Search the News Archive

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 -- Lump Sum Distributions

Excerpt: Various provisions under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4) affect the valuation and distribution of lump sum distribution of the value of a participant's accrued benefits under a defined benefit pension plan. [The target page focuses] on distributions from single-employer qualified pension plans[.]

Effective Dates and MANY Other Key Dates in the Pension Protection Act of 2006

Excerpt: The 2008 delayed effective date of new minimum funding standards for pension plans may be the date to get the most press of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, but one of our first practical tasks needs to be to sort through the entire tangle of dates set by the legislation.

Commentary on Pension Protection Act: 'At-Risk' Plans

Excerpt: The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4), as passed last Friday by the House and awaiting possible Senate action this week, includes special rules for a single-employer defined benefit pension plan that is characterized as being 'at-risk.'

Federal District Court Finds ERISA Plans Invested with Madoff Not Covered by Securities Investor Protection Act

"If you've been wondering about whether the qualified plans invested with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC would be able to recover some of their losses through the $500,000 maximum made available by the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 (SIPA) to customers of failed brokerage firms, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has answered 'no' in an opinion issued on July 25, 2012.... The Court reasoning was that because assets in an ERISA-regulated plan are held and owned by the plan's trustees, and not by the participants, the participants could not pursue recovery as a 'customer' under SIPA."

Technical Corrections Bill Not Acted Upon by Congress; New Funding Rules Are Effective 1/1/2008 Without Guidance from the IRS

Excerpt: Last night, Congress adjoined without acting on H.R. 3361, the House of Representative's version of the Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act of 2007. The Senate passed S. 1974, the Senate version of the Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act of 2007. The House could still pass their version of the bill after the holiday recess but it will not be in time to delay PPA's new funding rules for defined benefit plans.

Multiple Employer Plans and the Affordable Care Act

"Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has found most of the Affordable Care Act constitutional, it creates an interesting dilemma for the Dept of Labor. One of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act establishes multiple employer plans which employers can utilize to provide health care benefits to their employees."

Today in ERISA History: Retirement Equity Act of 1984 Signed Into Law

"Aug. 23, 1984 -- The Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (REA), Pub. L. 98-397, is signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. REA made a number of significant changes which have become a part of our daily plan language, including QDROs, QJSA, and Code section 417."

PBGC Guidance for Terminations and Lump Sum Distributions Straddling January 1st, 2008

Excerpt: For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, the Pension Protection Act amended Code section 417(e)(3), changing the applicable interest rate and applicable mortality table. For single employer defined benefit plans terminating before January 1, 2008, this change created a potential lump sum valuation issue because a plan could be terminated before January 1, 2008, but not distribute until after January 1, 2008, meaning the plan could terminate under the old definition of actuarial equivalence, and distribute under the new definition of actuarial equivalence. The PBGC has clarified this situation ....

Trap for the Unwary: When Has a Pension Plan Participant Been 'Married for a Year'?

Excerpt: The easy answer is to read [this particular pension plan's] definition, and declare that the participant is permitted to behave as if he is not married because he has not been married for one year. The Treasury regulations provide a different answer.

Former Chief Fiduciary of Several 'Multiple Employer' Pension Plans Indicted on Charges of Misappropriation of Funds

"Matthew Hutcheson, former Chief Fiduciary of several multiple employer plans, was arrested [on April 11], charged with 17 counts of wire fraud and 14 counts of misappropriating pension funds. The indictment seeks to recover more than $5 million which the federal government claims Mr. Hutcheson misappropriated from the plans and spent making renovations to his house and buying two SUVs, a BMW convertible, two motorcycles, and a John Deere tractor, along with spending $3 million in a failed attempt to buy the Tamarack Resort in Donnelly, Idaho."