[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1185 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1185

 To provide employees with more access to information concerning their 
 pension plans and with additional mechanisms to enforce their rights 
                           under such plans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 1997

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide employees with more access to information concerning their 
 pension plans and with additional mechanisms to enforce their rights 
                           under such plans.

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

SECTION 1. PERIODIC PENSION BENEFITS STATEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 105(a) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1025(a)) is amended by striking ``shall 
furnish'' and all that follows through the period and inserting 
``shall--
            ``(1) in the case of a plan other than a defined benefit 
        plan, furnish to each plan participant at least once each year, 
        and, in the case of any plan, furnish to a plan participant or 
        beneficiary upon their written request, a statement in written 
        or electronic form indicating, on the basis of the latest 
        available information--
                    ``(A) the total benefits accrued, and
                    ``(B) the nonforfeitable pension benefits, if any, 
                which have accrued, or the earliest date on which 
                benefits will become nonforfeitable, and
            ``(2) in the case of a defined benefit plan, furnish to 
        each plan participant at least once every 3 years, a statement 
        in written or electronic form indicating the plan's approximate 
        benefit levels at various levels of pay and service, including 
        information as to whether such benefit levels are affected by 
        breaks in service, family leave, or otherwise.''.
    (b) Rule for Multiemployer Plans.--Section 105(d) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1025(d)) is amended 
to read as follows:
    ``(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), in the case of a plan to 
which more than 1 unaffiliated employer is required to contribute and 
to which subsection (a)(1) applies, a statement described in subsection 
(a)(1) shall be required upon the written request of a participant or 
beneficiary.''.
    (c) Penalty for Failure To Disclose.--Section 502(c)(1)(A) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1132(c)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``or section 101(e)(1)'' and 
inserting ``, section 101(e)(1), or section 105(a)''.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 101(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income 
        Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1021(a)(2)) is amended by 
        striking ``105(a) and (c)'' and inserting ``105(a), (c), and 
        (d)''.
            (2) Section 106(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1026(b)) is 
        amended by striking ``and 105(c)'' and inserting ``, 105(c), 
        and 105(d)''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to plan years beginning after the earlier of--
            (1) the date of issuance by the Secretary of Labor of 
        regulations--
                    (A) providing guidance for simplifying defined 
                benefit plan calculations with respect to the 
                information required under section 105 of the Employee 
                Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
                1025), and
                    (B) requiring that the statements required under 
                the amendments made by this section are written in a 
                form calculated to be understood by an average plan 
                participant and specifying model language for such 
                statements, or
            (2) December 31, 1998.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF BENEFIT CALCULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 105 of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1025) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(e)(1) In the case of a participant or beneficiary who is 
entitled to a distribution of a benefit under an employee pension 
benefit plan, the administrator of such plan shall provide to the 
participant or beneficiary the information described in paragraph (2) 
upon the written request of the participant or beneficiary.
    ``(2) The information described in this paragraph includes--
            ``(A) a worksheet explaining how the amount of the 
        distribution was calculated and stating the assumptions used 
        for such calculation,
            ``(B) upon written request of the participant or 
        beneficiary, any documents relating to the calculation (if 
        available), and
            ``(C) such other information as the Secretary may 
        prescribe.
Any information provided under this paragraph shall be in a form 
calculated to be understood by the average plan participant.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 101(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income 
        Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1021(a)(2)), as amended by 
        section 1(d)(1), is amended by striking ``105(a), (c), and 
        (d)'' and inserting ``105(a), (c), (d), and (e)''.
            (2) Section 106(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1026(b)), as 
        amended by section 1(d)(2), is amended by striking ``and 
        105(d)'' and inserting ``105(d), and 105(e)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to distributions made after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. DISCRETIONARY SECRETARIAL IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES FOR FAILURE 
              TO DISCLOSE TO PARTICIPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 501(c) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(7) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty of not more than 
$100 a day for each violation by any administrator of section 104(b) or 
105. For purposes of this paragraph, each violation with respect to any 
single participant or beneficiary shall be treated as a separate 
violation.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to violations occurring after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF PARTICIPANT.

    Section 3(7) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(29 U.S.C. 1002(7)) is amended by striking ``who is or may become'' and 
inserting ``who was, is, or may become''.

SEC. 5. REVIEW OF DENIAL OF BENEFIT CLAIMS.

    (a) Model Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure.--Section 503 
(29 U.S.C. 1133) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' after ``Sec. 503.''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Model Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a model 
        alternative dispute resolution procedure to be adopted by any 
        plan at its discretion for appeals of plan benefits claims 
        denials to which subsection (a) applies.
            ``(2) Experts and fees.--The Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall maintain a roster of employee benefit 
                experts who may be called upon to serve as neutral 
                experts in the procedure under paragraph (1), and
                    ``(B) may assess fees as necessary from each party 
                to cover the costs of experts called.
        The Secretary may reduce or waive a fee under subparagraph (B) 
        on the basis of inability to pay.
            ``(3) Notice.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) notify individuals of the procedure 
                established under paragraph (1) or other sources of 
                assistance in resolving benefits claim disputes, and
                    ``(B) provide model information with respect to the 
                procedure to be included in all summary plan 
                descriptions and benefit determinations.''
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to claims made after the date of enactment of this Act.
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