I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 509

To protect the retirement security of Americans.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1997

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, Government Reform and Oversight, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 1997’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO ERISA REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE

PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Requirement for annual report.

Sec. 102. Effective date.
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TITLE II—PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION PLAN LIABILITY

Sec. 201. Reporting and disclosure requirements.

Sec. 202. Civil enforcement relating to public employee pension plans.

Sec. 203. Review by qualified review boards of changes in employer contributions.

Sec. 204. Effect on other laws.

Sec. 205. Definitions and coverage.

Sec. 206. Effective date.

TITLE III—WOMEN’S PENSION EQUITY

Sec. 301. Model spousal consent form and qualified domestic relations order.

Sec. 302. Extension of Tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former

spouses pursuant to divorce agreements.

Sec. 303. 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. 304. Court orders relating to Federal retirement benefits for former

spouses of Federal employees.

Sec. 305. Prevention of circumvention of court order by waiver of retired pay

to enhance civil service retirement annuity.

TITLE IV—EMPLOYER REVERSIONS

Sec. 401. Increase in excise tax on reversions.

Sec. 402. Reversion report.

1 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO

2 ERISA REPORTING AND DIS3 CLOSURE PROVISIONS

4 SEC. 101. REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL REPORT.

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

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

7 1024(b)) is amended to read as follows:

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

9 year, the administrator shall furnish to each participant,

10 and to each beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan—

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

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

13 (B) of section 103(b)(3);
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1 ‘‘(B) a report containing—

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

3 assets of the plan, including their value;

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

5 trustees of the plan, and the time remaining be6 fore the expiration of their term;

7 ‘‘(iii) a description of the method of trustee

8 selection;

9 ‘‘(iv) a description of any changes in in10 vestment policy of the plan during the fiscal

11 year; and

12 ‘‘(v) an evaluation of the long-term sol13 vency of the plan, including the number of par14 ticipants and beneficiaries and a summary of

15 their benefits, and a projection of the amount

16 of benefits expected to be paid for the fifth,

17 tenth, and fifteenth plan year following the date

18 of the publication of the report; and

19 ‘‘(C) any other material (including the percent20 age determined under section 103(d)(11)) as is nec21 essary to fairly summarize the latest annual report.

22 Such information shall be written and calculated to be un23 derstood by the average plan participant, and shall be suf24 ficiently accurate and comprehensive to reasonably apprise
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1 such participants and beneficiaries of their rights and obli2 gations under the plan.

3 ‘‘(2) The administrator shall make copies of the plan

4 description and the latest annual report and the bargain5 ing agreement, trust agreement, contract, or other instru6 ments under which the plan was established or is operated

7 available for examination by any plan participant or bene8 ficiary in the principal office of the administrator and in

9 such other places as may be necessary to make available

10 all pertinent information to all participants (including

11 such places as the Secretary may prescribe by regula12 tions).

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

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

15 latest annual report, any terminal report, the bargaining

16 agreement, trust agreement, contract, or other instru17 ments under which the plan is established or operated.

18 The administrator may make a reasonable charge to cover

19 the cost of furnishing such complete copies. The Secretary

20 may by regulation prescribe the maximum amount which

21 will constitute a reasonable charge under the preceding

22 sentence.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

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

25 1021(a)) is amended to read as follows—
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1 ‘‘SEC. 101. (a) The administrator of each employee

2 benefit plan shall cause to be furnished in accordance with

3 section 104(b) to each participant covered under the plan

4 and to each beneficiary who is receiving benefits under the

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

6 105(a) and (c).’’.

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

8 1021(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and

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

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

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

12 1022(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 102. (a)(1) A report shall be furnished to par14 ticipants and beneficiaries as provided in section 104(b).’’.

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

16 1022(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and summary plan

17 description’’ and inserting ‘‘report’’.

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

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

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

21 ‘‘104(b)(1)(A) and (C)’’.

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

23 U.S.C. 1024(a)(1)(C)) is amended to read as fol24 lows:
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1 ‘‘(C) a copy of the materials required to be fur2 nished to participants and beneficiaries pursuant to

3 subsection (b)(1) of this section; and’’.

4 SEC. 102. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 The amendments made by this title shall apply with

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

7 1997.

