ERISA §4007. Effective for interest accruing for periods beginning after the date of enactment.

⁷ Bill §407; ERISA §§4022, 4044, 4021, 4043. Generally effective for notices of intent to terminate or notices of determination given after Dec. 31, 2005.

⁸ Bill §408; ERISA §§4022, 4044. Effective for notices of intent to terminate or notices of determination given at least 30 days after the date of enactment.

⁹ Bill §409; ERISA §4041. Effective for transactions after the date of enactment.

¹⁰ Bill §410; ERISA §§4050, 206. Effective for distributions made after final regulations are issued implementing the provision.

¹¹ Bill §411; ERISA §§4002, 4003;I.R.C. §5314.

¹² Bill §412; ERISA §4008.

¹³ Bill §501; ERISA §101(f); ERISA §4011 (repeal). Generally effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007, except that a transition rule applies for reporting of the funding target attainment percentage or funded percentage of a plan with respect to any plan year beginning before Jan. 1, 2008, and the ERISA §4011 repeal is effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

¹⁴ Bill §502; ERISA §§101, 204, 502;I.R.C. §4980F. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

¹⁵ Bill §503; ERISA §§103, 104. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

¹⁶ Bill §504; ERISA §104. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

¹⁷ Bill §505; ERISA §4010. Effective with respect to years beginning after 2007 (i.e., filings for years beginning after 2007).

¹⁸ Bill §506; ERISA §§4041, 4042. Effective for notices of intent to terminate or notices of determinations occurring after the date of enactment, except that a notice that otherwise would be required to be provided before the 90th day after the date of enactment would be required to be provided on the 90th day.

¹⁹ Bill §507; ERISA §§101, 502. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006, except that a notice that otherwise would be required to be provided before the 90th day after the date of enactment would be required to be provided on the 90th day.

²⁰ Bill §508; ERISA §§105, 502. Generally effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006; for collectively bargained plans ratified on or before the date of enactment, effective on the earlier of (a) the later of Dec. 31, 2007, or the date on which the last CBA terminates, without regard to extensions, or (b) Dec. 31, 2008.

²¹ Bill §509; ERISA §101. Effective as if included in Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 §306.

²² Bill §601; ERISA §408;I.R.C. §4975. Generally effective for investment advice referred to inI.R.C. §4975[(e)](3)(B) or ERISA §3(21)(A)(ii) that is provided after Dec. 31, 2006; for IRA computer model provisions, effective on the date of enactment. Editor's Note: The statutory language referred to §4975(c)(3)(B).

²³ Bill §611; ERISA §§3(42), 408, 412;I.R.C. §4975. Generally effective for transactions occurring after the date of enactment, except that bonding relief would be effective for plan years beginning after such date.

²⁴ Bill §612; ERISA §408;I.R.C. §4975. Effective for any transaction which the fiduciary or disqualified person discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, after the date of enactment constitutes a prohibited transaction.

²⁵ Bill §621; ERISA §404. Generally effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007; for collectively bargained plans ratified on or before the date of enactment, the earlier of (a) the later of Dec. 31, 2008, or the date on which the last CBA terminates, without regard to extensions made after the date of enactment, or (b) Dec. 31, 2009.

²⁶ Bill §622; ERISA §412. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

²⁷ Bill §623; ERISA §511. Effective for violations occurring on and after the date of enactment.

²⁸ Bill §624; ERISA §404. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

²⁹ Bill §625. Effective on the date of enactment.

³⁰ Bill §701; ERISA §§203, 204;I.R.C. §411; ADEA §4 Generally effective for periods beginning on or after June 29, 2005. The amendments for computation of accrued benefits would apply to distributions made after the date of enactment for plans in existence on June 29, 2005. The vesting and interest credit requirements would apply to years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007, unless the plan sponsor elects to apply them for any period after June 29, 2005, and before the first year beginning after Dec. 31, 2007. For collectively bargained plans ratified on or before the date of enactment, the vesting and interest credit provisions would not apply to plan years beginning before (a) the earlier of the date on which the last CBA terminates, without regard to extensions made after the date of enactment, or Jan. 1, 2008, or (b) Jan. 1, 2010.

³¹ Bill §702.

³² Bill §801;I.R.C. §§404, 404A. Effective for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007. For 2006 and 2007, the deduction limit would be increased from 100 percent to 150 percent of the plan's current liability, effective for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2005.

³³ Bill §802;I.R.C. §404. Effective for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

³⁴ Bill §803;I.R.C. §§404, 4972. Effective for contributions for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2005.

³⁵ Bill §811.

³⁶ Bill §812.

³⁷ Bill §821;I.R.C. §415. Retroactively effective as if enacted in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 97, P.L. 105-34, §1526, and 2001 EGTRRA §647.

³⁸ Bill §822;I.R.C. §402. Effective for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

³⁹ Bill §823.

⁴⁰ Bill §824;I.R.C. §408A. Effective for distributions after Dec. 31, 2007.

⁴¹ Bill §825.

⁴² Bill §826.

⁴³ Bill §827;I.R.C. §§72, 401, 403. Effective for distributions made after Sept. 11, 2001.

⁴⁴ Bill §828;I.R.C. §72. Effective for distributions made after the date of enactment.

⁴⁵ Bill §829;I.R.C. §§402, 403, 457. Effective for distributions made after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁴⁶ Bill §830. The amendment would require the IRS to provide the form for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁴⁷ Bill §831;I.R.C. §2. Effective for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006 and beginning before Jan. 1, 2011.

⁴⁸ Bill §832;I.R.C. §415. Effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2005.

⁴⁹ Bill §833;I.R.C. §§25B, 2, 408A. Effective for taxable years beginning after 2006.

⁵⁰ Bill §841;I.R.C. §420. Effective for transfers made after the date of enactment.

⁵¹ Bill §842;I.R.C. §420. Effective for transfers made in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁵² Bill §843;I.R.C. §4A. Effective for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁵³ Bill §844;I.R.C. §§72, 848, 1035, 7702B, 6050U (new), 6724. Generally effective for contracts issued after Dec. 31, 96, but only with respect to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2009. The reporting requirements are effective for charges for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2009.

⁵⁴ Bill §845;I.R.C. §§402, 403, 457. Effective for distributions in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁵⁵ Bill §861;I.R.C. §401. Effective for any year beginning after the date of enactment.

⁵⁶ Bill §863;I.R.C. §§101, 6039I (new). Effective for contracts issued after the date of enactment.

⁵⁷ Bill §865. Effective for church plans in existence Apr. 17, 2002, for any plan year ending after the date of enactment.

⁵⁸ Bill §866;I.R.C. §514. Effective for taxable years beginning on or after the date of enactment.

⁵⁹ Bill §867;I.R.C. §415. Effective for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2006.

⁶⁰ Bill §868;I.R.C. §664. Effective on the date of enactment.