II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1206 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 25, 2007 Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify the age discrimination rules applicable to the pension plan maintained by the Young Women’s Christian Association Retirement Fund.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Clarification Act of 2007.

2.

Findings and purpose

(a)

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)The Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan is a multiple employer plan (subject to the requirements of section 210 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) which is maintained by a corporation created by State law prior to the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and whose primary purpose is the maintenance of retirement programs. (2)No applicable plan amendment, as defined in clause (v) of section 204(b)(5)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(5)(B)(v)) (added by section 701(a) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–280; 120 Stat. 982)) and clause (v) of section 4(i)(10)(B) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(i)(10)(B)(v)) (added by section 701(c) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–280; 120 Stat. 986)), or any applicable plan amendment causing a participant’s accrued benefit to be less than the amount described in clause (iii) of such section 204(b)(5)(B) or clause (iii) of such section 4(i)(10)(B), has ever been made to the Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan. (3)Under the terms of the Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan, as in effect as of June 29, 2005, all pension benefits of all participants under the plan are immediately nonforfeitable. (4)As of April 25, 2007, the Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan provides— (A)for periods including June 29, 2005, and ending on or before December 31, 2007, a credit to the account of each participant equal to 40 percent of the pay credit provided to such participant and interest credits determined for each plan year at the average of the annual rates of interest on 10-year Treasury securities during a designated period in the preceding plan year, and (B)for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2008, interest credits which satisfy the requirements of section 204(b)(5)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(5)(B)(i)) (added by section 701(a) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–280; 120 Stat. 981)) and section 4(i)(10)(B)(i) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(i)(10)(B)(i)) (added by section 701(c) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–280; 120 Stat. 989)). (b)

Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to clarify the age discrimination rules under section 204(b)(1)(H) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and section 4(i)(1) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as they relate to periods prior to June 29, 2005, during which violations of such rules are alleged to have occurred in civil actions commenced on or after April 25, 2007.

3.

Clarification of age discrimination rules

(a)

In general

In the case of any civil action which— (1)is commenced on or after April 25, 2007, and (2)alleges a violation of section 204(b)(1)(H) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(1)(H)) or section 4(i)(1) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(i)(1)) occurring before June 29, 2005, with respect to any benefit provided under the Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan, such sections 204(b)(1)(H) and 4(i)(1) shall be applied as if paragraph (5) of section 204(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as added by section 701(a)(1) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(5); 120 Stat. 981) and paragraph (10) of section 4(i) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(i)(10); 120 Stat. 998) applied to any period in which such alleged violation occurred.(b)

Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan

For purposes of this Act, the term Young Women’s Christian Association Pension Plan means the defined benefit plan (as defined in section 3(35) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) established on January 1, 1926, and maintained by the Young Women’s Christian Association Retirement Fund, a corporation created by an Act of the State of New York which became law on April 12, 1924.