[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1312 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1312

 To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 in order 
to provide for the availability of remedies for certain former pension 
                  plan participants and beneficiaries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 29 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

     Mr. Metzenbaum (for himself and Mrs. Kassebaum) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                       Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 in order 
to provide for the availability of remedies for certain former pension 
                  plan participants and beneficiaries.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pension Annuitants Protection Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OF ERISA.

    Section 502(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking the semicolon at the end of paragraph (5),
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and 
        inserting ``; or'', and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7)(A) in the event that the purchase of an insurance 
        contract or insurance annuity in connection with termination of 
        an individual's status as a participant covered under a pension 
        plan with respect to all or any portion of the participant's 
        pension benefit under such plan constitutes a violation of part 
        4 of this title or the terms of the plan, by the Secretary, by 
        any individual who was a participant or beneficiary at the time 
        of the alleged violation, or by a fiduciary, to obtain 
        appropriate relief, including the posting of security if 
        necessary, to assure receipt by the participant or beneficiary 
        of the amounts provided by such insurance contract or annuity, 
        plus reasonable prejudgment interest on such amounts.''.

SEC. 3. WAIVER OR REDUCTION OF CIVIL PENALTY.

    Section 502(l)(3)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(l)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting ``(or to 
provide the relief ordered pursuant to subsection (a)(7))'' after ``to 
restore all losses to the plan''.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER PROVISIONS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the legal standing 
of individuals to bring a civil action as participants or beneficiaries 
under section 502(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(a)), and nothing in this Act, other than the 
relief authorized in section 2 of this Act, shall affect the 
responsibilities, obligations, or duties imposed upon fiduciaries by 
title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any legal proceeding 
pending, or brought, on or after May 31, 1993.

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