8 TITLE II—PUBLIC EMPLOYEE

9 PENSION PLANS

10 SEC. 201. REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

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

12 of each plan year, the administrator of each public em13 ployee pension plan shall furnish to each participant, and

14 to each beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan—

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

16 the plan aggregated by categories and valued at

17 their current value, and the same data displayed in

18 comparative form for the end of the previous plan

19 year;

20 (2) a statement of receipts and disbursements

21 during the preceding 12-month period aggregated by

22 general sources and applications;

23 (3) a report containing—

24 (A) a description of all investments and as25 sets of the plan, including their value;
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1 (B) the names and positions of all of the

2 trustees of the plan, and the time remaining be3 fore the expiration of their term;

4 (C) a description of the method of trustee

5 selection;

6 (D) a description of any changes in invest7 ment policy of the plan during the fiscal year;

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

9 of the plan, including the number of partici10 pants and beneficiaries and a summary of their

11 benefits, and a projection of the amount of ben12 efits expected to be paid for the fifth, tenth,

13 and fifteenth plan year following the date of the

14 publication of the report; and

15 (F) the percentage which the current value

16 of the assets of the plan is of the current liabil17 ity under the plan; and

18 (4) any other material as is necessary to fairly

19 summarize the latest annual report.

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 (b) AVAILABILITY OF PLAN DOCUMENTS FOR EXAM2 INATION.—The administrator shall make copies of the

3 plan description and the latest annual report and the bar4 gaining agreement, trust agreement, contract, or other in5 struments under which the plan was established or is oper6 ated available for examination by any plan participant or

7 beneficiary in the principal office of the administrator and

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

9 all pertinent information to all participants (including

10 such places as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe by

11 regulations).

12 (c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION UPON RE13 QUEST.—The administrator shall, upon written request of

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

15 annual report, any terminal report, the bargaining agree16 ment, trust agreement, contract, or other instruments

17 under which the plan is established or operated. The ad18 ministrator may make a reasonable charge to cover the

19 cost of furnishing such complete copies. The Secretary of

20 Labor may by regulation prescribe the maximum amount

21 which will constitute a reasonable charge under the pre22 ceding sentence.
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1 SEC. 202. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PEN2 SION PLAN TERMS.

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

4 a participant or beneficiary under a public employee pen5 sion plan, against the plan—

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

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

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

9 his or her rights to future benefits under the terms

10 of the plan;

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

12 the terms of the plan, or

13 (3) to obtain other appropriate equitable relief

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

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

16 this title.

17 (b) BURDEN OF PROOF.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), in any action brought under this section,

20 the plaintiff may prevail if the plaintiff proves his or

21 her case by a preponderance of the evidence.

22 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PLANS SUBJECT TO RE23 VIEW BY QUALIFIED REVIEW BOARDS.—In the case

24 of a public employee pension plan which meets the

25 requirements of section 203 in any action brought

26 under this section relating to a change in employer
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1 contributions, the plaintiff may prevail only if the

2 plaintiff proves his or her case by clear and convinc3 ing evidence.

4 (c) PLANS TREATED AS PERSONS.—A public em5 ployee pension plan may sue or be sued under this title

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

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

8 a public employee pension plan in the trustee’s or adminis9 trator’s capacity as such shall constitute service upon the

10 plan.

11 (d) JURISDICTION AND VENUE.—

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

13 jurisdiction and district courts of the United States

14 shall have concurrent jurisdiction of actions brought

15 under this section. The district courts of the United

16 States shall have jurisdiction without regard to the

17 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the par18 ties, to grant the relief provided for in subsection

19 (a).

20 (2) VENUE.—Notwithstanding section 94 of the

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

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

23 district court of the United States, it may be

24 brought in any district of the State where the plan

25 is administered, where the breach took place, or
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1 where a defendant resides or may be found, and

2 process may be served in any other district where a

3 defendant resides or may be found.

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

5 this section, the court may in its discretion award a rea6 sonable attorney’s fee and costs of action to any party who

7 prevails or substantially prevails in such action.

8 SEC. 203. REVIEW BY QUALIFIED REVIEW BOARDS OF

9 CHANGES IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS.

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

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

12 changes in employer contributions are subject to review

13 by a qualified review board established for the plan as pro14 vided in this section. For purposes of this section, the term

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

16 (1) whose membership is determined under the

17 law of the principal State in accordance with sub18 section (b), and

19 (2) whose powers are determined under the law

20 of the principal State in accordance with subsection

21 (c).

