II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 132

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide comprehensive

pension protection for women.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide

comprehensive pension protection for women.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Women’s Pension Protection Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title.

TITLE I—PENSION REFORM

Sec. 101. Pension integration rules.

Sec. 102. Application of minimum coverage requirements with respect to separate lines of business.

Sec. 103. Division of pension benefits upon divorce.

Sec. 104. Clarification of continued availability of remedies relating to matters

treated in domestic relations orders entered before 1985.
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Sec. 105. Entitlement of divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities independent of actual entitlement of employee.

Sec. 106. Effective dates.

TITLE II—PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF FORMER SPOUSES TO

PENSION BENEFITS UNDER CERTAIN GOVERNMENT AND GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PROGRAMS

Sec. 201. Extension of tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former

spouses pursuant to divorce agreements.

Sec. 202. Survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining age for deferred annuity under civil service retirement system.

Sec. 203. Court orders relating to Federal retirement benefits for former

spouses of Federal employees.

TITLE III—REFORMS RELATED TO 401(k) PLANS

Sec. 301. Requirement of annual, detailed investment reports applied to certain

401(k) plans.

TITLE IV—MODIFICATIONS OF JOINT AND SURVIVOR ANNUITY

REQUIREMENTS

Sec. 401. Modifications of joint and survivor annuity requirements.

TITLE V—SPOUSAL CONSENT REQUIRED FOR DISTRIBUTIONS

FROM SECTION 401(k) PLANS

Sec. 501. Spousal consent required for distributions from section 401(k) plans.

TITLE VI—WOMEN’S PENSION TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBER

Sec. 601. Women’s pension toll-free phone number.

TITLE VII—PERIODIC PENSION BENEFITS STATEMENTS

Sec. 701. Periodic pension benefits statements.

1 TITLE I—PENSION REFORM

2 SEC. 101. PENSION INTEGRATION RULES.

3 (a) APPLICABILITY OF NEW INTEGRATION RULES

4 EXTENDED TO ALL EXISTING ACCRUED BENEFITS.—

5 Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1) of section 1111 of the

6 Tax Reform Act of 1986 (relating to effective date of ap7 plication of nondiscrimination rules to integrated plans)

8 (100 Stat. 2440), effective for plan years beginning after

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the amendments
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1 made by subsection (a) of such section 1111 shall also

2 apply to benefits attributable to plan years beginning on

3 or before December 31, 1988.

4 (b) INTEGRATION DISALLOWED FOR SIMPLIFIED

5 EMPLOYEE PENSIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (D) of section

7 408(k)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re8 lating to permitted disparity under rules limiting

9 discrimination under simplified employee pensions)

10 is repealed.

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph

12 (C) of such section 408(k)(3) is amended by striking

13 ‘‘and except as provided in subparagraph (D),’’.

14 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

15 by this subsection shall apply with respect to taxable

16 years beginning on or after January 1, 2000.

17 (c) EVENTUAL REPEAL OF INTEGRATION RULES.—

18 Effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1,

19 2006—

20 (1) subparagraphs (C) and (D) of section

21 401(a)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re22 lating to pension integration exceptions under non23 discrimination requirements for qualification) are re24 pealed, and subparagraph (E) of such section

25 401(a)(5) is redesignated as subparagraph (C); and
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1 (2) subsection (l) of section 401 of such Code

2 (relating to nondiscriminatory coordination of de3 fined contribution plans with OASDI) is repealed.

4 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF MINIMUM COVERAGE REQUIRE5 MENTS WITH RESPECT TO SEPARATE LINES

6 OF BUSINESS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 410 of

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to minimum

9 coverage requirements) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘A trust’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘In any case in which the employer with

12 respect to a plan is treated, under section 414(r), as

13 operating separate lines of business for a plan year,

14 a trust’’, and by inserting ‘‘for such plan year’’ after

15 ‘‘requirements’’; and

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through

17 (6) as paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively and

18 by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new

19 paragraph:

20 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE WHERE EMPLOYER OPER21 ATES SINGLE LINE OF BUSINESS.—In any case in

22 which the employer with respect to a plan is not

23 treated, under section 414(r), as operating separate

24 lines of business for a plan year, a trust shall not

25 constitute a qualified trust under section 401(a) un-
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1 less such trust is designated by the employer as part

2 of a plan which benefits all employees of the em3 ployer.’’.

