I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 526

To protect the retirement security of Americans.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 3, 1999

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 protect the retirement security of Americans.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Retirement Protection Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION PLANS

Sec. 101. Reporting and disclosure requirements.

Sec. 102. Civil enforcement of public employee pension plan terms.

Sec. 103. Review by qualified review boards of changes in employer contributions.
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Sec. 104. Effect on other laws.

Sec. 105. Definitions and coverage.

Sec. 106. Effective date.

TITLE II—WOMEN’S PENSION EQUITY

Sec. 201. Model spousal consent form and qualified domestic relations order.

Sec. 202. Extension of tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former

spouses pursuant to divorce agreements.

Sec. 203. 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. 204. Court orders relating to Federal retirement benefits for former

spouses of Federal employees.

TITLE III—EMPLOYER REVERSIONS

Sec. 301. Increase in excise tax on reversions.

Sec. 302. Reversion report.

TITLE IV—ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Sec. 401. Alternative dispute resolution of pension benefit claims.

Sec. 402. Effective date.

TITLE V—ALLOWABLE RELIEF

Sec. 501. Pre-judgment interest, attorney fees, and costs of action.

Sec. 502. Consequential damages.

Sec. 503. Effective date.

TITLE VI—ANNUAL REPORTS

Sec. 601. Annual reports to participants and beneficiaries in understandable

language.

Sec. 602. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—PUBLIC EMPLOYEE

2 PENSION PLANS

3 SEC. 101. REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 210 days after the close

5 of each plan year, the administrator of each public em6 ployee pension plan shall furnish to each participant, and

7 to each beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan—

8 (1) a statement of the assets and liabilities of

9 the plan aggregated by categories and valued at

10 their current value, and the same data displayed in
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1 comparative form for the end of the previous plan

2 year;

3 (2) a statement of receipts and disbursements

4 during the preceding 12-month period aggregated by

5 general sources and applications;

6 (3) a report containing—

7 (A) a description of all investments and as8 sets of the plan, including their value;

9 (B) the names and positions of all of the

10 trustees of the plan, and the time remaining be11 fore the expiration of their term;

12 (C) a description of the method of trustee

13 selection;

14 (D) a description of any changes in invest15 ment policy of the plan during the fiscal year;

16 (E) an evaluation of the long-term solvency

17 of the plan, including the number of partici18 pants and beneficiaries and a summary of their

19 benefits, and a projection of the amount of ben20 efits expected to be paid for the fifth, tenth,

21 and fifteenth plan year following the date of the

22 publication of the report; and

23 (F) the percentage which the current value

24 of the assets of the plan is of the current liabil25 ity under the plan; and
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1 (4) any other material as is necessary to fairly

2 summarize the latest annual report.

3 Such information shall be written and calculated to be un4 derstood by the average plan participant, and shall be suf5 ficiently accurate and comprehensive to reasonably apprise

6 such participants and beneficiaries of their rights and obli7 gations under the plan.

8 (b) AVAILABILITY OF PLAN DOCUMENTS FOR EXAM9 INATION.—The administrator shall make copies of the

10 plan description and the latest annual report and the bar11 gaining agreement, trust agreement, contract, or other in12 struments under which the plan was established or is oper13 ated available for examination by any plan participant or

14 beneficiary in the principal office of the administrator and

15 in such other places as may be necessary to make available

16 all pertinent information to all participants (including

17 such places as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe by

18 regulations).

19 (c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION UPON RE20 QUEST.—The administrator shall, upon written request of

21 any participant or beneficiary, furnish a copy of the latest

22 annual report, any terminal report, the bargaining agree23 ment, trust agreement, contract, or other instruments

24 under which the plan is established or operated. The ad25 ministrator may make a reasonable charge to cover the
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1 cost of furnishing such complete copies. The Secretary of

2 Labor may by regulation prescribe the maximum amount

3 which will constitute a reasonable charge under the pre4 ceding sentence.

