EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT

Amendments

Pensions: provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), H1202 [10AP], H1248 [11AP]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), complete action (H. Res. 540)—consideration (H. Res. 547), H6667 [25SE]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), consideration (H. Res. 386), H1213 [11AP]

Articles and editorials

Brain Storm at Last, Bush Grasps a Medical Fact, S3586 [1MY]

Equity for Mental Illness, S8425 [10SE]

Ex-Employees Questioned on 401(k) Plan, E256 [5MR]

Toward Mental Health Parity, S3586 [1MY]

Bills and resolutions

Crime: increase penalties relating to conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and ERISA violations (see S. 2717), S6573 [10JY]

Dept. of Labor: improve enforcement of requirements relating to pension participation, vesting, benefit accrual, and funding (see H.R. 4778), H2661 [20MY]

Health: provide emergency protection for retiree health benefits (see S. 2904), S8300 [5SE]

———provide health insurance protections for individuals who are living organ donors (see S. 2913), S8384 [9SE]

Insurance: extend mental health coverage parity (see H.R. 5716), H8731 [13NO]

———require group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans to provide prompt payment for health benefits claims (see H.R. 4983), H3824 [21JN]

———require group and individual health plans provide coverage for second opinions (see H.R. 5325), H6059 [4SE]

Medicare: improve access to benefits for certain individuals and provide financial assistance to individuals who are too poor to afford premiums (see H.R. 4684), H2235 [8MY]

Mental health: provide for equal insurance coverage of benefits unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits (see H.R. 4066), H1089 [20MR]

Pensions: allow workers flexibility in treatment of investments in individual account plans and require certain disclosures prior to transaction suspension periods (see S. 1971), S1251 [27FE]

———ensure that individual account retirement plans protect workers by limiting the amount of employer stock each worker may hold and encouraging diversification of investment of plan assets (see H.R. 3640), H103 [29JA] (see H.R. 3692), H226 [7FE]

———increase the maximum levels of guaranteed single-employer plan benefits (see S. 2875), S7900 [1AU]

———joint trusteeship of single-employer plans (see H.R. 5529), H6982 [2OC]

———permit defined benefit plans to use adjusted interest rates for calculating contributions and make permanent certain rules for interstate bus lines with frozen pension plans (see S. 2563), S4839 [23MY]

———prohibit knowing misrepresentations by fiduciaries of 401(k) plans which may induce participants to act contrary to their best interests and protect claims based on such misrepresentations (see H.R. 3623), H78 [24JA]

———promote the provision of retirement investment advice to workers managing their retirement income assets (see S. 1978), S1394 [1MR]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (see S. 1969), S1208 [26FE] (see H.R. 3762), H523 [14FE]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), complete congressional action (see H. Res. 540), H6419 [19SE]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), complete congressional action (H. Res. 540)—consideration (see H. Res. 547), H6558 [24SE]

———provide for improved disclosure, diversification, account access, and accountability under individual account plans (see S. 1919), S487 [7FE] (see S. 1992), S1599 [6MR] (see S. 2032), S2076 [19MR] (see H.R. 3657), H104 [29JA]

———provide for timely notification of plan participants and beneficiaries whose individual accounts hold employer securities of insider trading in employer securities (see H.R. 3840), H686 [5MR]

———provide greater protection of workers' retirement plans and prohibit certain activities by persons providing auditing services to issuers of public securities (see S. 1921), S488 [7FE]

———provide individual investment account participants with improved information on asset investments, new diversification rights, and new limitations on pension plan blackouts (see S. 2190), S2829 [17AP]

———provide new protections under applicable fiduciary rules for participants and beneficiaries under 401(k) plans and provide for vesting of elective deferrals under such plans (see H.R. 3677), H140 [5FE]

———provide workers in individual account plans with information on how their assets are invested and the need to diversify assets (see S. 2185), S2829 [17AP]

———require certain pension plan administrators to provide reports to fully and accurately disclose the financial health of the plan sponsor and promote diversification of investment of their plan assets (see H.R. 3642), H103 [29JA]

