ASPPA Asks Members to Push for Delay in Effective Date of Certain PPA Provisions

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The American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries is asking its members to contact their Congressional representatives and senators to request an extension of the deadline for compliance with certain new rules under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

In a letter emailed to members on Thursday, December 6, ASPPA included a link to a page on its Web site containing an online form using technology that automatically sends an emailed letter to the appropriate politicians. Membership in ASPPA is not required in order to use the online form, however. Plan sponsors and pension professionals who are not ASPPA members are invited to use the online form, ASPPA Executive Director Brian Graff told BenefitsLink.

ASPPA is seeking a one-year extension to defined benefit funding rules that become effective for the 2008 plan year.

The full text of ASPPA's letter to its members follows.

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December 6, 2007

ASPPA Members:

As you are well aware, massive changes to DB plan funding rules, enacted 16 months ago in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), are currently scheduled to become effective the first of 2008. At this time, we still do not have critical Treasury guidance needed to do the complex calculations required under a new set of funding rules for determining pension plan contributions. Given the delay in guidance, we are acutely aware of the challenges faced by practitioners struggling to prepare themselves and their clients for these significant changes.

Under the law, Treasury has no authority to delay the effective date of these PPA provisions. However, there is a possibility that Congress will delay for a year some or all of the PPA provisions affecting DB plans.

It is imperative that you contact your member of Congress asking for their support on legislation that would give plan administrators and plans sponsors time to implement the new rules once they are finalized. A one-year delay in the date by which PPA funding rules take effect should accomplish this.

Click here to contact your Member of Congress today!

Brian H. Graff, Esq., APM
Executive Director/CEO