5 SEC. 102. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PEN6 SION PLAN TERMS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—A civil action may be brought, by

8 a participant or beneficiary under a public employee pen9 sion plan, against the plan—

10 (1) to recover benefits due to him or her under

11 the terms of the plan, to enforce his or her rights

12 under the terms of the plan or this title, or to clarify

13 his or her rights to future benefits under the terms

14 of the plan;

15 (2) to enjoin any act or practice which violates

16 the terms of the plan, or

17 (3) to obtain other appropriate equitable relief

18 (A) to redress violations of the terms of the plan or

19 this title or (B) to enforce the terms of the plan or

20 this title.

21 (b) BURDEN OF PROOF.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), in any action brought under this section,

24 the plaintiff may prevail if the plaintiff proves his or

25 her case by a preponderance of the evidence.
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1 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PLANS SUBJECT TO RE2 VIEW BY QUALIFIED REVIEW BOARDS.—In the case

3 of a public employee pension plan which meets the

4 requirements of section 103 in any action brought

5 under this section relating to a change in employer

6 contributions, the plaintiff may prevail only if the

7 plaintiff proves his or her case by clear and convinc8 ing evidence.

9 (c) PLANS TREATED AS PERSONS.—A public em10 ployee pension plan may sue or be sued under this title

11 as a person. Service of summons, subpoena, or other legal

12 process of a court upon a trustee or an administrator of

13 a public employee pension plan in the trustee’s or adminis14 trator’s capacity as such shall constitute service upon the

15 plan.

16 (d) JURISDICTION AND VENUE.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—State courts of competent

18 jurisdiction and district courts of the United States

19 shall have concurrent jurisdiction of actions brought

20 under this section. The district courts of the United

21 States shall have jurisdiction without regard to the

22 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the par23 ties, to grant the relief provided for in subsection

24 (a).
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1 (2) VENUE.—Notwithstanding section 94 of the

2 National Banking Act (12 U.S.C. 94), in any case

3 in which an action under this title is brought in a

4 district court of the United States, it may be

5 brought in any district of the State where the plan

6 is administered, where the breach took place, or

7 where a defendant resides or may be found, and

8 process may be served in any other district where a

9 defendant resides or may be found.

10 (e) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action brought under

11 this section, the court may in its discretion award a rea12 sonable attorney’s fee and costs of action to any party who

13 prevails or substantially prevails in such action.

14 SEC. 103. REVIEW BY QUALIFIED REVIEW BOARDS OF

15 CHANGES IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A public employee pension plan

17 meets the requirements of this section if, under the plan,

18 changes in employer contributions are subject to review

19 by a qualified review board established for the plan as pro20 vided in this section. For purposes of this section, the term

21 ‘‘qualified review board’’ means a board—

22 (1) whose membership is determined under the

23 law of the principal State in accordance with sub24 section (b), and
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1 (2) whose powers are determined under the law

2 of the principal State in accordance with subsection

3 (c).

4 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of a quali6 fied review board established for a plan shall consist

7 of 3 members selected from among individuals who,

8 by means of their education and experience, have

9 demonstrated expertise in the area of pension fund

10 management, as follows:

11 (A) one member is appointed by the Gov12 ernor of the State,

13 (B) one member is selected by the partici14 pants in the plan, by means of an election held

15 in such form and manner as shall be prescribed

16 in regulations of the Secretary of Labor, and

17 (C) one member is selected jointly by the

18 Governor and by a representative of partici19 pants in the plan (from a certified list of pen20 sion experts established in accordance with

21 paragraph (2)).

22 Each member of the board shall have 1 vote. Mem23 bers of the board shall serve for such equivalent

24 terms as shall be prescribed under the law of the

25 principal State.
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1 (2) CERTIFIED LIST OF EXPERTS.—The Gov2 ernor of the State shall, for purposes of paragraph

3 (1)(C), establish and maintain with respect to each

4 public employee pension plan (for which such State

5 is the principal State) a certified list of pension ex6 perts meeting the requirements for membership on

7 the qualified review board. Individuals may be in8 cluded on such list only by agreement between the

9 Governor of the State and a representative elected

10 by participants in the plan, entered into by means

11 of collective bargaining in such form and manner as

12 shall be prescribed in regulations of the Secretary of

13 Labor.

14 (c) POWERS.—The board shall be treated as a quali15 fied review board for purposes of this section with respect

