I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3850 

To provide for additional protections and disclosures to consumers when 

financial products or services are related to the consumers’ military 

or Federal pensions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2015 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DELANEY, 

Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. JACKSON

LEE, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. POCAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. 

TSONGAS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, 

Armed Services, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for additional protections and disclosures to consumers when financial products or services are related 

to the consumers’ military or Federal pensions, and for 

other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Annuity Safety and 

3 Security Under Reasonable Enforcement Act of 2015’’ or 

4 the ‘‘ASSURE Act of 2015’’. 

5 SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF FEDERAL AND MILITARY PEN6 SIONS IN EXTENSIONS OF CREDIT. 

7 The Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in section 104(3), by inserting after ‘‘other 

10 than’’ the following: ‘‘payments described under sec11 tion 126(a) and’’; 

12 (2) by inserting after section 125 the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 126. Payments in consideration of Federal and 

14 military pensions 

15 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE.—The Bureau shall issue regula16 tions requiring any payment to a benefit recipient, wheth17 er or not such payment is an extension of credit, that di18 minishes the benefit recipient’s ability to control the pay19 ments from their Federal or military pension in any way, 

20 to be treated as an extension of credit for purposes of the 

21 disclosures required under this title. 

22 ‘‘(b) INTEREST RATE CAP.—With respect to a pay23 ment to a benefit recipient described under subsection 

24 (a)— 

25 ‘‘(1) if such payment is an extension of con26 sumer credit, a creditor may not impose an annual 


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1 percentage rate of interest greater than the Federal 

2 funds rate plus 6 percent; and 

3 ‘‘(2) if such payment is not an extension of con4 sumer credit, the Bureau shall issue regulations re5 quiring that the aggregate amount of cash and prop6 erty paid in exchange for such payment may not ex7 ceed an amount that is equivalent to the interest 

8 rate described under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) BENEFIT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘benefit 

11 recipient’ means a person who is entitled to pay12 ments under a Federal or military pension. 

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL OR MILITARY PENSION.—The 

14 term ‘Federal or military pension’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) a benefit described under section 

16 5301(a) of title 38, United States Code; 

17 ‘‘(B) retired pay to an enlisted member of 

18 the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or 

19 Coast Guard; and 

20 ‘‘(C) an annuity described under section 

21 8345 or 8465 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL FUNDS RATE.—For purposes of 

23 this section, the term ‘Federal funds rate’ means the 

24 Federal funds rate published in the Federal Reserve 

25 Statistical Release on selected interest rates (daily or 


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1 weekly), and commonly referred to as the H.15 re2 lease (or any successor publication).’’; and 

3 (3) in the table of contents for chapter 2 of 

4 such Act, by inserting after the item relating to sec5 tion 125 the following: 

‘‘126. Payments in consideration of Federal and military pensions.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ASSIGNMENTS; PRIVATE 

7 RIGHTS OF ACTIONS. 

8 (a) VETERANS BENEFITS.—Section 5301 of title 38, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(f) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A benefit recipient may 

13 bring an action against a pension assignee in the ap14 propriate Federal or State court and recover— 

15 ‘‘(A) three times the damages suffered due 

16 to the assignment made in violation of this sec17 tion; 

18 ‘‘(B) court costs; and 

19 ‘‘(C) reasonable attorneys’ fees and ex20 penses. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(A) BENEFIT RECIPIENT.—The term 

24 ‘benefit recipient’ means a person with respect 


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1 to which payments of benefits described under 

2 this section are due or are to become due. 

3 ‘‘(B) PENSION ASSIGNEE.—With respect to 

4 a benefit recipient, the term ‘pension assignee’ 

5 means a person who has been assigned the ben6 efits of the benefit recipient in violation of this 

7 section.’’. 

8 (b) MILITARY RETIRED PAY.—Section 701 of title 

9 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(f) CLARIFICATION ON NON-ASSIGNMENT OF RE12 TIRED PAY FOR ENLISTED MEMBERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sub14 section (c), in any case where an enlisted member is 

15 entitled to retired pay and enters into an agreement 

16 with another person under which agreement such 

17 other person acquires for consideration the right to 

18 receive payment of such retired pay, whether by pay19 ment from the member to such other person, deposit 

20 into an account from which such other person may 

21 make withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement 

22 shall be deemed to be an assignment and is prohib23 ited. Any agreement or arrangement for collateral 

24 for security for an agreement that is prohibited 

25 under the previous sentence is also prohibited. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A retired pay recipi3 ent may bring an action against a retired pay 

4 assignee in the appropriate Federal or State 

5 court and recover— 

6 ‘‘(i) three times the damages suffered 

7 due to the assignment of retired pay made 

8 in violation of this section; 

9 ‘‘(ii) court costs; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

11 expenses. 

12 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(i) RETIRED PAY RECIPIENT.—The 

15 term ‘retired pay recipient’ means a person 

16 with respect to which retired pay described 

17 under this section is due or is to become 

18 due. 

19 ‘‘(ii) RETIRED PAY ASSIGNEE.—With 

20 respect to a retired pay recipient, the term 

21 ‘retired pay assignee’ means a person who 

22 has been assigned or allotted the retired 

23 pay of the retired pay recipient in violation 

24 of this section.’’. 


