II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 547 

To provide relief for multiemployer and single employer pension plans, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2 (legislative day, MARCH 1), 2021 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

BOOKER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, 

Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. 

HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. 

SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TESTER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WARNER, 

Mr. WARNOCK, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide relief for multiemployer and single employer 

pension plans, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Butch Lewis Emer5 gency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL PARTITION RELIEF. 

2 (a) APPROPRIATION.—Section 4005 of the Employee 

3 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1305) 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(i)(1) An eighth fund shall be established for parti6 tion assistance to multiemployer pension plans, as pro7 vided under section 4233A, and to pay for necessary ad8 ministrative and operating expenses relating to such as9 sistance. 

10 ‘‘(2) There is appropriated from the general fund 

11 such amounts as necessary for the costs of providing parti12 tion assistance under section 4233A and necessary admin13 istrative and operating expenses. The eighth fund estab14 lished under this subsection shall be credited with such 

15 amounts from time to time as the Secretary of the Treas16 ury determines appropriate, from the general fund of the 

17 Treasury, and such amounts shall remain available until 

18 expended.’’. 

19 (b) SPECIAL PARTITION AUTHORITY.—The Em20 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

21 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

22 4233 the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 4233A. SPECIAL PARTITION RELIEF. 

24 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL PARTITION AUTHORITY.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the application of a 

26 plan sponsor of an eligible multiemployer plan for 


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1 partition of the plan under this section, the corpora2 tion shall order a partition of the plan in accordance 

3 with this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN REPAYMENT

5 OBLIGATION.—A plan receiving partition assistance 

6 pursuant to this section shall not be subject to re7 payment obligations under section 4261(b)(2). 

8 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PLANS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec10 tion, a multiemployer plan is an eligible multiem11 ployer plan if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the plan is in critical and declining 

13 status (within the meaning of section 

14 305(b)(6)) in any plan year beginning in 2020 

15 through 2024; 

16 ‘‘(B) a suspension of benefits has been ap17 proved with respect to the plan under section 

18 305(e)(9) as of the date of the enactment of 

19 this section; 

20 ‘‘(C) in any plan year beginning in 2020 

21 through 2024, the plan is certified by the plan 

22 actuary to be in critical status (within the 

23 meaning of section 305(b)(2)), has a modified 

24 funded percentage of less than 40 percent, and 


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1 has a ratio of active to inactive participants 

2 which is less than 2 to 3; or 

3 ‘‘(D) the plan is insolvent for purposes of 

4 section 418E of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986 as of the date of enactment of this sec6 tion, if the plan became insolvent after Decem7 ber 16, 2014, and has not been terminated by 

8 such date of enactment. 

9 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED FUNDED PERCENTAGE.—For 

10 purposes of paragraph (1)(C), the term ‘modified 

11 funded percentage’ means the percentage equal to a 

12 fraction the numerator of which is current value of 

13 plan assets (as defined in section 3(26) of such Act) 

14 and the denominator of which is current liabilities 

15 (as defined in section 431(c)(6)(D) of such Code and 

16 section 304(c)(6)(D) of such Act). 

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS FOR SPECIAL PARTITION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—The corporation shall issue 

19 guidance setting forth requirements for special parti20 tion applications under this section not later than 

21 120 days after the date of the enactment of this sec22 tion. In such guidance, the corporation shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) limit the materials required for a spe24 cial partition application to the minimum necVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S547.IS S547

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1 essary to make a determination on the applica2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(B) provide for an alternate application 

4 for special partition under this section, which 

5 may be used by a plan that has been approved 

6 for a partition under section 4233 before the 

7 date of enactment of this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY PRIORITY CONSIDERATION OF

9 APPLICATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The corporation may 

11 specify in guidance under paragraph (1) that, 

12 during the first 2 years following the date of 

13 enactment of this section, special partition ap14 plications will be provided priority consider15 ation, if— 

16 ‘‘(i) the plan is likely to become insol17 vent within 5 years of the date of enact18 ment of this section; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the corporation projects a plan to 

20 have a present value of financial assistance 

21 payments under section 4261 that exceeds 

22 $1,000,000,000 if the special partition is 

23 not ordered; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the plan has implemented ben25 efit suspensions under section 305(e)(9) as 


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1 of the date of the enactment of this sec2 tion; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) the corporation determines it ap4 propriate based on other circumstances. 