4 (b) LIMITATION ON LINE OF BUSINESS EXCEP5 TION.—Paragraph (6) of section 410(b) of such Code (as

6 redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this section) is

7 amended by inserting ‘‘other than paragraph (1)(A)’’ after

8 ‘‘this subsection’’.

9 SEC. 103. DIVISION OF PENSION BENEFITS UPON DIVORCE.

10 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

11 CODE OF 1986.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section

13 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat14 ing to qualified domestic relations order defined) is

15 amended by adding at the end the following new

16 subparagraph:

17 ‘‘(C) DEEMED DOMESTIC RELATIONS

18 ORDER UPON DIVORCE.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro20 vided in clause (iv), a domestic relations

21 order with respect to a marriage of at least

22 5 years duration between the participant

23 and the former spouse (including an annul24 ment or other order of marital dissolution)

25 shall, if the former spouse, within 60 days
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1 after the receipt of notice under paragraph

2 (6)(B)(i)(II), so elects, be deemed by the

3 plan to be a domestic relations order that

4 specifies that 50 percent of the marital

5 share of the participant’s accrued benefit

6 is to be provided to such former spouse.

7 ‘‘(ii) MARITAL SHARE.—The marital

8 share shall be the accrued benefit of the

9 participant under the plan as of the date

10 of the first payment under the plan (to the

11 extent such accrued benefit is vested at the

12 date of the divorce or any later date) mul13 tiplied by a fraction, the numerator of

14 which is the period of participation by the

15 participant under the plan starting with

16 the date of marriage and ending with the

17 date of divorce, and the denominator of

18 which is the total period of participation by

19 the participant under the plan.

20 ‘‘(iii) INTERPRETATION AS QUALIFIED

21 DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.—Each plan

22 shall establish reasonable rules for deter23 mining how any such deemed domestic re24 lations order is to be interpreted under the

25 plan so as to constitute a qualified domes-
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1 tic relations order that satisfies paragraphs

2 (2) through (4) (and a copy of such rules

3 shall be provided to such former spouse

4 promptly after delivery of the divorce de5 cree). Such rules—

6 ‘‘(I) may delay the effect of such

7 an order until the earlier of the date

8 the participant is fully vested or has

9 terminated employment,

10 ‘‘(II) may allow the former

11 spouse to be paid out immediately,

12 ‘‘(III) shall permit the former

13 spouse to be paid not later than the

14 earliest retirement age under the plan

15 or the participant’s death,

16 ‘‘(IV) may require the submitter

17 of the divorce decree to present a

18 marriage certificate or other evidence

19 of the marriage date to assist in bene20 fit calculations, and

21 ‘‘(V) may conform to the rules

22 applicable to qualified domestic rela23 tions orders regarding form or type of

24 benefit.
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1 ‘‘(iv) APPLICATION.—This subpara2 graph shall not apply—

3 ‘‘(I) if the domestic relations

4 order states that pension benefits

5 were considered by the parties and no

6 division is intended, or

7 ‘‘(II) to the extent that a quali8 fied domestic relations order issued in

9 connection with such divorce provides

10 otherwise.’’.

11 (2) NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.—Section

12 414(p)(6) of such Code (relating to plan procedures

13 with respect to orders) is amended by striking sub14 paragraph (A), by redesignating subparagraph (B)

15 as subparagraph (C), and by inserting before sub16 paragraph (C) (as so redesignated) the following

17 new subparagraphs:

18 ‘‘(A) NOTICE AND DETERMINATION BY AD19 MINISTRATOR.—In the case of any domestic re20 lations order received by a plan, including such

21 an order received under subparagraph (B) or

22 section 4980B(f)(6)(C)—

23 ‘‘(i) within 14 days after receipt of

24 such order, the plan administrator shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) notify the participant and

2 each alternate payee of the receipt of

3 such order and the plan’s procedures

4 for determining the qualified status of

5 domestic relation orders, and

6 ‘‘(II) notify the former spouse of

7 such former spouse’s rights under

8 paragraph (1)(C), and

9 ‘‘(ii) within a reasonable period after

10 receipt of such order, the plan adminis11 trator shall determine whether such order

12 is a qualified domestic relations order and

13 notify the participant and each alternate

14 payee of such determination.

