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American Benefits Council Letter to EBSA on ERISA 408(b)(2) Rulemaking

"[W]ell-crafted 408(b)(2) Rulemaking should aim to balance meaningful transparency with appropriate safeguards as outlined below, recognizing that new requirements have the potential to increase, rather than decrease meritless litigation against plan fiduciaries who continue to exercise prudence and loyalty in carrying out their ERISA duties. The development of clear rules, including a process- based safe harbor as discussed below, will allow plan fiduciaries to more ably defeat such frivolous litigation, including potentially in a more efficient manner."

Text of American Benefits Council Testimony to Senate Banking Committee Regarding FASB Exposure Draft (PDF)

13 pages. Excerpt: [June 14, 2006, Testimony of James A. Klein, President, American Benefits Council, was] submitted on behalf of the members of the American Benefits Council regarding the implications of FASB's Proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Standards: Employers' Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans.

American Benefits Council Comment on Proposed Amendments to Certain Rules Governing Money Market Funds (PDF)

2 pages. "Because of the importance of these funds to retirement plans, the Council commends the SEC's efforts to significantly strengthen the regulatory framework for money market funds to increase their resilience to economic stresses. The Council strongly supports strengthening these rules. The Council is concerned, however, about one proposal raised by the SEC. The proposed regulation requests comments on the possibility of eliminating the ability of money market funds to use the amortized cost method of valuation, resulting in a floating net asset value ('NAV') instead of a fixed $1.00 NAV. The Council believes that other changes proposed would result in less risk to the participant investing in the fund at the same time that a floating NAV would create an impression of more risk since, previously, 'breaking the buck' was a signthat the money market fund was significantly unstable."

American Benefits Council Comment Letter to IRS: 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan Recommendation

"[We] are writing to request that Treasury and the IRS publish official guidance ... affirming that the 100% excise tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 4976 does not apply to an employer's reallocation or repurposing of welfare benefit fund assets to provide other health and welfare benefits to employees and their beneficiaries.... Separately, we request guidance to address some confusion regarding the taxation of payments made under group fixed indemnity insurance offered by employers to support employers' ability to continue to offer these valued benefits."

American Benefits Council Proposal Would Free DB Surplus Assets

"A proposal from the American Benefits Council (ABC) would give defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors two new options for using 'trapped' surplus plan assets to provide other benefits.... Some congressional Republicans are interested in the proposal to help pay for a party-line budget reconciliation bill aimed at passing much of their agenda this year, but the outlook is unclear. A number of employers are actively advocating for this change, which could improve its chances in a GOP budget bill or another measure."

American Benefits Council/ACLI Comments on Special Rules Governing Eligible Combined 'DB(k)' Plans (PDF)

4 pages. "This letter, which is submitted by the American Council of Life Insurers ... and the American Benefits Council ..., provides comments in response to Notice 2009-71 regarding guidance relating to eligible combined plans under 414(x) of the Internal Revenue Code ... It would be helpful if the Service would provide sample plan language in the form of listings of required modifications (LRMs) for eligible combined plans. Alternatively, we would appreciate guidance on which provisions must be included in the single plan document for the eligible combined plan."

American Benefits Council Comments to CMS on Prescription Drug Machine-Readable File Requirement in the Transparency in Coverage Final Rule

12 pages. "[The Council offers] comments that apply to the prescription drug MRF disclosure requirement specifically while also outlining additional recommendations -- beyond the questions posed in the RFI -- to increase transparency with the goal of providing access to appropriate pricing information to make informed decisions with the intent to understand and address the cost of health care for employers and working families."

American Benefits Council Proposes New Ways to Use Retirement Surpluses to Boost Benefits, Raise Revenue

"The American Benefits Council has proposed changes that would reshape how employers use otherwise unusable surplus assets in retirement plans ... Citing the rise in interest rates since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rise which resulted in increased funded levels for the 100 largest corporate pension plans and a surplus of at least $62 billion in pension assets in the U.S. as of December 2024, ... the ABC's plans would avoid 'a material incentive to terminate' pension funds."

American Benefits Council Letter to IRS: 2024-2025 Priority Guidance Plan Recommendation (PDF)

"[The Council is] writing to request that Treasury and the IRS publish official guidance on which employer plan sponsors may rely affirming that the 100% excise tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 4976 does not apply to an employer's reallocation or repurposing of welfare benefit fund assets to provide other health and welfare benefits to employees and their beneficiaries. [The Council also recommends], at least in the interim, that Treasury and the IRS begin again to issue private letter rulings (PLRs) on the same and related issues, as needed."

Text of Testimony on Behalf of the American Benefits Council Before the ERISA Advisory Council Hearing on Outsourcing of Employee Benefit Plan Services (PDF)

6 pages. "I encourage the ERISA Advisory Council, and indeed the [DOL] and other regulatory bodies who have oversight of employer sponsored employee benefits, to recognize that outsourcing will mean different things to different people and companies and in the context of different benefit plans. For this reason, in particular, flexibility must be a key component of any government or company initiative to shape the selection and monitoring of a supplier to whom a portion of the plan function has been outsourced."