5 ‘‘(B) NO EFFECT ON AMOUNT OF ASSIST6 ANCE.—A plan that is approved for special par7 tition assistance under this section shall not re8 ceive reduced special partition assistance on ac9 count of not receiving priority consideration 

10 under subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(3) ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND OTHER IN12 FORMATION.—The corporation shall accept assump13 tions incorporated in a multiemployer plan’s deter14 mination that it is in critical status or critical and 

15 declining status (within the meaning of section 

16 305(b)), or that the plan’s modified funded percent17 age is less than 40 percent, unless such assumptions 

18 are clearly erroneous. The corporation may require 

19 such other information as the corporation deter20 mines appropriate for making a determination of eli21 gibility and the amount of special partition assist22 ance necessary under this section. 

23 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION DEADLINE.—Any application 

24 by a plan for special partition assistance under this 

25 section shall be submitted no later than December 


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1 31, 2026, and any revised application for special 

2 partition assistance shall be submitted no later than 

3 December 31, 2027. 

4 ‘‘(5) NOTICE OF APPLICATION.—Not later than 

5 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, 

6 the corporation shall issue guidance requiring multi7 employer plans to notify participants and bene8 ficiaries that the plan has applied for partition 

9 under this section, after the corporation has deter10 mined that the application is complete. Such notice 

11 shall reference the special partition relief internet 

12 website described in subsection (p). 

13 ‘‘(d) DETERMINATIONS ON APPLICATIONS.—A plan’s 

14 application for special partition under this section that is 

15 timely filed in accordance with guidance issued under sub16 section (c)(1) shall be deemed approved and the corpora17 tion shall issue a special partition order unless the cor18 poration notifies the plan within 120 days of the filing 

19 of the application that the application is incomplete or the 

20 plan is not eligible under this section. Such notice shall 

21 specify the reasons the plan is ineligible for a special parti22 tion or information needed to complete the application. If 

23 a plan is denied partition under this subsection, the plan 

24 may submit a revised application under this section. Any 

25 revised application for special partition submitted by a 


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1 plan shall be deemed approved unless the corporation noti2 fies the plan within 120 days of the filing of the revised 

3 application that the application is incomplete or the plan 

4 is not eligible under this section. A special partition order 

5 issued by the corporation shall be effective no later than 

6 120 days after a plan’s special partition application is ap7 proved by the corporation or deemed approved. 

8 ‘‘(e) AMOUNT AND MANNER OF SPECIAL PARTITION

9 ASSISTANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The liabilities of an eligible 

11 multiemployer plan that the corporation assumes 

12 pursuant to a special partition order under this sec13 tion shall be the amount necessary for the plan to 

14 meet its funding goals described in subsection (g). 

15 ‘‘(2) NO CAP.—Liabilities assumed by the cor16 poration pursuant to a special partition order under 

17 this section shall not be capped by the guarantee 

18 under section 4022A. The corporation shall have dis19 cretion on how liabilities of the plan are partitioned. 

20 ‘‘(f) SUCCESSOR PLAN.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The plan created by a spe22 cial partition order under this section is a successor 

23 plan to which section 4022A applies. 

24 ‘‘(2) PLAN SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR.— 

25 The plan sponsor of an eligible multiemployer plan 


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1 prior to the special partition and the administrator 

2 of such plan shall be the plan sponsor and the ad3 ministrator, respectively, of the plan created by the 

4 partition. 

5 ‘‘(g) FUNDING GOALS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The funding goals of a 

7 multiemployer plan eligible for partition under this 

8 section are both of the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) The plan will remain solvent over 30 

10 years with no reduction in a participant’s or 

11 beneficiary’s accrued benefit (except to the ex12 tent of a reduction in accordance with section 

13 305(e)(8) adopted prior to the plan’s applica14 tion for partition under this section). 