16 to any public employee pension plan (for which such State

17 is the principal State) only if the powers of such board

18 under the law of the principal State include review by the

19 board, for approval or disapproval by the board, of any

20 change in the terms of such plan, as a necessary pre21 requisite for such change to take effect, if—

22 (1) such change would have the effect of chang23 ing levels of employer contributions to the plan, and
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1 (2) such review is requested, in such form and

2 manner as shall be prescribed in regulations of the

3 Secretary of Labor, by—

4 (A) at least one-third of the total number

5 of trustees of any trust fund forming a part of

6 the plan, or

7 (B) the head of any employee organization

8 representing at least 20 percent of the total

9 number of active participants in the plan.

10 The board may be treated as a qualified review board for

11 purposes of this section only if, under the law of the prin12 cipal State, any such change submitted to such review by

13 the board may take effect only upon approval of the

14 change by the board.

15 SEC. 104. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this title shall be con17 strued to alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or su18 persede any law of a State or any rule or regulation issued

19 under any such law, except to the extent that such law—

20 (1) may now or hereafter relate to the subject

21 matter of the provisions of this title as they apply

22 to any public employee pension plan described in

23 section 105(b)(1) and not exempt under section

24 105(b)(2), and

25 (2) prevents the application of such provisions.
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1 (b) STATE CAUSES OF ACTION PRESERVED.—Noth2 ing in this title shall be construed to apply with respect

3 to State causes of action available in State courts.

4 SEC. 105. DEFINITIONS AND COVERAGE.

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this title—

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘adminis7 trator’’ means—

8 (A) the board of trustees, retirement

9 board, or similar person with administrative re10 sponsibilities in connection with a plan, or any

11 other person specifically so designated in con12 nection with any requirement of this title by the

13 terms of the instrument or instruments under

14 which the plan is operated, including but not

15 limited to the law of any State or of any politi16 cal subdivision of any State, or

17 (B) in any case in which there is no person

18 described in subparagraph (A) in connection

19 with the plan, the plan sponsor.

20 (2) BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary’’

21 means a person designated by a participant, or by

22 the terms of a public employee pension plan, who is

23 or may become entitled to a benefit thereunder.

24 (3) CURRENT LIABILITY.—The term ‘‘current

25 liability’’ has the meaning provided in section
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1 302(d)(7) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu2 rity Act of 1974.

3 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means

4 any individual employed by an employer, employer

5 representative, or other person required to make em6 ployer contributions under the plan.

7 (5) EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION.—The term

8 ‘‘employee organization’’ means any labor union or

9 any organization of any kind, or any agency or em10 ployee representation committee, association, group,

11 or plan, in which employees participate and which

12 exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing

13 with employers or employer representatives concern14 ing a public employee pension plan or other matters

15 incidental to employment relationships; or any em16 ployees’ beneficiary association organized for the

17 purpose, in whole or in part, of establishing such a

18 plan.

19 (6) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’

20 means—

21 (A) the government of any State or of any

22 political subdivision of a State,

23 (B) any agency or instrumentality of a

24 government referred to in subparagraph (A), or
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1 (C) any agency or instrumentality of two

2 or more governments referred to in subpara3 graph (A).

4 (7) EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION.—The term

5 ‘‘employer contribution’’ means any contribution to

6 a public employee pension plan other than a con7 tribution made by a participant in the plan.

8 (8) EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVE.—The term

9 ‘‘employer representative’’ means—

10 (A) any group or association consisting, in

11 whole or in part, of employers acting, in connec12 tion with a public employee pension plan, for an

13 employer, or

14 (B) any person acting, in connection with

15 a public employee pension plan, indirectly in the

16 interest of an employer or of a group or asso17 ciation described in subparagraph (A).