15 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF PLAN ADMINIS16 TRATOR.—In the case of a domestic relations

17 order which is not a qualified domestic relations

18 order, each plan—

19 ‘‘(i) shall require that each participant

20 is responsible for notifying the plan admin21 istrator of the occurrence of a divorce of

22 the participant from the former spouse and

23 for delivery to the plan administrator of

24 the domestic relations order along with the

25 information required by paragraph (2)(A)
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1 within 60 days after the date of the di2 vorce, and

3 ‘‘(ii) shall allow a former spouse to so

4 notify the plan administrator and deliver to

5 the plan administrator the domestic rela6 tions order within 60 days after the date

7 of the divorce.’’.

8 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

9 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d)(3)(B) of sec11 tion 206 of the Employee Retirement Income Secu12 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1056) is amended—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘this paragraph—’’ and in14 serting ‘‘this paragraph:’’,

15 (B) in clause (i)—

16 (i) by striking ‘‘the term’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘The term’’, and

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘met, and’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘met.’’,

20 (C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘the term’’

21 and inserting ‘‘The term’’, and

22 (D) by adding at the end the following new

23 clause:

24 ‘‘(iii)(I) Except as provided on subclause (IV),

25 a domestic relations order with respect to a marriage
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1 of at least 5 years duration between the participant

2 and the former spouse (including an annulment or

3 other order of marital dissolution) shall, if the

4 former spouse, within 60 days after the receipt of

5 notice under subparagraph (G)(ii)(I)(bb), so elects,

6 be deemed by the plan to be a domestic relations

7 order that specifies that 50 percent of the marital

8 share of the participant’s accrued benefit is to be

9 provided to such former spouse.

10 ‘‘(II) The marital share shall be the accrued

11 benefit of the participant under the plan as of the

12 date of the first payment under the plan (to the ex13 tent such accrued benefit is vested at the date of the

14 divorce or any later date) multiplied by a fraction,

15 the numerator of which is the period of participation

16 by the participant under the plan starting with the

17 date of marriage and ending with the date of di18 vorce, and the denominator of which is the total pe19 riod of participation by the participant under the

20 plan.

21 ‘‘(III) Each plan shall establish reasonable rules

22 for determining how any such deemed domestic rela23 tions order is to be interpreted under the plan so as

24 to constitute a qualified domestic relations order

25 that satisfies subparagraphs (C) through (E) (and a
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1 copy of such rules shall be provided to such former

2 spouse promptly after delivery of the divorce decree).

3 Such rules—

4 ‘‘(aa) may delay the effect of such an order

5 until the earlier of the date the participant is

6 fully vested or has terminated employment,

7 ‘‘(bb) may allow the former spouse to be

8 paid out immediately,

9 ‘‘(cc) shall permit the spouse to be paid

10 not later than the earliest retirement age under

11 the plan or the participant’s death,

12 ‘‘(dd) may require the submitter of the di13 vorce decree to present a marriage certificate or

14 other evidence of the marriage date to assist in

15 benefit calculations, and

16 ‘‘(ee) may conform to the rules applicable

17 to qualified domestic relations orders regarding

18 form or type of benefit.