15 ‘‘(B) The funded percentage of the plan 

16 (disregarding partitioned benefits) at the end of 

17 the 30-year period is projected to be 80 percent. 

18 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The funding projections under 

19 paragraph (1) shall be performed on a deterministic 

20 basis. 

21 ‘‘(h) RESTORATION OF BENEFIT SUSPENSIONS.—An 

22 eligible multiemployer plan that is partitioned under this 

23 section shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) reinstate any benefits that were suspended 

25 under section 305(e)(9) or section 4245(a), effective 


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1 as of the first month the special partition order is 

2 effective, for participants or beneficiaries as of the 

3 effective date of the partition; and 

4 ‘‘(2) provide payments equal to the amount of 

5 benefits previously suspended to any participants or 

6 beneficiaries in pay status as of the effective date of 

7 the special partition, payable in the form of a lump 

8 sum within 3 months of such effective date or in 

9 equal monthly installments over a period of 5 years, 

10 with no adjustment for interest. 

11 ‘‘(i) ADJUSTMENT OF SPECIAL PARTITION ASSIST12 ANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every 5 years, the corpora14 tion shall adjust the special partition assistance de15 scribed in subsection (e) as necessary for the eligible 

16 multiemployer plan to satisfy the funding goals de17 scribed in subsection (g). If the 30 year period de18 scribed in subsection (g) has lapsed, in applying this 

19 paragraph, 5 years shall be substituted for 30 years. 

20 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—An eligi21 ble multiemployer plan that is the subject of a spe22 cial partition order under subsection (a) shall submit 

23 such information as the corporation may require to 

24 determine the amount of the adjustment under para25 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) CESSATION OF ADJUSTMENTS.—Adjust2 ments under this subsection with respect to special 

3 partition assistance for an eligible multiemployer 

4 plan shall cease and the corporation shall perma5 nently assume liability for payment of any benefits 

6 transferred to the successor plan (subject to sub7 section (l)) beginning with the first plan year that 

8 the funded percentage of the eligible multiemployer 

9 plan (disregarding partitioned benefits) is at least 

10 80 percent and the plan’s projected funded percent11 age for each of the next 10 years is at least 80 per12 cent. Any accumulated funding deficiency of the 

13 plan (within the meaning of section 304(a)) shall be 

14 reduced to zero as of the first day of the plan year 

15 for which partition assistance is permanent under 

16 this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(j) CONDITIONS ON PLANS DURING PARTITION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The corporation may im19 pose, by regulation, reasonable conditions on an eli20 gible multiemployer plan that is partitioned under 

21 section (a) relating to increases in future accrual 

22 rates and any retroactive benefit improvements, allo23 cation of plan assets, reductions in employer con24 tribution rates, diversion of contributions to, and alVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S547.IS S547

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1 location of, expenses to other retirement plans, and 

2 withdrawal liability. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The corporation shall not 

4 impose conditions on an eligible multiemployer plan 

5 as a condition of or following receipt of such parti6 tion assistance under this section relating to— 

7 ‘‘(A) any reduction in plan benefits (in8 cluding benefits that may be adjusted pursuant 

9 to section 305(e)(8)); 

10 ‘‘(B) plan governance, including selection 

11 of, removal of, and terms of contracts with, 

12 trustees, actuaries, investment managers, and 

13 other service providers; or 

14 ‘‘(C) any funding rules relating to the plan 

15 that is partitioned under this section. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONDITION.—An eligible multiemployer 

17 plan that is partitioned under subsection (a) shall 

18 continue to pay all premiums due under section 

19 4007 for participants and beneficiaries in the plan 

20 created by a special partition order until the plan 

21 year beginning after a cessation of adjustments ap22 plies under subsection (i). 

23 ‘‘(k) WITHDRAWAL LIABILITY.—An employer’s with24 drawal liability for purposes of this title shall be calculated 

25 taking into account any plan liabilities that are partitioned 


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1 under subsection (a) until the plan year beginning after 

2 the expiration of 15 calendar years from the effective date 

3 of the partition. 