18 (9) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION PLAN.—The

19 terms ‘‘public employee pension plan’’ and ‘‘plan’’

20 mean any plan, fund, or program which was here21 tofore or is hereafter established or maintained, in

22 whole or in part, by an employer, an employer rep23 resentative, or an employee organization, or by a

24 combination thereof, to the extent that by its express
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1 terms or as a result of surrounding circumstances

2 such plan, fund, or program—

3 (A) provides retirement income to employ4 ees, or

5 (B) results in a deferral of income by em6 ployees for periods extending to the termination

7 of covered employment or beyond,

8 regardless of the method of calculating the contribu9 tions made to the plan, the method of calculating

10 the benefits under the plan, or the method of distrib11 uting benefits from the plan.

12 (10) PRINCIPAL STATE.—The term ‘‘principal

13 State’’ means, for any plan year with respect to a

14 public employee pension plan, the State in which, as

15 of the beginning of such plan year, the largest per16 centage of the participants of the plan employed in

17 any single State is employed.

18 (11) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’

19 means, in connection with a public employee pension

20 plan, the Governor (or equivalent official) of the

21 principal State.

22 (12) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’

23 means any individual who is or may become eligible

24 to receive a benefit of any type from a public em-
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1 ployee pension plan or whose beneficiaries may be el2 igible to receive any such benefit.

3 (13) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a

4 State, a political subdivision of a State, any agency

5 or instrumentality of a State or a political subdivi6 sion of a State, an individual, a partnership, a joint

7 venture, a corporation, a mutual company, a joint8 stock company, a trust, an estate, an unincorporated

9 organization, an association, or an employee organi10 zation.

11 (14) PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘plan spon12 sor’’ means—

13 (A) in the case of a plan established or

14 maintained solely for employees of a single em15 ployer, such employer,

16 (B) in the case of a plan established or

17 maintained by an employee organization, the

18 employee organization, or

19 (C) in the case of a plan established or

20 maintained by two or more employers or jointly

21 by one or more employers and one or more em22 ployee organizations, the association, commit23 tee, board of trustees, or other similar group of

24 representatives of the parties who establish or

25 maintain the plan.
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1 (15) PLAN YEAR.—The term ‘‘plan year’’

2 means, with respect to a plan, the calendar, policy,

3 or fiscal year on which the records of the plan are

4 kept.

5 (16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any

6 State of the United States, the District of Columbia,

7 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is8 lands, American Samoa, and Guam.

9 (b) COVERAGE.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), this title shall apply to any public em12 ployee pension plan.

13 (2) EXCEPTIONS FROM COVERAGE.—The provi14 sions of this title shall not apply to—

15 (A) any employee benefit plan described in

16 section 4(a) of the Employee Retirement In17 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

18 1003(a)), which is not exempt under section

19 4(b)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1003(b)(1));

20 (B) any plan which is unfunded and is

21 maintained by an employer or employer rep22 resentative primarily for the purpose of provid23 ing deferred compensation for a select group of

24 management or highly compensated employees;
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1 (C) any arrangement which would be a

2 severance pay arrangement, as defined in regu3 lations of the Secretary of Labor under section

4 3(2)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income

5 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

6 1002(2)(B)(i)), if the employer were an em7 ployer within the meaning of section 3(5) of

8 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1002(5));

9 (D) any agreement to the extent it is a

10 coverage agreement entered into pursuant to

11 section 218 of the Social Security Act (42

12 U.S.C. 418);

13 (E) any individual retirement account or

14 any individual retirement annuity within the

15 meaning of section 408 of the Internal Revenue

16 Code of 1986, or a retirement bond within the

17 meaning of section 409 of such Code;

18 (F) any plan described in section 401(d) of

19 such Code;

20 (G) any individual account plan consisting

21 of an annuity contract described in section

22 403(b) of such Code;

23 (H) any eligible State deferred compensa24 tion plan, as defined in section 457(b) of such

25 Code; or
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1 (I) any plan maintained solely for the pur2 pose of complying with applicable workers’ com3 pensation laws or disability insurance laws.

4 SEC. 106. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 The preceding provisions of this title shall apply with

6 respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1,

7 2000.

8 TITLE II—WOMEN’S PENSION

9 EQUITY

10 SEC. 201. MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM AND QUALI11 FIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.