Text of Testimony of American Benefits Council to ERISA Advisory Council on Locating Missing and Lost Participants (PDF)

6 pages. "[The Council encourages] the Department to consider that plan sponsors are subject to a myriad of other regulatory mandates regarding lost participants, including the SEC's recently adopted rules on lost security holders and existing state insurance and unclaimed property regulators' requirements for locating beneficiaries.... If a solution is too costly relative to the results -- or likely results -- then the solutions proffered may not be solutions in practice at all. This is especially true when handling small benefit amounts as search costs can rapidly deplete the benefit itself."

Text of Testimony by American Benefits Council to ERISA Advisory Council on Income Replacement in Retirement (PDF)

4 pages. "While the Council's companies strongly believe disclosure and education are the first steps toward appropriate use of lifetime income products, such disclosure should be encouraged, not mandated. Many questions remain unanswered with respect to providing additional information to participants regarding what a current or hypothetical account balance may translate into in terms of dollars and cents at some future point in time if distributed in the form of a lifetime stream of income. The range of views about the appropriate assumptions to be used in translating benefits into different forms and the best methodologies for evaluating participant responses and behavior create an extremely challenging environment for employers trying to provide meaningful retirement benefits to their employees."

Testimony of American Benefits Council on Proposed Regs for Minimum Present Value Requirements for Partial Annuity Distributions (PDF)

5 pages. "[The preamble to the proposed regulations states that,] when one portion of a retirement benefit distribution subject to the section 417(e) factors is a 'decreasing' benefit, both portions of the distribution are subject to the minimum present value requirements of section 417(e)(3). The Council believes that the current regulation does not clearly require that, and can be reasonably interpreted to reach the opposite result. Due to this uncertainty, the Council believes that the clarification of the rules, as provided by the proposed regulations, should apply prospectively, and that Treasury and the Service should clearly state that no inference should be drawn regarding the law prior to the effective date of the final regulation."

American Benefits Council Statement for House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Record on Safeguarding Retiree Health Benefits (PDF)

3 pages. "I am writing on behalf of the member companies of the American Benefits Council ... to correct a statement made by a member of the Committee concerning the Council's position on health care reform and to share our views with you on the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of 2007 (H.R. 1322). I respectfully request that this letter be included as part of the Committee's record for the September 25, 2008 hearing on H.R. 1322."

American Benefits Council Letter on Proposed Regs on Mortality Tables for Determining Present Value (PDF)

3 pages. Excerpt: The American Benefits Council (Council) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations concerning mortality tables used in making present value calculations for purposes of calculating funding requirements for defined benefit plans.

American Benefits Council Letter to Tri-Agencies Requesting Extension of Enforcement Discretion Related to Qualifying Payment Amounts (PDF)

"[The Council is] writing now to make the tri-agencies aware that [Council] members, including plan sponsors and their service providers, including third party administrators (TPAs) (who do the bulk of the work regarding the QPA calculation), have expressed to us that additional time is needed in order make the QPA-related changes required by TMA III. This is due to the complexity and breadth of the required changes[.]"

American Benefits Council Comment Letter to EBSA on Notice 2024-22, Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) (PDF)

"Because administrative flexibility will be crucial to the adoption and success of PLESAs, the Council appreciates the flexibility that was provided through Notice 2024-22 ... The Council remains concerned, however, that the potential for unnecessary regulation of PLESAs, beyond what is required by the statute, would undermine the ability of plan sponsors to provide PLESAs. Accordingly, the Council encourages the IRS to continue to offer this type of flexibility to plan sponsors in any additional PLESA-related guidance that is developed in the future."

American Benefits Council Comment Letter to EBSA on Proposed Amendments to the QPAM Exemption (PDF)

13 pages. "The Council does not believe that DOL should be adding any new categories of QPAM conditions that would make it more difficult for plan sponsors to retain their investment managers.... [T]he Council is concerned about how the proposal would effectively prohibit QPAMs from accessing key investment options that plan sponsors need to manage the risk in their plans."

American Benefits Council Comment Letter to IRS Regarding Tax on Excess Tax-Exempt Organization Executive Compensation (PDF)

"The Council's members strongly support the inclusion of the limited hours and nonexempt funds exceptions in the final regulations ... [T]hey [1] reflect congressional intent regarding the scope of the application of the new excise tax and [2] will provide appropriate relief to employers with respect to the concerns the Council raised in its previous comments."

American Benefits Council Comment Letter to HHS on Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2021 (PDF)

"[T]he Council supports the department's modification of the regulations ... to allow, but not require, group health plans and issuers to count the enrollee's cost-sharing portion associated with the value of drug manufacturers' coupons toward the annual limitation on cost sharing.... [T]he Council is supportive of federal policies and rules that support and enhance value-based insurance design."