4 ‘‘(l) CESSATION OF PARTITION ASSISTANCE.—If a 

5 plan that receives partition assistance under this section 

6 becomes insolvent for purposes of section 418E of the In7 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, the plan shall no longer be 

8 eligible for assistance under this section and shall be eligi9 ble for assistance under section 4261. 

10 ‘‘(m) REPORTING.—An eligible multiemployer plan 

11 that receives partition assistance under this section shall 

12 file with the corporation a report, including the following 

13 information, in such manner (which may include electronic 

14 filing requirements) and at such time as the corporation 

15 requires: 

16 ‘‘(1) The funded percentage (as defined in sec17 tion 305(j)(2)) as of the first day of such plan year, 

18 and the underlying actuarial value of assets and li19 abilities taken into account in determining such per20 centage. 

21 ‘‘(2) The market value of the assets of the plan 

22 (determined as provided in paragraph (1)) as of the 

23 last day of the plan year preceding such plan year. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The total value of all contributions made 

2 by employers and employees during the plan year 

3 preceding such plan year. 

4 ‘‘(4) The total value of all benefits paid during 

5 the plan year preceding such plan year. 

6 ‘‘(5) Cash flow projections for such plan year 

7 and the 9 succeeding plan years, and the assump8 tions used in making such projections. 

9 ‘‘(6) Funding standard account projections for 

10 such plan year and the 9 succeeding plan years, and 

11 the assumptions relied upon in making such projec12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(7) The total value of all investment gains or 

14 losses during the plan year preceding such plan year. 

15 ‘‘(8) Any significant reduction in the number of 

16 active participants during the plan year preceding 

17 such plan year, and the reason for such reduction. 

18 ‘‘(9) A list of employers that withdrew from the 

19 plan in the plan year preceding such plan year, the 

20 payment schedule with respect to such withdrawal li21 ability, and the resulting reduction in contributions. 

22 ‘‘(10) A list of employers that paid withdrawal 

23 liability to the plan during the plan year preceding 

24 such plan year and, for each employer, a total as25 sessment of the withdrawal liability paid, the annual 


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1 payment amount, and the number of years remain2 ing in the payment schedule with respect to such 

3 withdrawal liability. 

4 ‘‘(11) Any material changes to benefits, accrual 

5 rates, or contribution rates during the plan year pre6 ceding such plan year, and whether such changes re7 late to the conditions of the partition assistance. 

8 ‘‘(12) Details regarding any funding improve9 ment plan or rehabilitation plan and updates to such 

10 plan. 

11 ‘‘(13) The number of participants and bene12 ficiaries during the plan year preceding such plan 

13 year who are active participants, the number of par14 ticipants and beneficiaries in pay status, and the 

15 number of terminated vested participants and bene16 ficiaries. 

17 ‘‘(14) The information contained on the most 

18 recent annual funding notice submitted by the plan 

19 under section 101(f). 

20 ‘‘(15) The information contained on the most 

21 recent annual return under section 6058 of the In22 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and actuarial report 

23 under section 6059 of such Code of the plan. 

24 ‘‘(16) Copies of the plan document and amend25 ments, other retirement benefit or ancillary benefit 


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1 plans relating to the plan and contribution obliga2 tions under such plans, a breakdown of administra3 tive expenses of the plan, participant census data 

4 and distribution of benefits, the most recent actu5 arial valuation report as of the plan year, financial 

6 reports, and copies of the portions of collective bar7 gaining agreements relating to plan contributions, 

8 funding coverage, or benefits, and such other infor9 mation as the corporation may reasonably require. 

10 Any information disclosed by a plan to the corporation 

11 that could identify individual employers shall be confiden12 tial and not subject to publication or disclosure. 