12 (a) MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM.—

13 (1) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE

14 CODE.—Section 417(a) of the Internal Revenue

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

16 following new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(8) CONSENT FORM.—The Secretary shall de18 velop a form not later than January 1, 2000, for the

19 spousal consent required under paragraph (2)

20 which—

21 ‘‘(A) is written in a manner calculated to

22 be understood by the average person, and

23 ‘‘(B) discloses in plain form whether—

24 ‘‘(i) the waiver is irrevocable, and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a

2 qualified domestic relations order.’’.

3 (2) AMENDMENT TO ERISA.—Section 205(c) of

4 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

5 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1055(c)) is amended by adding at

6 the end the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(9) The Secretary of the Treasury shall develop a

8 form not later than January 1, 2001, for the spousal con9 sent required under paragraph (2) which—

10 ‘‘(A) is written in a manner calculated to be un11 derstood by the average person, and

12 ‘‘(B) discloses in plain form whether—

13 ‘‘(i) the waiver is irrevocable, and

14 ‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a quali15 fied domestic relations order.’’.

16 (b) MODEL QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS

17 ORDER.—

18 (1) AMENDMENT TO ERISA.—Section 206(d)(3)

19 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

20 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)) is amended by adding

21 at the end the following new subparagraph:

22 ‘‘(O) The Secretary shall develop a form not later

23 than January 1, 2001, for a qualified domestic relations

24 order which meets—
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1 ‘‘(i) the requirements of subparagraph (B)(i),

2 and

3 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of this Act related to the

4 need to consider the treatment of any lump sum

5 payment, qualified joint and survivor annuity, or

6 qualified preretirement survivor annuity.’’.

7 (2) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE

8 CODE.—Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue

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

10 following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(13) The Secretary of Labor shall develop a

12 form not later than January 1, 2001, for a qualified

13 domestic relations order which meet—

14 ‘‘(A) the requirements of paragraph

15 (1)(A), and

16 ‘‘(B) the requirements of this Act related

17 to the need to consider the treatment of any

18 lump sum payment, qualified joint and survivor

19 annuity, or qualified preretirement survivor an20 nuity.’’.

21 (c) PUBLICITY.—The Secretary of the Treasury and

22 the Secretary of Labor shall include publicity for the

23 model forms required by the amendments made by this

24 section in the pension outreach efforts undertaken by each

25 Secretary.
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1 SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF TIER II RAILROAD RETIREMENT

2 BENEFITS TO SURVIVING FORMER SPOUSES

3 PURSUANT TO DIVORCE AGREEMENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Railroad Retire5 ment Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231d) is amended by adding

6 at the end the following new subsection:

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

8 payment of any portion of an annuity computed under sec9 tion 3(b) to a surviving former spouse in accordance with

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

11 or the terms of any court-approved property settlement

12 incident to any such court decree shall not be terminated

13 upon the death of the individual who performed the service

14 with respect to which such annuity is so computed unless

15 such termination is otherwise required by the terms of

16 such court decree.’’.

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

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

19 of this Act.

20 SEC. 203. SURVIVOR ANNUITIES FOR WIDOWS, WIDOWERS,

21 AND FORMER SPOUSES OF FEDERAL EM22 PLOYEES WHO DIE BEFORE ATTAINING AGE

23 FOR DEFERRED ANNUITY UNDER CIVIL

24 SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

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

26 8341(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by—

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘a former employee sepa3 rated from the service with title to deferred an4 nuity from the Fund dies before having estab5 lished a valid claim for annuity and is survived

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

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

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

9 (2) in paragraph (1)—

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ be11 fore ‘‘Member commencing’’; and

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ be13 fore ‘‘Member dies’’; and

14 (3) in the undesignated sentence following para15 graph (2)—

16 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

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

18 ‘‘Member’’; and

19 (B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting

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

21 (b) BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSE.—Section

22 8341(h) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

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

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

25 this subsection, a former spouse of a former em-
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1 ployee who dies after having separated from the

2 service with title to a deferred annuity under section

3 8338(a) but before having established a valid claim

4 for annuity is entitled to a survivor annuity under

5 this subsection, if and to the extent expressly pro6 vided for in an election under section 8339(j)(3) of