22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of a quali24 fied review board established for a plan shall consist

25 of 3 members selected from among individuals who,
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1 by means of their education and experience, have

2 demonstrated expertise in the area of pension fund

3 management, as follows:

4 (A) one member is appointed by the Gov5 ernor of the State,

6 (B) one member is selected by the partici7 pants in the plan, by means of an election held

8 in such form and manner as shall be prescribed

9 in regulations of the Secretary of Labor, and

10 (C) one member is selected jointly by the

11 Governor and by a representative of partici12 pants in the plan (from a certified list of pen13 sion experts established in accordance with

14 paragraph (2)).

15 Each member of the board shall have 1 vote. Mem16 bers of the board shall serve for such equivalent

17 terms as shall be prescribed under the law of the

18 principal State.

19 (2) CERTIFIED LIST OF EXPERTS.—The Gov20 ernor of the State shall, for purposes of paragraph

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

22 public employee pension plan (for which such State

23 is the principal State) a certified list of pension ex24 perts meeting the requirements for membership on
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1 the qualified review board. Individuals may be in2 cluded on such list only by agreement between the

3 Governor of the State and a representative elected

4 by participants in the plan, entered into by means

5 of collective bargaining in such form and manner as

6 shall be prescribed in regulations of the Secretary of

7 Labor.

8 (c) POWERS.—The board shall be treated as a quali9 fied review board for purposes of this section with respect

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

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

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

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

14 change in the terms of such plan, as a necessary pre15 requisite for such change to take effect, if—

16 (1) such change would have the effect of chang17 ing levels of employer contributions to the plan, and

18 (2) such review is requested, in such form and

19 manner as shall be prescribed in regulations of the

20 Secretary of Labor, by—

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

22 of trustees of any trust fund forming a part of

23 the plan, or
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1 (B) the head of any employee organization

2 representing at least 20 percent of the total

3 number of active participants in the plan.

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

5 purposes of this section only if, under the law of the prin6 cipal State, any such change submitted to such review by

7 the board may take effect only upon approval of the

8 change by the board.

9 SEC. 204. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this title shall be con11 strued to alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or su12 persede any law of a State or any rule or regulation issued

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

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

15 matter of the provisions of this title as they apply

16 to any public employee pension plan described in

17 section 205(b)(1) and not exempt under section

18 205(b)(2), and

19 (2) prevents the application of such provisions.

20 (b) STATE CAUSES OF ACTION PRESERVED.—Noth21 ing in this title shall be construed to apply with respect

22 to State causes of action available in State courts.

23 SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS AND COVERAGE.

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this title—
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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘adminis2 trator’’ means—

3 (A) the board of trustees, retirement

4 board, or similar person with administrative re5 sponsibilities in connection with a plan, or any

6 other person specifically so designated in con7 nection with any requirement of this title by the

8 terms of the instrument or instruments under

9 which the plan is operated, including but not

10 limited to the law of any State or of any politi11 cal subdivision of any State, or

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

13 described in subparagraph (A) in connection

14 with the plan, the plan sponsor.

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

16 means a person designated by a participant, or by

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

18 or may become entitled to a benefit thereunder.

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

20 liability’’ has the meaning provided in section

21 302(d)(7) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu22 rity Act of 1974.

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

24 any individual employed by an employer, employer
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1 representative, or other person required to make em2 ployer contributions under the plan.

3 (5) EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION.—The term

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

5 any organization of any kind, or any agency or em6 ployee representation committee, association, group,

7 or plan, in which employees participate and which

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

9 with employers or employer representatives concern10 ing a public employee pension plan or other matters

11 incidental to employment relationships; or any em12 ployees’ beneficiary association organized for the

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

14 plan.

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

16 means—

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

18 political subdivision of a State,

19 (B) any agency or instrumentality of a

20 government referred to in subparagraph (A), or

21 (C) any agency or instrumentality of two

22 or more governments referred to in subpara23 graph (A).

24 (7) EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION.—The term

25 ‘‘employer contribution’’ means any contribution to
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1 a public employee pension plan other than a con2 tribution made by a participant in the plan.

3 (8) EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVE.—The term

4 ‘‘employer representative’’ means—

5 (A) any group or association consisting, in

6 whole or in part, of employers acting, in connec7 tion with a public employee pension plan, for an

8 employer, or

9 (B) any person acting, in connection with

10 a public employee pension plan, indirectly in the

11 interest of an employer or of a group or asso12 ciation described in subparagraph (A).