———simplify ERISA reporting and disclosure requirements and provide Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. premium relief (see H.R. 3918), H781 [7MR]

Securities: provide a reasonable correction period for certain security and commodity transactions under the prohibited transaction rules (see H.R. 5653), H8021 [16OC]

Taxation: allow employers a tax credit for providing independent investment advice to employees (see S. 2087), S2485 [10AP]

Women: provide comprehensive pension protection (see S. 2707), S6319 [28JN]

Cost Estimates

National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act (S. 1971): CBO, S8665-S8667 [17SE]

Explanations

National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act (S. 1971), S1257 [27FE]

Letters

National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act: several Senators, S10605 [17OC]

Pension Security Act: Representative Boehner, Committee on Education and the Workforce (House), E558 [17AP]

———Representative Gutknecht, H1270 [11AP]

———Representative Oxley, Committee on Financial Services (House), E558 [17AP]

Permit defined benefit pension plans to use adjusted interest rates for calculating contributions and make permanent certain rules for interstate bus lines with frozen pension plans: Jim LaSala, Amalgamated Transit Union, S4853 [23MY]

Motions

Pensions: provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), H1264 [11AP]

Remarks in House

Health: classify multiple employer welfare arrangements as association health plans, E127 [12FE]

———protection of enrollees in managed care plans and HMO's, H2136 [7MY], E127 [12FE]

Insurance: extend mental health coverage parity (H.R. 5716), H8926 [14NO]

———require group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans to provide prompt payment for health benefits claims (H.R. 4983), E1127 [21JN]

———require group and individual health insurance plans to provide coverage of cancer screening (H.R. 1809), E1878 [17OC]

———require group and individual health plans provide coverage for second opinions (H.R. 5325), E1490 [4SE]

IRS: enforce pension age discrimination laws relative to conversion of defined benefit plans to cash balance plans, H5333-H5336 [24JY]

Mental health: provide for equal insurance coverage of benefits unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits (H.R. 4066), E397 [21MR], E989 [7JN]

Pensions: conduct a feasibility study on insurance programs relative to defined contribution plans, H1244 [11AP]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), H1095 [9AP], H1217-H1267, H1270, H1271 [11AP], H4472 [10JY], H4692 [16JY], E174 [15FE], E533, E534, E542 [16AP], E554, E557, E559 [17AP], E587 [18AP]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), complete congressional action (H. Res. 540), H6563, H6669-H6677 [25SE], E1619 [19SE], E1693 [30SE]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), motion to recommit, H1265 [11AP]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (H.R. 3762), permission to file report, H1072 [20MR]

———provide for improved disclosure, diversification, account access, and accountability under individual account plans (H.R. 3657), H86 [29JA], E59 [29JA], E255 [5MR]

———provide for timely notification of plan participants and beneficiaries whose individual accounts hold employer securities of insider trading in employer securities (H.R. 3840), E255 [5MR]

———provide retirement investment advice to workers managing their retirement income assets, H1262 [11AP]

———provide retirement investment advice to workers managing their retirement income assets (H.R. 2269), E174 [15FE]

———provide vested employees control over retirement investment assets, H19 [23JA]

———reform, E151, E155 [14FE]

———treatment of certain funded deferred compensation plans, H1265 [11AP]

Remarks in Senate

Crime: increase penalties relating to conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and ERISA violations, S6545-S6551 [10JY]

Health: protection of enrollees in managed care plans and HMO's (H.R. 2563), unanimous-consent request, S8012, S8013 [1AU]

———protection of enrollees in managed care plans and HMO's (S. 6), S10610 [17OC]

———protection of enrollees in managed care plans and HMO's (S. 1052), S7359 [25JY], S7839-S7843, S7853 [1AU]

———provide health insurance protections for individuals who are living organ donors (S. 2913), S8386 [9SE]

Insurance: extend mental health coverage parity (H.R. 5716), S11222 [15NO]

