[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2832 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2832

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require 
                     a lifetime income disclosure.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 3, 2009

 Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Isakson, and Mr. Kohl) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require 
                     a lifetime income disclosure.

    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 ``Lifetime Income Disclosure Act''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE REGARDING LIFETIME INCOME.

    (a) In General.--Subparagraph (B) of section 105(a)(2) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1025(a)(2)) 
is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking ``diversification.'' and 
        inserting ``diversification, and''; and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) the lifetime income disclosure 
                        described in subparagraph (D)(i).
                In the case of pension benefit statements described in 
                clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A), a lifetime income 
                disclosure under clause (iii) of this subparagraph 
                shall only be required to be included in one pension 
                benefit statement in each calendar year.''.
    (b) Lifetime Income.--Paragraph (2) of section 105(a) of such Act 
(29 U.S.C. 1025(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Lifetime income disclosure.--
                            ``(i) In general.--
                                    ``(I) Disclosure.--A lifetime 
                                income disclosure shall set forth the 
                                annuity equivalent of the total 
                                benefits accrued with respect to the 
                                participant or beneficiary.
                                    ``(II) Annuity equivalent of the 
                                total benefits accrued.--For purposes 
                                of this subparagraph, the `annuity 
                                equivalent of the total benefits 
                                accrued' means the amount of monthly 
                                payments the participant or beneficiary 
                                would receive at the plan's normal 
                                retirement age if the total accrued 
                                benefits of such participant or 
                                beneficiary were used on the date of 
                                the lifetime income disclosure to 
                                purchase the life annuities described 
                                in subclause (III), with payments under 
                                such annuities commencing at the plan's 
                                normal retirement age.
                                    ``(III) Life annuities.--The life 
                                annuities described in this subclause 
                                are a qualified joint and survivor 
                                annuity (as defined in section 205(d)), 
                                based on assumptions specified in rules 
                                prescribed by the Secretary, including 
                                the assumption that the participant or 
                                beneficiary has a spouse of equal age, 
                                and a single life annuity. Such 
                                annuities may have a term certain or 
                                other features to the extent permitted 
                                under rules prescribed by the 
                                Secretary.
                            ``(ii) Model disclosure.--Not later than 1 
                        year after the date of the enactment of the 
                        Lifetime Income Disclosure Act, the Secretary 
                        shall issue a model lifetime income disclosure, 
                        written in a manner so as to be understood by 
                        the average plan participant, that--
                                    ``(I) explains that the annuity 
                                equivalent is only provided as an 
                                illustration;
                                    ``(II) explains that the actual 
                                annuity payments that may be purchased 
                                with the total benefits accrued will 
                                depend on numerous factors and may vary 
                                substantially from the annuity 
                                equivalent in the disclosures;
                                    ``(III) explains the assumptions 
                                upon which the annuity equivalent was 
                                determined; and
                                    ``(IV) provides such other similar 
                                explanations as the Secretary considers 
                                appropriate.
                            ``(iii) Assumptions and rules.--Not later 
                        than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
                        the Lifetime Income Disclosure Act, the 
                        Secretary shall--
                                    ``(I) prescribe assumptions that 
                                administrators of individual account 
                                plans may use in converting total 
                                accrued benefits into annuity 
                                equivalents for purposes of this 
                                subparagraph; and
                                    ``(II) issue interim final rules 
                                under clause (i).
                        In prescribing assumptions under subclause (I), 
                        the Secretary may prescribe a single set of 
                        specific assumptions (in which case the 
                        Secretary may issue tables or factors that 
                        facilitate such conversions), or ranges of 
                        permissible assumptions. To the extent that an 
                        accrued benefit is or may be invested in an 
                        annuity contract, the assumptions prescribed 
                        under subclause (I) shall, to the extent 
                        appropriate, permit administrators of 
                        individual account plans to use the amounts 
                        payable under such contract as an annuity 
                        equivalent.
                            ``(iv) Limitation on liability.--No plan 
                        fiduciary, plan sponsor, or other person shall 
                        have any liability under this title solely by 
                        reason of the provision of annuity equivalents 
                        which are derived in accordance with the 
                        assumptions and rules described in clause (iii) 
                        and which include the explanations contained in 
                        the model lifetime income disclosure described 
                        in clause (ii). This clause shall apply without 
                        regard to whether the provision of such annuity 
                        equivalent is required by subparagraph 
                        (B)(iii).
                            ``(v) Effective date.--The requirement in 
                        subparagraph (B)(iii) shall apply to pension 
                        benefit statements furnished more than 12 
                        months after the latest of the issuance by the 
                        Secretary of--
                                    ``(I) interim final rules under 
                                clause (i);
                                    ``(II) the model disclosure under 
                                clause (ii); or
                                    ``(III) the assumptions under 
                                clause (iii).''.
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