19 ‘‘(IV) This clause shall not apply—

20 ‘‘(aa) if the domestic relations order states

21 that pension benefits were considered by the

22 parties and no division is intended, or

23 ‘‘(bb) to the extent that a qualified domes24 tic relations order issued in connection with

25 such divorce provides otherwise.’’.
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1 (2) NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.—Section

2 206(d)(3)(G) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)(G))

3 is amended by striking all matter before clause (ii),

4 by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii), and by in5 serting before clause (iii) (as so redesignated) the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(G)(i) In the case of any domestic relations order

8 received by a plan, including such an order received under

9 clause (ii) or section 606(a)(3)—

10 ‘‘(I) within 14 days after receipt of such order,

11 the plan administrator shall—

12 ‘‘(aa) notify the participant and each alter13 nate payee of the receipt of such order and the

14 plan’s procedures for determining the qualified

15 status of domestic relation orders, and

16 ‘‘(bb) notify the former spouse of such

17 former spouse’s rights under subparagraph

18 (B)(iii), and

19 ‘‘(II) within a reasonable period after receipt of

20 such order, the plan administrator shall determine

21 whether such order is a qualified domestic relations

22 order and notify the participant and each alternate

23 payee of such determination.

24 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a domestic relations order which

25 is not a qualified domestic relations order, each plan—
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1 ‘‘(I) shall require that each participant is re2 sponsible for notifying the plan administrator of the

3 occurrence of a divorce of the participant from the

4 former spouse and for delivery to the plan adminis5 trator of the domestic relations order along with the

6 information required by subparagraph (C)(i) within

7 60 days after the date of the divorce, and

8 ‘‘(II) shall allow a former spouse to so notify

9 the plan administrator and deliver to the plan ad10 ministrator the domestic relations order within 60

11 days after the date of the divorce.’’.

12 SEC. 104. CLARIFICATION OF CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF

13 REMEDIES RELATING TO MATTERS TREATED

14 IN DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS ENTERED

15 BEFORE 1985.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which—

17 (1) under a prior domestic relations order en18 tered before January 1, 1985, in an action for

19 divorce—

20 (A) the right of a spouse under a pension

21 plan to an accrued benefit under such plan was

22 not divided between spouses,

23 (B) any right of a spouse with respect to

24 such an accrued benefit was waived without the

25 informed consent of such spouse, or -
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1 (C) the right of a spouse as a participant

2 under a pension plan to an accrued benefit

3 under such plan was divided so that the other

4 spouse received less than such other spouse’s

5 pro rata share of the accrued benefit under the

6 plan, or

7 (2) a court of competent jurisdiction determines

8 that any further action is appropriate with respect

9 to any matter to which a prior domestic relations

10 order entered before such date applies,

11 nothing in the provisions of section 104, 204, or 303 of

12 the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–397)

13 or the amendments made thereby shall be construed to

14 require or permit the treatment, for purposes of such pro15 visions, of a domestic relations order, which is entered on

16 or after the date of the enactment of this Act and which

17 supersedes, amends the terms of, or otherwise affects such

18 prior domestic relations order, as other than a qualified

19 domestic relations order solely because such prior domestic

20 relations order was entered before January 1, 1985.

21 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Terms used in this section

23 which are defined in section 3 of the Employee Re24 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
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1 1002) shall have the meanings provided such terms

2 by such section.

3 (2) PRO RATA SHARE.—The term ‘‘pro rata

4 share’’ of a spouse means, in connection with an ac5 crued benefit under a pension plan, 50 percent of

6 the product derived by multiplying—

7 (A) the actuarial present value of the ac8 crued benefit, by

9 (B) a fraction—

10 (i) the numerator of which is the pe11 riod of time, during the marriage between

12 the spouse and the participant in the plan,

13 which constitutes creditable service by the

14 participant under the plan, and

15 (ii) the denominator of which is the

16 total period of time which constitutes cred17 itable service by the participant under the

18 plan.

19 (3) PLAN.—All pension plans in which a person

20 has been a participant shall be treated as one plan

21 with respect to such person.
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1 SEC. 105. ENTITLEMENT OF DIVORCED SPOUSES TO RAIL2 ROAD RETIREMENT ANNUITIES INDEPEND3 ENT OF ACTUAL ENTITLEMENT OF EM4 PLOYEE.