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

8 or annulment or any court order or court-approved

9 property settlement agreement incident to such de10 cree.’’; and

11 (2) in paragraph (2)—

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

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

14 employee’’; and

15 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iii) by inserting

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

17 (c) PROTECTION OF SURVIVOR BENEFIT RIGHTS.—

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

19 amended by inserting at the end the following:

20 ‘‘The Office shall provide by regulation for the appli21 cation of this subsection to the widow, widower, or surviv22 ing former spouse of a former employee who dies after

23 having separated from the service with title to a deferred

24 annuity under section 8338(a) but before having estab25 lished a valid claim for annuity.’’.
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

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

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

4 employee who dies on or after such date.

5 SEC. 204. COURT ORDERS RELATING TO FEDERAL RETIRE6 MENT BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSES OF

7 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

8 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

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

10 United States Code, is amended—

11 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

12 paragraph (4); and

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

14 following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(3) Payment to a person under a court decree, court

16 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

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

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

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

20 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

21 (A) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘Lump22 sum benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub23 section (j), lump-sum benefits’’; and

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

25 lump-sum credit under subsection (a) of this
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1 section’’ and inserting ‘‘any lump-sum credit or

2 lump-sum benefit under this section’’.

3 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

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

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub6 section (d); and

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow8 ing new subsection:

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

10 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

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

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

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

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

15 of this Act.

16 TITLE III—EMPLOYER

17 REVERSIONS

18 SEC. 301. INCREASE IN EXCISE TAX ON REVERSIONS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4980 of the Internal Rev20 enue Code of 1986 (relating to tax on reversion of quali21 fied plan assets to employer) is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘20 percent’’

23 and inserting ‘‘35 percent’’; and

24 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘substitut25 ing ‘50 percent’ for ‘20 percent’ with respect to any
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1 employer reversion’’ and inserting ‘‘substituting ‘65

2 percent’ for ‘35 percent’ with respect to any em3 ployer reversion’’.

4 SEC. 302. REVERSION REPORT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4008 of the Employee Re6 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1308)

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section:

9 ‘‘(b) REVERSION REPORT.—As soon as practicable

10 after the close of each fiscal year, the Secretary of Labor

11 (acting in the Secretary’s capacity as chairman of the cor12 poration’s board) shall transmit to the President and the

13 Congress a report providing information on plans from

14 which residual assets were distributed to employers pursu15 ant to section 4044(d).’’

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4008 (29

17 U.S.C. 1308) is amended by striking ‘‘SEC. 4008.’’ and

18 inserting ‘‘SEC. 4008. (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—’’.

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

20 this section shall apply to fiscal years beginning after Sep21 tember 30, 2000.
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1 TITLE IV—ALTERNATIVE

2 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

3 SEC. 401. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION OF PEN4 SION BENEFIT CLAIMS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 503 of the Employee Re6 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1133)

7 is amended—

8 (1) by adding at the end of the heading the fol9 lowing: ‘‘AND ARBITRATION OF PENSION CLAIMS’’;

10 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ after ‘‘SEC. 503.’’; and

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section:

13 ‘‘(b)(1) Any claim of a participant or beneficiary

14 against an employee pension benefit plan with respect to

15 benefits under such plan remaining unresolved, after op16 portunity for review provided under subsection (a) has

17 been exercised, may be resolved through arbitration, upon

18 the request of the participant or beneficiary which is filed

19 with the Secretary, in such form and manner as shall be

20 prescribed by regulation and within the 60-day period

21 after the participant or beneficiary has received written

22 notice from the plan of the completion of such review. The

23 filing of a request for arbitration under this section with

24 respect to any claim shall constitute a waiver of any right
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1 to review of such claim other than as provided in this sub2 section.