13 ‘‘(n) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of enactment of this section and annually 

16 thereafter, the board of directors of the corporation 

17 shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu18 cation, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on 

19 Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Edu20 cation and Labor and the Committee on Ways and 

21 Means of the House of Representatives a detailed re22 port on the implementation and administration of 

23 this section. Such report shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) information on the name and number 

2 of multiemployer plans that have applied for 

3 partition assistance under this section; 

4 ‘‘(B) the name and number of such plans 

5 that have been approved for partition assistance 

6 under this section and the name and number of 

7 the plans that have not been approved for spe8 cial partition assistance; 

9 ‘‘(C) a detailed rationale for any decision 

10 by the corporation to not approve an applica11 tion for special partition assistance; 

12 ‘‘(D) the amount of special partition as13 sistance provided to eligible multiemployer 

14 plans (including amounts provided on an indi15 vidual plan basis and in the aggregate); 

16 ‘‘(E) the name and number of the multi17 employer plans that restored benefit suspen18 sions and provided lump sum or monthly in19 stallment payments to participants or bene20 ficiaries; 

21 ‘‘(F) the amount of benefits that were re22 stored and lump sum or monthly installment 

23 payments that were paid (including amounts 

24 provided on an individual plan basis and in the 

25 aggregate); 


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1 ‘‘(G) the name and number of the plans 

2 that received adjustments to partition assist3 ance under subsection (i); 

4 ‘‘(H) a list of, and rationale for, each rea5 sonable condition imposed by the corporation on 

6 plans approved for special partition assistance 

7 under this section; 

8 ‘‘(I) the contracts that have been awarded 

9 by the corporation to implement or administer 

10 this section; 

11 ‘‘(J) the number, purpose, and dollar 

12 amounts of the contracts that have been award13 ed to implement or administer the section; 

14 ‘‘(K) a detailed summary of the reports re15 quired under subsection (m); and 

16 ‘‘(L) a detailed summary of the feedback 

17 received on the pension relief internet website 

18 established under subsection (p). 

19 ‘‘(2) PBGC CERTIFICATION.—The board of di20 rectors of the corporation shall include with the re21 port under paragraph (1) a certification and affir22 mation that the amount of special partition assist23 ance provided to each plan under this section is the 

24 amount necessary to meet its funding goals under 

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1 ment of special partition assistance as determined 

2 under subsection (i). 

3 ‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Congress may pub4 licize the reports received under paragraph (1) only 

5 after redacting all sensitive or proprietary informa6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(o) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 first partition application is approved by the corporation 

9 under this section, and biennially thereafter, the Comp10 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

12 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the 

13 Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee 

14 on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a 

15 detailed report on the actions of the corporation to imple16 ment and administer this section, including an examina17 tion of the contracts awarded by such corporation to carry 

18 out this section and an analysis of such corporation’s com19 pliance with subsections (e) and (g). 

20 ‘‘(p) SPECIAL PARTITION RELIEF WEBSITE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 

22 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

23 corporation shall establish and maintain a user24 friendly, public-facing internet website to foster 


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1 greater accountability and transparency in the im2 plementation and administration of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The internet website estab4 lished and maintained under paragraph (1) shall be 

5 a portal to key information relating to this section 

6 for multiemployer plan administrators and trustees, 

7 plan participants, beneficiaries, participating em8 ployers, other stakeholders, and the public. 

9 ‘‘(3) CONTENT AND FUNCTION.—The internet 

10 website established under paragraph (1) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) describe the nature and scope of the 

12 special partition authority and assistance under 

13 this section in a manner calculated to be under14 stood by the average plan participant; 

15 ‘‘(B) include published guidance, regula16 tions, and all other relevant information on the 

17 implementation and administration of this sec18 tion; 

19 ‘‘(C) include, with respect to plan applica20 tions for special partition assistance— 

21 ‘‘(i) a general description of the proc22 ess by which eligible plans can apply for 

23 special partition assistance, information on 

24 how and when the corporation will process 

25 and consider plan applications; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) information on how the corpora2 tion will address any incomplete applica3 tions as specified in under this section; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a list of the plans that have ap5 plied for special partition assistance and, 

6 for each application, the date of submis7 sion of a completed application; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the text of each plan’s completed 