5 Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45

6 U.S.C. 231a) is amended—

7 (1) in subsection (c)(4)(i), by striking ‘‘(A) is

8 entitled to an annuity under subsection (a)(1) and

9 (B)’’; and

10 (2) in subsection (e)(5), by striking ‘‘or di11 vorced wife’’ the second place it appears.

12 SEC. 106. EFFECTIVE DATES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

14 (b), the amendments made by this title, other than section

15 101, shall apply with respect to plan years beginning on

16 or after January 1, 2000, and the amendments made by

17 section 103 shall apply only with respect to divorces be18 coming final in such plan years.

19 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BARGAINED

20 PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained pursuant to 1

21 or more collective bargaining agreements between em22 ployee representatives and 1 or more employers ratified

23 on or before the date of the enactment of this Act, sub24 section (a) shall be applied to benefits pursuant to, and

25 individuals covered by, any such agreement by substituting
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1 for ‘‘January 1, 2000’’ the date of the commencement of

2 the first plan year beginning on or after the earlier of—

3 (1) the later of—

4 (A) January 1, 2001, or

5 (B) the date on which the last of such col6 lective bargaining agreements terminates (de7 termined without regard to any extension there8 of after the date of the enactment of this Act),

9 or

10 (2) January 1, 2002.

11 (c) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment made

12 by this title requires an amendment to any plan, such plan

13 amendment shall not be required to be made before the

14 first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2002, if—

15 (1) during the period after such amendment

16 made by this title takes effect and before such first

17 plan year, the plan is operated in accordance with

18 the requirements of such amendment made by this

19 title, and

20 (2) such plan amendment applies retroactively

21 to the period after such amendment made by this

22 title takes effect and such first plan year.

23 A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide definitely

24 determinable benefits or contributions, or to be operated
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1 in accordance with the provisions of the plan, merely be2 cause it operates in accordance with this subsection.

3 TITLE II—PROTECTION OF

4 RIGHTS OF FORMER SPOUSES

5 TO PENSION BENEFITS

6 UNDER CERTAIN GOVERN7 MENT AND GOVERNMENT8 SPONSORED RETIREMENT

9 PROGRAMS

10 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF TIER II RAILROAD RETIREMENT

11 BENEFITS TO SURVIVING FORMER SPOUSES

12 PURSUANT TO DIVORCE AGREEMENTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Railroad Retire14 ment Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231d) is amended by adding

15 at the end the following new subsection:

16 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

17 payment of any portion of an annuity computed under sec18 tion 3(b) to a surviving former spouse in accordance with

19 a court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation

20 or the terms of any court-approved property settlement

21 incident to any such court decree shall not be terminated

22 upon the death of the individual who performed the service

23 with respect to which such annuity is so computed unless

24 such termination is otherwise required by the terms of

25 such court decree.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

3 of this Act.

4 SEC. 202. SURVIVOR ANNUITIES FOR WIDOWS, WIDOWERS,

5 AND FORMER SPOUSES OF FEDERAL EM6 PLOYEES WHO DIE BEFORE ATTAINING AGE

7 FOR DEFERRED ANNUITY UNDER CIVIL

8 SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

9 (a) BENEFITS FOR WIDOW OR WIDOWER.—Section

10 8341(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

11 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘a former employee sepa13 rated from the service with title to deferred an14 nuity from the Fund dies before having estab15 lished a valid claim for annuity and is survived

16 by a spouse, or if’’ before ‘‘a Member’’; and

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘of such former employee

18 or Member’’ after ‘‘the surviving spouse’’;

19 (2) in paragraph (1)—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ be21 fore ‘‘Member commencing’’; and

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ be23 fore ‘‘Member dies’’; and

24 (3) in the undesignated sentence following para25 graph (2)—
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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ before

3 ‘‘Member’’; and

4 (B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting

5 ‘‘former employee or’’ before ‘‘Member’’.