3 ‘‘(2) An arbitration proceeding under this subsection

4 shall be conducted in accordance with fair and equitable

5 procedures to be prescribed by the Secretary. Individuals

6 serving as arbitrators under this section shall be selected

7 by the Secretary from employees of the Department of

8 Labor or, to the extent considered by the Secretary more

9 cost-effective, from individuals whose services are acquired

10 from other sources. If the parties have not provided by

11 agreement for the costs of the arbitration, including arbi12 trator’s fees, the arbitrator shall assess such fees, in an

13 amount for each party not to exceed $500. The arbitrator

14 shall also award to prevailing participants and bene15 ficiaries reasonable attorney’s fees and pre-judgment in16 terest on unpaid benefits. The award may require payment

17 of consequential damages.

18 ‘‘(3) Any arbitration proceedings under this sub19 section shall, to the extent consistent with this title, be

20 conducted in the same manner, subject to the same limita21 tions, carried out with the same powers (including sub22 pena power), and enforced in the United States courts as

23 an arbitration proceeding carried out under title 9, United

24 States Code, as if such arbitration had been entered into

25 by the parties by mutual agreement. Any arbitration
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1 award which is not appealed under paragraph (4) may be

2 reviewed only pursuant to sections 9 through 13 of such

3 title 9.

4 ‘‘(4)(A) Upon completion of the arbitration proceed5 ings in favor of one of the parties, a party aggrieved by

6 the arbitrator’s award may bring an action in an appro7 priate United States district court or State court to vacate

8 or modify the award. Any action under this paragraph

9 must be brought no later than 30 days after the date of

10 the issuance of the arbitrator’s award, and in such action,

11 the findings of fact shall be subject to de novo review.

12 ‘‘(B) An action under this section in a United States

13 district court may be brought in the district where the

14 plan is administered or where a plaintiff or defendant re15 sides or does business, and process may be served in any

16 district where a plaintiff or defendant resides, does busi17 ness, or may be found.

18 ‘‘(C) In any action under this paragraph, the court

19 shall award, together with any consequential damages, the

20 costs and expenses incurred in connection with such ac21 tion, including reasonable attorney’s fees, to a prevailing

22 participant or beneficiary.

23 ‘‘(D) A copy of the complaint in any action under

24 this paragraph shall be served upon the Secretary by cer-
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1 tified mail. The Secretary may intervene in any such ac2 tion.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating

4 to section 503 in the table of contents in section 1 of such

5 Act is amended to read as follows:

‘‘Sec. 503. Claims procedure and arbitration of pension claims.’’.

6 SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 The amendments made by this title shall apply with

8 respect to claims arising on or after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act.

10 TITLE V—ALLOWABLE RELIEF

11 SEC. 501. PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST, ATTORNEY FEES, AND

12 COSTS OF ACTION.

13 (a) PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST ON UNPAID BENE14 FITS.—Section 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement

15 Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)(B))

16 is amended by inserting ‘‘(together with reasonable pre17 judgment interest on unpaid pension plan benefits)’’ after

18 ‘‘to recover benefits due to him under the terms of his

19 plan’’.

20 (b) ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS OF ACTION.—Sec21 tion 502(g) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1132(g)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or (3)’’

23 after ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(3) In any action or settlement proceeding under

4 this title with respect to an employee pension benefit plan

5 brought by a participant or beneficiary under such plan

6 in which the participant or beneficiary prevails or substan7 tially prevails, the participant or beneficiary shall be enti8 tled to reasonable attorney’s fees, reasonable expert wit9 ness fees, and other reasonable costs relating to the ac10 tion.’’.

11 SEC. 502. CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

12 Section 502(c) of the Employee Retirement Income

13 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)) is amended by

14 inserting after paragraph (7) (added by section 3(b)(1)

15 of this Act) the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(8) In any case in which any party consisting of the

17 plan sponsor, the plan administrator, or any other fidu18 ciary of a pension plan acts or fails to act so as to deprive

19 a participant or beneficiary of the full and timely payment

20 of a benefit under the plan in violation of the terms of

21 the plan or this title, such party may, in the court’s discre22 tion, be jointly and severally liable to such participant or

23 beneficiary, in any action brought under subsection

24 (a)(1)(B), for consequential damages (whether economic
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1 or noneconomic) in addition to any other remedy available

2 to such participant or beneficiary.’’.