9 application for special partition assistance 

10 with appropriate redactions of personal, 

11 proprietary, or sensitive information; 

12 ‘‘(v) the estimated date that a deci13 sion will be made by the corporation on 

14 each application; 

15 ‘‘(vi) the actual date when such deci16 sion is made; 

17 ‘‘(vii) the corporation’s decision on 

18 each application; and 

19 ‘‘(viii) as applicable, a detailed ration20 ale for any decision not to approve a plan’s 

21 application for special partition assistance; 

22 ‘‘(D) provide detailed information on each 

23 contract solicited and awarded to implement or 

24 administer this section; 


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1 ‘‘(E) include reports, audits, and other rel2 evant oversight and accountability information 

3 on this section, including the annual reports 

4 submitted by the board of directors of the cor5 poration to Congress required under subsection 

6 (n), the Office of the Inspector General audits, 

7 correspondence, and publications, and the Gov8 ernment Accountability Office reports under 

9 subsection (o); 

10 ‘‘(F) provide a clear means for multiem11 ployer plan administrators, plan participants, 

12 beneficiaries, other stakeholders, and the public 

13 to contact the corporation and provide feedback 

14 on the implementation and administration of 

15 this section; and 

16 ‘‘(G) be regularly updated to carry out the 

17 purposes of this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(q) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—There is au19 thorized to be appropriated to the corporation’s Office of 

20 Inspector General $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, which 

21 shall remain available through September 30, 2028, for 

22 salaries and expenses necessary for conducting investiga23 tions and audits of the implementation and administration 

24 of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(r) APPLICATION OF EXCISE TAX.—During the pe2 riod that a plan is subject to a partition order under this 

3 section and prior to a cessation of adjustments pursuant 

4 to subsection (i)(3), the plan shall not be subject to section 

5 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF BENEFIT SUSPENSIONS FOR MULTIEM7 PLOYER PLANS IN CRITICAL AND DECLINING 

8 STATUS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF

10 1986.—Paragraph (9) of section 432(e) of the Internal 

11 Revenue Code of 1986 is repealed. 

12 (b) AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN13 COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Paragraph (9) of section 

14 305(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

15 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1085(e)) is repealed. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeals made by this 

17 section shall not apply to plans that have been approved 

18 for a suspension of benefit under section 432(e)(9)(G) of 

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and section 

20 305(e)(9)(G) of the Employee Retirement Income Security 

21 Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1085(e)(9)(G)) before the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. TEMPORARY DELAY OF DESIGNATION OF MULTIEM2 PLOYER PLANS AS IN ENDANGERED, CRIT3 ICAL, OR CRITICAL AND DECLINING STATUS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the actuarial 

5 certification under section 305(b)(3) of the Employee Re6 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 and section 

7 432(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if a plan 

8 sponsor of a multiemployer plan elects the application of 

9 this section, then, for purposes of section 305 of such Act 

10 and section 432 of such Code— 

11 (1) the status of the plan for its first plan year 

12 beginning during the period beginning on March 1, 

13 2020, and ending on February 28, 2021, or the next 

14 succeeding plan year (as designated by the plan 

15 sponsor in such election), shall be the same as the 

16 status of such plan under such sections for the plan 

17 year preceding such designated plan year, and 

18 (2) in the case of a plan which was in endan19 gered or critical status for the plan year preceding 

20 the designated plan year described in paragraph (1), 

21 the plan shall not be required to update its plan or 

22 schedules under section 305(c)(6) of such Act and 

23 section 432(c)(6) of such Code, or section 

24 305(e)(3)(B) of such Act and section 432(e)(3)(B) 

25 of such Code, whichever is applicable, until the plan 


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•S 547 IS

1 year following the designated plan year described in 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 If section 305 of the Employee Retirement Income Secu4 rity Act of 1974 and section 432 of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986 did not apply to the plan year preceding 

6 the designated plan year described in paragraph (1), the 

7 plan actuary shall make a certification of the status of 

8 the plan under section 305(b)(3) of such Act and section 

9 432(b)(3) of such Code for the preceding plan year in the 

10 same manner as if such sections had applied to such pre11 ceding plan year. 