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1 (c) CSRS ANNUITIES.—Section 8345(h) of title 5, 

2 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(h) NON-ASSIGNMENT OF ANNUITIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual entitled to an 

5 annuity from the Fund may not make allotments or 

6 assignments of amounts from such annuity. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this 

8 subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) in any case where an individual enti10 tled to an annuity from the Fund enters into an 

11 agreement with another person under which 

12 agreement such other person acquires for con13 sideration the right to receive payment of such 

14 annuity, whether by payment from the indi15 vidual to such other person, deposit into an ac16 count from which such other person may make 

17 withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement shall 

18 be deemed to be an assignment and is prohib19 ited; and 

20 ‘‘(B) any agreement or arrangement for 

21 collateral for security for an agreement that is 

22 prohibited under subparagraph (A) is also pro23 hibited. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 

2 shall not apply to amounts used to pay dues to 

3 unions or other employee organizations. 

4 ‘‘(4) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An annuity recipient 

6 may bring an action against an annuity as7 signee in the appropriate Federal or State court 

8 and recover— 

9 ‘‘(i) three times the damages suffered 

10 due to the assignment made in violation of 

11 this subsection or the regulations issued 

12 pursuant to this subsection; 

13 ‘‘(ii) court costs; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

15 expenses. 

16 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(i) ANNUITY ASSIGNEE.—With re19 spect to an annuity recipient, the term ‘an20 nuity assignee’ means a person who has 

21 been assigned or allotted all or part of an 

22 annuity from the Fund in violation of this 

23 subsection or the regulations issued pursu24 ant to this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ANNUITY RECIPIENT.—The term 

2 ‘annuity recipient’ means an individual en3 titled to an annuity from the Fund.’’. 

4 (d) FERS ANNUITIES.—Section 8465(b) of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b) NON-ASSIGNMENT OF ANNUITIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual entitled to an 

8 annuity from the Fund may not make allotments or 

9 assignments of amounts from such annuity. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this 

11 subsection— 

12 ‘‘(A) in any case where an individual enti13 tled to an annuity from the Fund enters into an 

14 agreement with another person under which 

15 agreement such other person acquires for con16 sideration the right to receive payment of such 

17 annuity, whether by payment from the indi18 vidual to such other person, deposit into an ac19 count from which such other person may make 

20 withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement shall 

21 be deemed to be an assignment and is prohib22 ited; and 

23 ‘‘(B) any agreement or arrangement for 

24 collateral for security for an agreement that is 


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1 prohibited under subparagraph (A) is also pro2 hibited. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 

4 shall not apply to amounts used to pay dues to 

5 unions or other employee organizations. 

6 ‘‘(4) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An annuity recipient 

8 may bring an action against an annuity as9 signee in the appropriate Federal or State court 

10 and recover— 

11 ‘‘(i) three times the damages suffered 

12 due to the assignment made in violation of 

13 this subsection or the regulations issued 

14 pursuant to this subsection; 

15 ‘‘(ii) court costs; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

17 expenses. 

18 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(i) ANNUITY ASSIGNEE.—With re21 spect to an annuity recipient, the term ‘an22 nuity assignee’ means a person who has 

23 been assigned or allotted all or part of an 

24 annuity from the Fund in violation of this 


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1 subsection or the regulations issued pursu2 ant to this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(ii) ANNUITY RECIPIENT.—The term 

4 ‘annuity recipient’ means an individual en5 titled to an annuity from the Fund.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

7 PROVISIONS. 

8 (a) REGULATION OF FEDERAL OR MILITARY PEN9 SION-RELATED PRODUCTS.—Section 1032(f) of the Con10 sumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 

11 5532(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(g) REGULATION OF FEDERAL OR MILITARY PEN13 SION-RELATED PRODUCTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau shall issue 

15 regulations to require a person offering a Federal or 

16 military pension-related product to provide addi17 tional disclosures when advertising or selling such 

18 product, sufficient to allow consumers to understand 

19 how their pension relates to the product. 

20 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS DEFINED.—For purposes of 

21 this subsection: 

22 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL OR MILITARY PENSION.— 

23 The term ‘Federal or military pension’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) a benefit described under section 

25 5301(a) of title 38, United States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) retired pay to an enlisted mem2 ber of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine 

3 Corps, or Coast Guard; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) an annuity described under sec5 tion 8345 or 8465 of title 5, United States 

6 Code. 

7 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL OR MILITARY PENSION-RE8 LATED PRODUCT.—The term ‘Federal or mili9 tary pension-related product’ means a financial 

10 product or service related to a Federal or mili11 tary pension, including any extension of credit 

12 if the creditor, when determining a consumer’s 

13 ability to repay the extension of credit, takes 

14 the pension into consideration.’’. 

15 (b) STUDY BY THE BUREAU.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Consumer 

17 Financial Protection shall carry out a study of fi18 nancial products and services that target military re19 tirees and Federal employee retirees. 

20 (2) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 3- 

21 month period beginning on the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the Bureau shall issue a report to 

23 the Congress containing all findings and determinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Oct 29, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850

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1 tions made in carrying out the study required under 

2 this subsection. 

Æ 


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