Pension Stability Act

To require the payment of user fees by qualified professional asset managers seeking an individual exemption from certain requirements. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Pension Stability Act 2. User fees (a) In general Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor (referred to in this section as the Secretary entities (1) meet the definition of a qualified professional asset manager (2) apply for an individual exemption, pursuant to the Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84–14, from the prohibitions of section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1106 section 4975 (b) User fee amounts (1) General fees In establishing user fees under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that such fees— (A) are not less than $1,000,000 per application for an individual exemption under section I(g) of Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84–14; and (B) are scaled higher than the base fee established under subparagraph (A), based on the severity of the crime related to such application. (2) Repeat offenders In the case of an entity that previously filed an application for an individual exemption under section I(g) of the Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84–14 (including a successor company or a company that has subsequently acquired a previous offender), the applicable user fee under paragraph (1) shall be multiplied by the number of such prior applications. (c) Transfer of fees collected (1) In general Amounts collected in user fees under this section shall be transferred to the first and the second Pension Benefit Guaranty funds described in section 4005(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1305(a) (A) to the fund used with respect to basic benefits guaranteed under section 4022A of such Act, until such time that the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation's annual projections report indicates that such fund and the fund used with respect to basic benefits guaranteed under section 4022 of such Act have substantially similar future financial conditions and substantially similar risks of insolvency; and (B) thereafter, to each of the funds described in subparagraph (A) in equal amounts, subject to paragraph (2). (2) Adjustments to allocations If, after amounts collected in user fees under this section have been allocated in accordance with paragraph (1)(B), the Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation determines that the future financial conditions or risks of insolvency of the funds used with respect to basic benefits guaranteed under each of sections 4022A and 4022 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 are no longer substantially similar as described in paragraph (1)(A), the Director, in consultation with the board of directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, shall determine an appropriate allocation of such amounts between such funds.

Summary: Pension Stability Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to establish user fees for qualified professional asset managers (QPAMs) who have been convicted of a crime and apply for an individual exemption (known as a QPAM waiver) to the prohibited transaction rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The fees: apply to large regulated banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies, and federally registered investment advisors who are QPAMs; must be at least $1 million per application for an individual exemption; and increase based on the severity of the crime and the number of prior applications for individual exemptions. Labor must transfer the amounts collected from the user fees to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to assist in guaranteeing benefits under pension plans.