12 (b) EXCEPTION FOR PLANS BECOMING CRITICAL

13 DURING ELECTION.—If— 

14 (1) an election was made under subsection (a) 

15 with respect to a multiemployer plan, and 

16 (2) such plan has, without regard to such elec17 tion, been certified by the plan actuary under section 

18 305(b)(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu19 rity Act of 1974 and section 432(b)(3) of the Inter20 nal Revenue Code of 1986 to be in critical status for 

21 the designated plan year described in subsection 

22 (a)(1), then such plan shall be treated as a plan in 

23 critical status for such plan year for purposes of ap24 plying section 4971(g)(1)(A) of such Code, section 

25 302(b)(3) of such Act (without regard to the second 


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•S 547 IS

1 sentence thereof), and section 412(b)(3) of such 

2 Code (without regard to the second sentence there3 of). 

4 (c) ELECTION AND NOTICE.— 

5 (1) ELECTION.—An election under subsection 

6 (a)— 

7 (A) shall be made at such time and in such 

8 manner as the Secretary of the Treasury or the 

9 Secretary’s delegate may prescribe and, once 

10 made, may be revoked only with the consent of 

11 the Secretary, and 

12 (B) if made— 

13 (i) before the date the annual certifi14 cation is submitted to the Secretary or the 

15 Secretary’s delegate under section 

16 305(b)(3) of such Act and section 

17 432(b)(3) of such Code, shall be included 

18 with such annual certification, and 

19 (ii) after such date, shall be submitted 

20 to the Secretary or the Secretary’s delegate 

21 not later than 30 days after the date of the 

22 election. 

23 (2) NOTICE TO PARTICIPANTS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec25 tion 305(b)(3)(D) of the Employee Retirement 


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•S 547 IS

1 Income Security Act of 1974 and section 

2 432(b)(3)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986, if the plan is neither in endangered nor 

4 critical status by reason of an election made 

5 under subsection (a)— 

6 (i) the plan sponsor of a multiem7 ployer plan shall not be required to provide 

8 notice under such sections, and 

9 (ii) the plan sponsor shall provide to 

10 the participants and beneficiaries, the bar11 gaining parties, the Pension Benefit Guar12 anty Corporation, and the Secretary of 

13 Labor a notice of the election under sub14 section (a) and such other information as 

15 the Secretary of the Treasury (in consulta16 tion with the Secretary of Labor) may re17 quire— 

18 (I) if the election is made before 

19 the date the annual certification is 

20 submitted to the Secretary or the Sec21 retary’s delegate under section 

22 305(b)(3) of such Act and section 

23 432(b)(3) of such Code, not later than 

24 30 days after the date of the certifi25 cation, and 


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•S 547 IS

1 (II) if the election is made after 

2 such date, not later than 30 days 

3 after the date of the election. 

4 (B) NOTICE OF ENDANGERED STATUS.— 

5 Notwithstanding section 305(b)(3)(D) of such 

6 Act and section 432(b)(3)(D) of such Code, if 

7 the plan is certified to be in critical status for 

8 any plan year but is in endangered status by 

9 reason of an election made under subsection 

10 (a), the notice provided under such sections 

11 shall be the notice which would have been pro12 vided if the plan had been certified to be in en13 dangered status. 

14 SEC. 5. TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF THE FUNDING IM15 PROVEMENT AND REHABILITATION PERIODS 

16 FOR MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION PLANS IN 

17 CRITICAL AND ENDANGERED STATUS FOR 

18 2020 OR 2021. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the plan sponsor of a multiem20 ployer plan which is in endangered or critical status for 

21 a plan year beginning in 2020 or 2021 (determined after 

22 application of section 4) elects the application of this sec23 tion, then, for purposes of section 305 of the Employee 

24 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and section 432 

25 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986— 


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1 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

2 plan’s funding improvement period or rehabilitation 

3 period, whichever is applicable, shall be 15 years 

4 rather than 10 years, and 

5 (2) in the case of a plan in seriously endan6 gered status, the plan’s funding improvement period 

7 shall be 20 years rather than 15 years. 