13 (9) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION PLAN.—The

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

15 mean any plan, fund, or program which was here16 tofore or is hereafter established or maintained, in

17 whole or in part, by an employer, an employer rep18 resentative, or an employee organization, or by a

19 combination thereof, to the extent that by its express

20 terms or as a result of surrounding circumstances

21 such plan, fund, or program—

22 (A) provides retirement income to employ23 ees, or
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1 (B) results in a deferral of income by em2 ployees for periods extending to the termination

3 of covered employment or beyond,

4 regardless of the method of calculating the contribu5 tions made to the plan, the method of calculating

6 the benefits under the plan, or the method of distrib7 uting benefits from the plan.

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

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

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

11 of the beginning of such plan year, the largest per12 centage of the participants of the plan employed in

13 any single State is employed.

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

15 means, in connection with a public employee pension

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

17 principal State.

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

19 means any individual who is or may become eligible

20 to receive a benefit of any type from a public em21 ployee pension plan or whose beneficiaries may be el22 igible to receive any such benefit.

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

24 State, a political subdivision of a State, any agency
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1 or instrumentality of a State or a political subdivi2 sion of a State, an individual, a partnership, a joint

3 venture, a corporation, a mutual company, a joint4 stock company, a trust, an estate, an unincorporated

5 organization, an association, or an employee organi6 zation.

7 (14) PLAN SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘plan spon8 sor’’ means—

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

10 maintained solely for employees of a single em11 ployer, such employer,

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

13 maintained by an employee organization, the

14 employee organization, or

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

16 maintained by two or more employers or jointly

17 by one or more employers and one or more em18 ployee organizations, the association, commit19 tee, board of trustees, or other similar group of

20 representatives of the parties who establish or

21 maintain the plan.

22 (15) PLAN YEAR.—The term ‘‘plan year’’

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

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

25 kept.
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1 (16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any

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

3 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is4 lands, American Samoa, and Guam.

5 (b) COVERAGE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), this title shall apply to any public em8 ployee pension plan.

9 (2) EXCEPTIONS FROM COVERAGE.—The provi10 sions of this title shall not apply to—

11 (A) any employee benefit plan described in

12 section 4(a) of the Employee Retirement In13 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

14 1003(a)), which is not exempt under section

15 4(b)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1003(b)(1));

16 (B) any plan which is unfunded and is

17 maintained by an employer or employer rep18 resentative primarily for the purpose of provid19 ing deferred compensation for a select group of

20 management or highly compensated employees;

21 (C) any arrangement which would be a

22 severance pay arrangement, as defined in regu23 lations of the Secretary of Labor under section

24 3(2)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income

25 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
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1 1002(2)(B)(i)), if the employer were an em2 ployer within the meaning of section 3(5) of

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

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

5 coverage agreement entered into pursuant to

6 section 218 of the Social Security Act (42

7 U.S.C. 418);

8 (E) any individual retirement account or

9 any individual retirement annuity within the

10 meaning of section 408 of the Internal Revenue

11 Code of 1986, or a retirement bond within the

12 meaning of section 409 of such Code;

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

14 such Code;

15 (G) any individual account plan consisting

16 of an annuity contract described in section

17 403(b) of such Code;

18 (H) any eligible State deferred compensa19 tion plan, as defined in section 457(b) of such

20 Code; or

21 (I) any plan maintained solely for the pur22 pose of complying with applicable workers’ com23 pensation laws or disability insurance laws.
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1 SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 The preceding provisions of this title shall apply with

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

4 1997.

5 TITLE III—WOMEN’S PENSION

6 EQUITY

7 SEC. 301. MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM AND QUALI8 FIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.

9 (a) MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM.—

10 (1) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE

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

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

13 following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(7) CONSENT FORM.—The Secretary shall de15 velop a form not later than January 1, 1997, for the

16 spousal consent required under paragraph (2)

17 which—

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

19 be understood by the average person, and

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

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

22 ‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a

23 qualified domestic relations order.’’.

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

25 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
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1 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1055(c)) is amended by adding at

2 the end the following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(8) The Secretary of the Treasury shall de4 velop a form not later than January 1, 1997, for the

5 spousal consent required under paragraph (2)

6 which—

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

8 be understood by the average person, and

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

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

11 ‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a

12 qualified domestic relations order.’’.