6 (b) BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSE.—Section

7 8341(h) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1) by adding after the first

9 sentence ‘‘Subject to paragraphs (2) through (5) of

10 this subsection, a former spouse of a former em11 ployee who dies after having separated from the

12 service with title to a deferred annuity under section

13 8338(a) but before having established a valid claim

14 for annuity is entitled to a survivor annuity under

15 this subsection, if and to the extent expressly pro16 vided for in an election under section 8339(j)(3) of

17 this title, or in the terms of any decree of divorce

18 or annulment or any court order or court-approved

19 property settlement agreement incident to such de20 cree.’’; and

21 (2) in paragraph (2)—

22 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii) by striking ‘‘or

23 annuitant,’’ and inserting ‘‘annuitant, or former

24 employee’’; and
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1 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iii) by inserting

2 ‘‘former employee or’’ before ‘‘Member’’.

3 (c) PROTECTION OF SURVIVOR BENEFIT RIGHTS.—

4 Section 8339(j)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is

5 amended by inserting at the end the following:

6 ‘‘The Office shall provide by regulation for the appli7 cation of this subsection to the widow, widower, or surviv8 ing former spouse of a former employee who dies after

9 having separated from the service with title to a deferred

10 annuity under section 8338(a) but before having estab11 lished a valid claim for annuity.’’.

12 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

13 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

14 of this Act and shall apply only in the case of a former

15 employee who dies on or after such date.

16 SEC. 203. COURT ORDERS RELATING TO FEDERAL RETIRE17 MENT BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSES OF

18 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

19 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8345(j) of title 5,

21 United States Code, is amended—

22 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

23 paragraph (4); and

24 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

25 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(3) Payment to a person under a court decree, court

2 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

3 under paragraph (1) shall include payment to a former

4 spouse of the employee, Member, or annuitant.’’.

5 (2) LUMP-SUM BENEFITS.—Section 8342 of

6 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

7 (A) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘Lump8 sum benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub9 section (j), lump-sum benefits’’; and

10 (B) in subsection (j)(1) by striking ‘‘the

11 lump-sum credit under subsection (a) of this

12 section’’ and inserting ‘‘any lump-sum credit or

13 lump-sum benefit under this section’’.

14 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

15 Section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

16 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub17 section (d); and

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow19 ing new subsection:

20 ‘‘(c) Payment to a person under a court decree, court

21 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

22 under subsection (a) shall include payment to a former

23 spouse of the employee, Member, or annuitant.’’.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

3 of this Act.

4 TITLE III—REFORMS RELATED

5 TO 401(k) PLANS

6 SEC. 301. REQUIREMENT OF ANNUAL, DETAILED INVEST7 MENT REPORTS APPLIED TO CERTAIN 401(k)

8 PLANS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(b)(3) of the Em10 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

11 U.S.C. 1024(b)(3)) is amended—

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 paragraph:

15 ‘‘(B)(i) If a plan includes a qualified cash or

16 deferred arrangement (as defined in section

17 401(k)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)

18 and is maintained by an employer with less than 100

19 participants, the administrators shall furnish to each

20 participant and to each beneficiary receiving benefits

21 under the plan an annual investment report detail22 ing such information as the Secretary by regulation

23 shall require.

24 ‘‘(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply with respect to

25 any participant described in section 404(c).’’.
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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, in

3 prescribing regulations required under section

4 104(b)(3)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income

5 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1023(b)(3)(B)(i)),

6 as added by subsection (a), shall consider including

7 in the information required in an annual investment

8 report the following:

9 (A) Total plan assets and liabilities as of

10 the beginning and ending of the plan year.

11 (B) Plan income and expenses and con12 tributions made and benefits paid for the plan

13 year.

14 (C) Any transaction between the plan and

15 the employer, any fiduciary, or any 10-percent

16 owner during the plan year, including the acqui17 sition of any employer security or employer real

18 property.

19 (D) Any noncash contributions made to or

20 purchases of nonpublicly traded securities made

21 by the plan during the plan year without an ap22 praisal by an independent third party.

