Pension Beneficiary Rights Act of 1997

Summary: Pension Beneficiary Rights Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to permit alternative dispute resolution of pension benefit claims, through arbitration, upon the request of an employee pension benefit plan participant or beneficiary. 
Entitles participants and beneficiaries, under specified conditions, to:  (1) pre-judgment interest on unpaid benefits; (2) attorney's fees and costs of action; and (3) punitive damages for willful misconduct by the plan administrator or any other fiduciary of a pension plan. 
Requires annual reports to participants and beneficiaries to be in understandable language.

OF PENSION BENEFIT CLAIMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 503 of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1133) is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end of the heading the following: 
        ``and arbitration of pension claims'';
            (2) by inserting ``(a)'' after ``Sec. 503.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b)(1) Any claim of a participant or beneficiary against an 
employee pension benefit plan with respect to benefits under such plan 
remaining unresolved, after opportunity for review provided under 
subsection (a) has been exercised, may be resolved through arbitration, 
upon the request of the participant or beneficiary which is filed with 
the Secretary, in such form and manner as shall be prescribed by 
regulation and within the 60-day period after the participant or 
beneficiary has received written notice from the plan of the completion 
of such review. The filing of a request for arbitration under this 
section with respect to any claim shall constitute a waiver of any 
right to review of such claim other than as provided in this 
subsection.
    ``(2) An arbitration proceeding under this subsection shall be 
conducted in accordance with fair and equitable procedures to be 
prescribed by the Secretary. Individuals serving as arbitrators under 
this section shall be selected by the Secretary from employees of the 
Department of Labor or, to the extent considered by the Secretary more 
cost-effective, from individuals whose services are acquired from other 
sources. If the parties have not provided by agreement for the costs of 
the arbitration, including arbitrator's fees, the arbitrator shall 
assess such fees, in an amount for each party not to exceed $500. The 
arbitrator may also award to prevailing participants and beneficiaries 
reasonable attorney's fees and pre-judgment interest on unpaid 
benefits. The award may require payment of punitive damages by any 
party if the arbitrator finds that any failure by the party with 
respect to unpaid benefits constitutes willful misconduct.
    ``(3) Any arbitration proceedings under this subsection shall, to 
the extent consistent with this title, be conducted in the same manner, 
subject to the same limitations, carried out with the same powers 
(including subpena power), and enforced in the United States courts as 
an arbitration proceeding carried out under title 9, United States 
Code, as if such arbitration had been entered into by the parties by 
mutual agreement. Any arbitration award which is not appealed under 
paragraph (4) may be reviewed only pursuant to sections 9 through 13 of 
such title 9.
    ``(4)(A) Upon completion of the arbitration proceedings in favor of 
one of the parties, a party aggrieved by the arbitrator's award may 
bring an action in an appropriate United States district court to 
vacate or modify the award. Any action under this paragraph must be 
brought no later than 30 days after the date of the issuance of the 
arbitrator's award, and in such action, the findings of fact shall be 
subject to de novo review.
    ``(B) The district courts of the United States shall have exclusive 
jurisdiction of an action under this paragraph without regard to the 
amount in controversy.
    ``(C) An action under this section may be brought in the district 
where the plan is administered or where a defendant resides or does 
business, and process may be served in any district where a defendant 
resides, does business, or may be found.
    ``(D) In any action under this paragraph, the court may award all 
or a portion of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with such 
action, including reasonable attorney's fees, to a prevailing 
participant or beneficiary.
    ``(E) A copy of the complaint in any action under this paragraph 
shall be served upon the Secretary by certified mail. The Secretary may 
intervene in any such action.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The item relating to section 503 in the 
table of contents in section 1 of such Act is amended to read as 
follows:

``Sec. 503. Claims procedure and arbitration of pension claims.''.

    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to claims arising on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST ON UNPAID BENEFITS; PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR 
              WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.