3 SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 The amendments made by this title shall apply with

5 respect to causes of action arising on or after the date

6 of the enactment of this Act.

7 TITLE VI—ANNUAL REPORTS

8 SEC. 601. ANNUAL REPORTS TO PARTICIPANTS AND BENE9 FICIARIES IN UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGE.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(b) of the Employee

11 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

12 1024(b)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(b)(1) Within 210 days after the close of each plan

14 year, the administrator shall furnish to each participant,

15 and to each beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan—

16 ‘‘(A) a copy of the statements and schedules,

17 for such plan, described in subparagraphs (A) and

18 (B) of section 103(b)(3);

19 ‘‘(B) a report containing—

20 ‘‘(i) a description of all investments and

21 assets of the plan, including their value;

22 ‘‘(ii) the names and positions of all of the

23 trustees of the plan, and the time remaining be24 fore the expiration of their term;
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1 ‘‘(iii) a description of the method of trustee

2 selection;

3 ‘‘(iv) a description of any changes in in4 vestment policy of the plan during the fiscal

5 year; and

6 ‘‘(v) an evaluation of the long-term sol7 vency of the plan, including the number of par8 ticipants and beneficiaries and a summary of

9 their benefits, and a projection of the amount

10 of benefits expected to be paid for the fifth,

11 tenth, and fifteenth plan year following the date

12 of the publication of the report;

13 ‘‘(C) any other material (including the percent14 age determined under section 103(d)(11)) as is nec15 essary to fairly summarize the latest annual report;

16 and

17 ‘‘(D) information on where participants and

18 beneficiary may receive assistance with respect to

19 the plan.

20 Such information shall be written and calculated to be un21 derstood by the average plan participant, and shall be suf22 ficiently accurate and comprehensive to reasonably apprise

23 such participants and beneficiaries of their rights and obli24 gations under the plan.
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1 ‘‘(2) The administrator shall make copies of the plan

2 description and the latest annual report and the bargain3 ing agreement, trust agreement, contract, or other instru4 ments under which the plan was established or is operated

5 available for examination by any plan participant or bene6 ficiary in the principal office of the administrator and in

7 such other places as may be necessary to make available

8 all pertinent information to all participants (including

9 such places as the Secretary may prescribe by regula10 tions).

11 ‘‘(3) The administrator shall, upon written request

12 of any participant or beneficiary, furnish a copy of the

13 latest annual report, any terminal report, the bargaining

14 agreement, trust agreement, contract, or other instru15 ments under which the plan is established or operated.

16 The administrator may make a reasonable charge to cover

17 the cost of furnishing such complete copies. The Secretary

18 may by regulation prescribe the maximum amount which

19 will constitute a reasonable charge under the preceding

20 sentence.’’.

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 (1) Section 101(a) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

23 1021(a)) is amended to read as follows—

24 ‘‘SEC. 101. (a) The administrator of each employee

25 benefit plan shall cause to be furnished in accordance with
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1 section 104(b) to each participant covered under the plan

2 and to each beneficiary who is receiving benefits under the

3 plan the information described in sections 104(b)(1) and

4 105(a) and (c).’’.

5 (2) Section 101(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

6 1021(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and

7 redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), as

8 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), respectively.

9 (3) Section 102(a)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

10 1022(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 102. (a)(1) A report shall be furnished to par12 ticipants and beneficiaries as provided in section 104(b).’’.

13 (4) Section 102(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

14 1022(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and summary plan

15 description’’ and inserting ‘‘report’’.

16 (5) Section 103(a)(3)(A) of such Act (29

17 U.S.C. 1023 (a)(3)(A)) is amended in the second

18 sentence by striking ‘‘104(b)(3)’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘104(b)(1) (A) and (C)’’.

20 (6) Section 104(a)(1)(C) of such Act (29

21 U.S.C. 1024(a)(1)(C)) is amended to read as fol22 lows:

23 ‘‘(C) a copy of the materials required to be fur24 nished to participants and beneficiaries pursuant to

25 subsection (b)(1) of this section; and’’.
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1 SEC. 602. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 The amendments made by this title shall apply with

3 respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1,

4 2001.

Æ