23 (2) ELECTRONIC TRANSFER.—The Secretary of

24 Labor in prescribing such regulations shall also

25 make provision for the electronic transfer of the re-
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1 quired annual investment report by a plan adminis2 trator to plan participants and beneficiaries.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

4 subsection (a) shall apply to plan years beginning after

5 the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 TITLE IV—MODIFICATIONS OF

7 JOINT AND SURVIVOR ANNU8 ITY REQUIREMENTS

9 SEC. 401. MODIFICATIONS OF JOINT AND SURVIVOR ANNU10 ITY REQUIREMENTS.

11 (a) AMENDMENTS TO ERISA.—

12 (1) AMOUNT OF ANNUITY.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of sec14 tion 205(a) of the Employee Retirement Income

15 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1055(a)) is

16 amended by inserting ‘‘or, at the election of the

17 participant, shall be provided in the form of a

qualified joint and 2 18 ⁄3 survivor annuity’’ after

19 ‘‘survivor annuity,’’.

20 (B) DEFINITION.—Subsection (d) of sec21 tion 205 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1055) is

22 amended—

23 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1)

24 and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), re25 spectively,
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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,

2 and

3 (iii) by adding at the end the follow4 ing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘qualified

joint and 2 6 ⁄3 survivor annuity’’ means an annuity—

7 ‘‘(A) for the participant while both the partici8 pant and the spouse are alive with a survivor annu9 ity for the life of surviving individual (either the par10 ticipant or the spouse) equal to 67 percent of the

11 amount of the annuity which is payable to the par12 ticipant while both the participant and the spouse

13 are alive,

14 ‘‘(B) which is the actuarial equivalent of a sin15 gle annuity for the life of the participant, and

16 ‘‘(C) which, for all other purposes of this Act,

17 is treated as a qualified joint and survivor annuity.’’.

18 (2) ILLUSTRATION REQUIREMENT.—Clause (i)

19 of section 205(c)(3)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

20 1055(c)(3)(A)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(i) the terms and conditions of each qualified

joint and survivor annuity and qualified joint and 2 22 ⁄3

23 survivor annuity offered, accompanied by an illustra24 tion of the benefits under each such annuity for the

25 particular participant and spouse and an acknowl-
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1 edgement form to be signed by the participant and

2 the spouse that they have read and considered the

3 illustration before any form of retirement benefit is

4 chosen,’’.

5 (b) AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—

6 (1) AMOUNT OF ANNUITY.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) of section

8 401(a)(11)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of

9 1986 (relating to requirement of joint and sur10 vivor annuity and preretirement survivor annu11 ity) is amended by inserting ‘‘or, at the election

12 of the participant, shall be provided in the form

of a qualified joint and 2 13 ⁄3 survivor annuity’’

14 after ‘‘survivor annuity,’’.

15 (B) DEFINITION.—Section 417 of such

16 Code (relating to definitions and special rules

17 for purposes of minimum survivor annuity re18 quirements) is amended by redesignating sub19 section (f) as subsection (g) and by inserting

20 after subsection (e) the following new sub21 section:

‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED JOINT AND 2 22 ⁄3 SUR23 VIVOR ANNUITY.—For purposes of this section and section

401(a)(11), the term ‘‘qualified joint and 2 24 ⁄3 survivor an25 nuity’’ means an annuity—
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1 ‘‘(1) for the participant while both the partici2 pant and the spouse are alive with a survivor annu3 ity for the life of surviving individual (either the par4 ticipant or the spouse) equal to 67 percent of the

5 amount of the annuity which is payable to the par6 ticipant while both the participant and the spouse

7 are alive,

8 ‘‘(2) which is the actuarial equivalent of a sin9 gle annuity for the life of the participant, and

10 ‘‘(3) which, for all other purposes of this title,

11 is treated as a qualified joint and survivor annuity.’’.

12 (2) ILLUSTRATION REQUIREMENT.—Clause (i)

13 of section 417(a)(3)(A) of such Code (relating to ex14 planation of joint and survivor annuity) is amended

15 to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(i) the terms and conditions of each

17 qualified joint and survivor annuity and

qualified joint and 2 18 ⁄3 survivor annuity of19 fered, accompanied by an illustration of

20 the benefits under each such annuity for

21 the particular participant and spouse and

22 an acknowledgement form to be signed by

23 the participant and the spouse that they

24 have read and considered the illustration
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1 before any form of retirement benefit is

2 chosen,’’.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

5 this section shall apply to plan years beginning on

6 or after January 1, 2000.