8 (b) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur9 poses of this section— 

10 (1) ELECTION.—An election under this section 

11 shall be made at such time, and in such manner and 

12 form, as (in consultation with the Secretary of 

13 Labor) the Secretary of the Treasury or the Sec14 retary’s delegate may prescribe. 

15 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Any term which is used in 

16 this section which is also used in section 305 of the 

17 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

18 and section 432 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 shall have the same meaning as when used in 

20 such sections. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to 

22 plan years beginning after December 31, 2019. 

23 SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENTS TO FUNDING STANDARD ACCOUNT 

24 RULES. 

25 (a) ADJUSTMENTS.— 


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1 (1) AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

2 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Section 304(b)(8) 

3 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

4 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1084(b)) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(F) RELIEF FOR 2020 AND 2021.—A mul7 tiemployer plan with respect to which the sol8 vency test under subparagraph (C) is met as of 

9 February 29, 2020, may elect to apply this 

10 paragraph by substituting ‘February 29, 2020’ 

11 for ‘August 31, 2008’ each place it appears in 

12 subparagraphs (A)(i), (B)(i)(I), and (B)(i)(II) 

13 (without regard to whether such plan previously 

14 elected the application of this paragraph). The 

15 preceding sentence shall not apply to a plan 

16 with respect to which a partition order is in ef17 fect under section 4233A.’’. 

18 (2) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

19 OF 1986.—Section 431(b)(8) of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(F) RELIEF FOR 2020 AND 2021.—A mul23 tiemployer plan with respect to which the sol24 vency test under subparagraph (C) is met as of 

25 February 29, 2020, may elect to apply this 


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•S 547 IS

1 paragraph by substituting ‘February 29, 2020’ 

2 for ‘August 31, 2008’ each place it appears in 

3 subparagraphs (A)(i), (B)(i)(I), and (B)(i)(II) 

4 (without regard to whether such plan previously 

5 elected the application of this paragraph). The 

6 preceding sentence shall not apply to a plan 

7 with respect to which a partition order is in ef8 fect under section 4233A of the Employee Re9 tirement Income Security Act of 1974.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

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

12 this section shall take effect as of the first day of 

13 the first plan year ending on or after February 29, 

14 2020, except that any election a plan makes pursu15 ant to this section that affects the plan’s funding 

16 standard account for the first plan year beginning 

17 after February 29, 2020, shall be disregarded for 

18 purposes of applying the provisions of section 305 of 

19 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

20 1974 and section 432 of the Internal Revenue Code 

21 of 1986 to such plan year. 

22 (2) RESTRICTIONS ON BENEFIT INCREASES.— 

23 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the restrictions on 

24 plan amendments increasing benefits in sections 

25 304(b)(8)(D) of such Act and 431(b)(8)(D) of such 


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1 Code, as applied by the amendments made by this 

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

3 this Act. 

4 SEC. 7. PBGC GUARANTEE FOR PARTICIPANTS IN MULTI5 EMPLOYER PLANS. 

6 Section 4022A(c)(1) of the Employee Retirement In7 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1322a(c)(1)) is 

8 amended by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and in9 serting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) 100 percent of the accrual rate up to 

11 $15, plus 75 percent of the lesser of— 

12 ‘‘(i) $70; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the accrual rate, if any, in excess 

14 of $15; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the number of the participant’s years 

16 of credited service. 

17 For each calendar year after the first full calendar 

18 year following the date of the enactment of the 

19 Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 

20 2021, the accrual rates in subparagraph (A) shall 

21 increase by the national average wage index (as de22 fined in section 209(k)(1) of the Social Security 

23 Act). For purposes of this subsection, the rates ap24 plicable for determining the guaranteed benefits of 

25 the participants of any plan shall be the rates in efVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S547.IS S547

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1 fect for the calendar year in which the plan becomes 

2 insolvent under section 4245 or the calendar year in 

3 which the plan is terminated, if earlier.’’. 

Æ 


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