Mental health: provide for equal insurance coverage of benefits unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits (H.R. 4066), S5129 [6JN]

———provide for equal insurance coverage of benefits unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits (S. 543), S3484 [29AP], S3586, S3587 [1MY], S8425-S8427 [10SE]

Pensions: allow workers flexibility in treatment of investments in individual account plans and require certain disclosures prior to transaction suspension periods (S. 1971), S1253 [27FE], S10604-S10606 [17OC]

———improve the retirement security of families, S4246 [13MY], S4788 [23MY]

———increase the maximum levels of guaranteed single-employer plan benefits (S. 2875), S7940 [1AU]

———promote the provision of retirement investment advice to workers managing their retirement income assets (S. 1978), S1394 [1MR], S1929 [14MR]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities, S4246, S4247 [13MY], S4788 [23MY]

———provide additional protection to participants in individual account plans, promote investment advice, and prohibit certain insider trades of securities (S. 1969), S1212 [26FE], S1248 [27FE]

———provide for improved disclosure, diversification, account access, and accountability under individual account plans (S. 1919), S491 [7FE]

———provide greater protection of workers' retirement plans and prohibit certain activities by persons providing auditing services to issuers of public securities (S. 1921), S492 [7FE]

———provide workers in individual account plans with information on how their assets are invested and the need to diversify assets (S. 2185), S2838 [17AP]

Small business: improve access and choice relative to employee health care (S. 858), S4188 [10MY], S9683 [1OC]

Taxation: allow employers a tax credit for providing independent investment advice to employees (S. 2087), S2488 [10AP]

Women: provide comprehensive pension protection (S. 2707), S6320, S6321 [28JN]

Reports filed

Consideration of H. Res. 540, Complete Congressional Action on H.R. 3762, Pension Security Act: Committee on Rules (House) (H. Res. 547) (H. Rept. 107-684), H6558 [24SE]

Consideration of H.R. 3762, Pension Security Act: Committee on Rules (House) (H. Res. 386) (H. Rept. 107-396), H1199 [10AP]

National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act: Committee on Finance (Senate) (S. 1971) (S. Rept. 107-242), S8091 [3SE]

Pension Security Act: Committee on Education and the Workforce (House) (H.R. 3762) (H. Rept. 107-383), H1151 [9AP]

Protecting America's Pensions Act: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Senate) (S. 1992) (S. Rept. 107-226), S7430 [26JY]

Summaries

Employee Pension Freedom Act (H.R. 3657), E59 [29JA]

Retirement Security Protection Act (S. 1919), S492 [7FE]

Testimonies

Pension Reform: Betty R. Moss, E151-E153 [14FE]

———Karl V. Farmer, E155 [14FE]

Texts of

H. Res. 386, consideration of H.R. 3762, Pension Security Act, H1205 [11AP]

H. Res. 540, complete congressional action on H.R. 3762, Pension Security Act, H6669 [25SE]

H. Res. 547, consideration of H. Res. 540, H. Res. 543, and H. Res. 544, complete congressional action on H.R. 3762, Pension Security Act, H.R. 4931, Retirement Savings Security Act, and H.R. 4019, make marriage penalty relief permanent, H6660 [25SE]

H.R. 3762, Pension Security Act, H1217-H1233 [11AP]

H.R. 5716, mental health insurance coverage parity extension, H8926 [14NO]

S. 1969, Pension Security Act, S1213-S1216 [26FE]

S. 1971, National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act, S1254-S1257 [27FE]

S. 1978, Retirement Security Advice Act, S1394-S1396 [1MR]

S. 2087, allow employers a tax credit for providing independent investment advice to employees, S2489 [10AP]

S. 2185, provide workers in pension individual account plans with information on how their assets are invested and the need to diversify assets, S2839 [17AP]

S. 2563, permit defined benefit pension plans to use adjusted interest rates for calculating contributions and make permanent certain rules for interstate bus lines with frozen pension plans, S4853 [23MY]