7 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BAR8 GAINED PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained

9 pursuant to 1 or more collective bargaining agree10 ments between employee representatives and 1 or

11 more employers ratified on or before the date of en12 actment of this Act, the amendments made by this

13 section shall apply to the first plan year beginning

14 on or after the earlier of—

15 (A) the later of—

16 (i) January 1, 2001, or

17 (ii) the date on which the last of such

18 collective bargaining agreements termi19 nates (determined without regard to any

20 extension thereof after the date of enact21 ment of this Act), or

22 (B) January 1, 2002.

23 (3) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment

24 made by this section requires an amendment to any

25 plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to
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1 be made before the first plan year beginning on or

2 after January 1, 2002, if—

3 (A) during the period after such amend4 ment made by this section takes effect and be5 fore such first plan year, the plan is operated

6 in accordance with the requirements of such

7 amendment made by this section, and

8 (B) such plan amendment applies retro9 actively to the period after such amendment

10 made by this section takes effect and such first

11 plan year.

12 A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide defi13 nitely determinable benefits or contributions, or to

14 be operated in accordance with the provisions of the

15 plan, merely because it operates in accordance with

16 this paragraph.

17 TITLE V—SPOUSAL CONSENT

18 REQUIRED FOR DISTRIBU19 TIONS FROM SECTION 401(k)

20 PLANS

21 SEC. 501. SPOUSAL CONSENT REQUIRED FOR DISTRIBU22 TIONS FROM SECTION 401(k) PLANS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 401(k)

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining qualified

25 cash or deferred arrangement) is amended by striking
32

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1 ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), by striking the pe2 riod at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘, and’’,

3 and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

4 ‘‘(E) which provides that no distribution

5 may be made unless—

6 ‘‘(i) the spouse of the employee (if

7 any) consents in writing (during the 90-

8 day period ending on the date of the dis9 tribution) to such distribution, and

10 ‘‘(ii) requirements comparable to the

11 requirements of section 417(a)(2) are met

12 with respect to such consent.’’

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

14 this section shall apply to distributions in plan years be15 ginning on or after January 1, 2002.

16 TITLE VI—WOMEN’S PENSION

17 TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBER

18 SEC. 601. WOMEN’S PENSION TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBER.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall con20 tract with an independent organization to create a wom21 en’s pension toll-free telephone number and contact to

22 serve as—

23 (1) a resource for women on pension questions

24 and issues;
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1 (2) a source for referrals to appropriate agen2 cies; and

3 (3) a source for printed information.

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

5 are authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for each of

6 the fiscal years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 to carry out

7 subsection (a).

8 TITLE VII—PERIODIC PENSION

9 BENEFITS STATEMENTS

10 SEC. 701. PERIODIC PENSION BENEFITS STATEMENTS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 105 of

12 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

13 (29 U.S.C. 1025) is amended by striking ‘‘shall furnish

14 to any plan participant or beneficiary who so requests in

15 writing,’’ and inserting ‘‘shall furnish at least once every

16 3 years, in the case of a defined benefit plan, and annu17 ally, in the case of a defined contribution plan, to each

18 plan participant, and shall furnish to any plan participant

19 or beneficiary who so requests,’’.

20 (b) RULE FOR MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS.—Subsection

21 (d) of section 105 of the Employee Retirement Income Se22 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1025) is amended to read

23 as follows:

24 ‘‘(d) Each administrator of a plan to which more than

25 1 unaffiliated employer is required to contribute shall fur-
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1 nish to any plan participant or beneficiary who so requests

2 in writing, a statement described in subsection (a).’’.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 this section shall apply to plan years beginning after the

5 earlier of—

6 (1) the date of issuance by the Secretary of

7 Labor of regulations providing guidance for simplify8 ing defined benefit plan calculations with respect to

9 the information required under section 105 of the

10 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

11 (29 U.S.C. 1025), or

12 (2) December 31, 1999.

Æ