13 (b) MODEL QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS

14 ORDER.—

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

16 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

17 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)) is amended by adding

18 at the end the following new subparagraph:

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

20 than January 1, 1997, for a qualified domestic relations

21 order which meets—

22 ‘‘(i) the requirements of subparagraph (B)(i),

23 and

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

25 need to consider the treatment of any lump sum
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1 payment, qualified joint and survivor annuity, or

2 qualified preretirement survivor annuity.’’.

3 (2) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE

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

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

6 following new paragraph:

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

8 form not later than January 1, 1997, for a qualified

9 domestic relations order which meet—

10 ‘‘(A) the requirements of paragraph

11 (1)(A), and

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

13 to the need to consider the treatment of any

14 lump sum payment, qualified joint and survivor

15 annuity, or qualified preretirement survivor an16 nuity.’’.

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

18 the Secretary of Labor shall include publicity for the

19 model forms required by the amendments made by this

20 section in the pension outreach efforts undertaken by each

21 Secretary.
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1 SEC. 302. 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. 303. 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
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1 this subsection, a former spouse of a former em2 ployee who dies after having separated from the

3 service with title to a deferred annuity under section

4 8338(a) but before having established a valid claim

5 for annuity is entitled to a survivor annuity under

6 this subsection, if and to the extent expressly pro7 vided for in an election under section 8339(j)(3) of

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

9 or annulment or any court order or court-approved

10 property settlement agreement incident to such de11 cree.’’; and

12 (2) in paragraph (2)—

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

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

15 employee’’; and

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

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

18 (c) PROTECTION OF SURVIVOR BENEFIT RIGHTS.—

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

20 amended by inserting at the end the following:

21 ‘‘The Office shall provide by regulation for the appli22 cation of this subsection to the widow, widower, or surviv23 ing former spouse of a former employee who dies after

24 having separated from the service with title to a deferred
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1 annuity under section 8338(a) but before having estab2 lished a valid claim for annuity.’’.

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

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

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

6 employee who dies on or after such date.

7 SEC. 304. COURT ORDERS RELATING TO FEDERAL RETIRE8 MENT BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSES OF

9 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

10 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

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

12 United States Code, is amended—

13 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

14 paragraph (4); and

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

16 following new paragraph:

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

18 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

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

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

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

22 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

23 (A) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘Lump24 sum benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub25 section (j), lump-sum benefits’’; and
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1 (B) in subsection (j)(1) by striking ‘‘the

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

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

4 lump-sum benefit under this section’’.

5 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

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

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub8 section (d); and

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow10 ing new subsection:

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

12 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

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

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

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

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

17 of this Act.

18 SEC. 305. PREVENTION OF CIRCUMVENTION OF COURT

19 ORDER BY WAIVER OF RETIRED PAY TO EN20 HANCE CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT ANNU21 ITY.

22 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY

23 SYSTEM.—(1) Subsection (c) of section 8332 of title 5,

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

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(4) If an employee or Member waives retired pay

2 that is subject to a court order for which there has been

3 effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes

4 of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which

5 the retired pay is based may be credited as service for

6 purposes of this subchapter only if, in accordance with

7 regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of Per8 sonnel Management, the employee or Member authorizes

9 the Director to deduct and withhold from the annuity pay10 able to the employee or Member under this subchapter,

11 and to pay to the former spouse covered by the court

12 order, the same amount that would have been deducted

13 and withheld from the employee’s or Member’s retired pay

14 and paid to that former spouse under such section 1408.’’.

15 (2) Paragraph (1) of such subsection is amended by

16 striking out ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2)’’ and

17 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (4)’’.

18 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

19 (1) Subsection (c) of section 8411 of title 5, United States

20 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(5) If an employee or Member waives retired pay

22 that is subject to a court order for which there has been

23 effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes

24 of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which

25 the retired pay is based may be credited as service for
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1 purposes of this chapter only if, in accordance with regula2 tions prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel

3 Management, the employee or Member authorizes the Di4 rector to deduct and withhold from the annuity payable

5 to the employee or Member under this subchapter, and

6 to pay to the former spouse covered by the court order,

7 the same amount that would have been deducted and with8 held from the employee’s or Member’s retired pay and

9 paid to that former spouse under such section 1408.’’.

10 (2) Paragraph (1) of such subsection is amended by

11 striking out ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3)’’

12 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3),

13 and (5)’’.

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

15 subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 1997.

16 TITLE IV—EMPLOYER

17 REVERSIONS

18 SEC. 401. 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. 402. 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, 1996.

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