    (a) Pre-judgment Interest.--Section 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)(B)) is 
amended by inserting ``(together with reasonable pre-judgment interest 
on unpaid pension plan benefits)'' after ``to recover benefits due to 
him under the terms of his plan''.
    (b) Attorney Fees and Costs of Action.--Section 502(g) of such Act 
(29 U.S.C. 1132(g)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or (3)'' after 
        ``paragraph (2)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) In any action or settlement proceeding under this title with 
respect to an employee pension benefit plan brought by a participant or 
beneficiary under such plan in which the participant or beneficiary 
prevails or substantially prevails, the participant or beneficiary 
shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable expert 
witness fees, and other reasonable costs relating to the action. Fees 
to which the participant or beneficiary is entitled under the paragraph 
shall be at generally prevailing hourly rates.''.
    (c) Punitive Damages for Willful Misconduct.--Section 502(c) of 
such Act (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new 
        paragraph:
    ``(6) In any case in which any party consisting of the plan 
sponsor, the plan administrator, or any other fiduciary of a pension 
plan knowingly and willfully acts or fails to act for the purpose of 
depriving a participant or beneficiary of the full and timely payment 
of a benefit under the plan in violation of the terms of the plan or 
this title, such party may, in the court's discretion, be jointly and 
severally liable to such participant or beneficiary, in any action 
brought under subsection (a)(1)(B), for punitive damages in addition to 
any other remedy available to such participant or beneficiary.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to causes of action arising on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORTS TO PARTICIPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES IN 
              UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGE.

    (a) In General.--Section 104(b) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1024(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b)(1) Within 210 days after the close of each plan year, the 
administrator shall furnish to each participant, and to each 
beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan--
            ``(A) a copy of the statements and schedules, for such 
        plan, described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 
        103(b)(3);
            ``(B) a report containing--
                    ``(i) a description of all investments and assets 
                of the plan, including their value;
                    ``(ii) the names and positions of all of the 
                trustees of the plan, and the time remaining before the 
                expiration of their term;
                    ``(iii) a description of the method of trustee 
                selection;
                    ``(iv) a description of any changes in investment 
                policy of the plan during the fiscal year; and
                    ``(v) an evaluation of the long-term solvency of 
                the plan, including the number of participants and 
                beneficiaries and a summary of their benefits, and a 
                projection of the amount of benefits expected to be 
                paid for the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth plan year 
                following the date of the publication of the report;
            ``(C) any other material (including the percentage 
        determined under section 103(d)(11)) as is necessary to fairly 
        summarize the latest annual report; and
            ``(D) information on where participants and beneficiary may 
        receive assistance with respect to the plan.
Such information shall be written and calculated to be understood by 
the average plan participant, and shall be sufficiently accurate and 
comprehensive to reasonably apprise such participants and beneficiaries 
of their rights and obligations under the plan.
    ``(2) The administrator shall make copies of the plan description 
and the latest annual report and the bargaining agreement, trust 
agreement, contract, or other instruments under which the plan was 
established or is operated available for examination by any plan 
participant or beneficiary in the principal office of the administrator 
and in such other places as may be necessary to make available all 
pertinent information to all participants (including such places as the 
Secretary may prescribe by regulations).
    ``(3) The administrator shall, upon written request of any 
participant or beneficiary, furnish a copy of the latest annual report, 
any terminal report, the bargaining agreement, trust agreement, 
contract, or other instruments under which the plan is established or 
operated. The administrator may make a reasonable charge to cover the 
cost of furnishing such complete copies. The Secretary may by 
regulation prescribe the maximum amount which will constitute a 
reasonable charge under the preceding sentence.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 101(a) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1021(a)) is 
        amended to read as follows--
    ``Sec. 101. (a) The administrator of each employee benefit plan 
shall cause to be furnished in accordance with section 104(b) to each 
participant covered under the plan and to each beneficiary who is 
receiving benefits under the plan the information described in sections 
104(b)(1) and 105(a) and (c).''.
            (2) Section 101(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1021(b)) is 
        amended by striking paragraph (1) and redesignating paragraphs 
        (2), (3), (4), and (5), as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), 
        respectively.
            (3) Section 102(a)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1022(a)(1)) is 
        amended to read as follows:
    ``Sec. 102. (a)(1) A report shall be furnished to participants and 
beneficiaries as provided in section 104(b).''.
            (4) Section 102(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1022(b)) is 
        amended by striking ``and summary plan description'' and 
        inserting ``report''.
            (5) Section 103(a)(3)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1023 
        (a)(3)(A)) is amended in the second sentence by striking 
        ``104(b)(3)'' and inserting ``104(b)(1) (A) and (C)''.
            (6) Section 104(a)(1)(C) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
        1024(a)(1)(C)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(C) a copy of the materials required to be furnished to 
        participants and beneficiaries pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of 
        this section; and''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 1998.