I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 37
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to improve
pension plan funding.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mr. FAWELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities
A BILL
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 to improve pension plan funding.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pension Funding Im-
provement Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF ERISA.
The sections of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 which are amended by the subsequent
provisions of this Act are amended so as to read as such
sections would read if the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act had not been enacted. References to such sections in
the subsequent provisions of this Act shall be deemed ref-
erences to such sections as amended by this section. This
section shall be effective as if included in the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act.
TITLE I—PENSION PLAN
FUNDING
SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO PENSION PLAN FUNDING RE-
QUIREMENTS.
Section 302(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement In-
come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1082(a)(2)) is
amended by striking ‘‘the excess of the total charges to
the funding standard account’’ through the end of that
sentence, and inserting ‘‘the largest of—
‘‘(A) the lesser of—
‘‘(i) the excess of the total charges to
the funding standard account for all plan
years (beginning with the first plan year to
which this section applies) over the total
credits to such account for such years;
‘‘(ii) the excess of the total charges to
the alternative minimum funding standard
account for such plan years over the total
credits to such account for such years;
‘‘(B) 
the 
excess 
(if 
any) 
of 
the
underfunding reduction requirement (if any) for
the plan year applicable under subsection (d)
over the amount considered contributed by the
employer to or under the plan for the plan year;
or
‘‘(C) the excess (if any) of the solvency
maintenance requirement (if any) for the plan
year applicable under subsection (g) over the
amount considered contributed by the employer
to or under the plan for the plan year.’’
SEC. 102. UNDERFUNDING REDUCTION REQUIREMENT.
Subsection (d) of section 302 of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1082(d))
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) UNDERFUNDING REDUCTION REQUIREMENT
FOR PLANS THAT ARE NOT MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS.—
‘‘(1) UNDERFUNDING
REDUCTION
REQUIRE-
MENT.—In the case of a defined benefit plan (other
than a multiemployer plan) which has a funded cur-
rent liability percentage of less than 100 percent (as
of the first day of the plan year), the underfunding
reduction requirement for such plan year is the sum
of—
‘‘(A) an amount equal to the product of—
‘‘(i) the funded current liability per-
centage of the plan (as of such first day),
multiplied by
‘‘(ii) 30 percent, reduced by the prod-
uct of—
‘‘(I) .25 multiplied by
‘‘(II) the excess (if any) of the
funded current liability percentage of
the plan (as of such first day) over 35
percent;
‘‘(B) the expected increase in the current
liability attributable to benefits accruing during
the plan year;
‘‘(C) the amount described in subsection
(b)(2)(C) as necessary to amortize any waived
funding deficiency; and
‘‘(D) the unpredictable contingent event
amount (if any) for such plan year.
The underfunding reduction requirement shall not
exceed the sum of the amount necessary to increase
the funded current liability percentage (as of such
first day) to 100 percent and the amount determined
under subparagraph (B).
‘‘(2) UNPREDICTABLE
CONTINGENT
EVENT
AMOUNT.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The unpredictable
contingent event amount with respect to a plan
for any plan year is an amount equal to the
greater of—
‘‘(i) the applicable percentage of the
product of—
‘‘(I) 100 percent, reduced (but
not below zero) by the funded current
liability percentage for the plan year,
multiplied by
‘‘(II) the amount of unpredict-
able contingent event benefits paid
during the plan year, including (ex-
cept as provided by the Secretary) any
payment for the purchase of an annu-
ity contract for a participant or bene-
ficiary with respect to such benefits,
or
‘‘(ii) the amount which would be de-
termined for the plan year if the unpredict-
able contingent event benefit liabilities
were amortized in equal annual install-
ments over 7 plan years (beginning with
the plan year in which such event occurs).
‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—
In the case of plan
The applicable
years beginning in:
percentage is:
1991 and 1992 ...........................................
1993 ...........................................................
1994 ...........................................................
1995 ...........................................................
1996 ...........................................................
1997 ...........................................................
1998 ...........................................................
1999 ...........................................................
2000 ...........................................................
2001 ...........................................................
2002 ...........................................................
2003 and thereafter ...................................
100
‘‘(C) PARAGRAPH NOT TO APPLY TO EX-
ISTING
BENEFITS.—This paragraph shall not
apply to unpredictable contingent event benefits
(and liabilities attributable thereto) for which
the event occurred before the first plan year be-
ginning after December 31, 1990.
‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR FIRST YEAR OF
AMORTIZATION.—Unless the employer elects
otherwise, the amount determined under sub-
paragraph (A) for the plan year in which the
event occurs shall be equal to 150 percent of
the amount determined under subparagraph
(A)(i). The amount under subparagraph (A)(ii)
for subsequent plan years in the amortization
period shall be adjusted in the manner provided
by the Secretary to reflect the application of
this subparagraph.
‘‘(3) CURRENT
LIABILITY.—For purposes of
this subsection and subsection (g)—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘current li-
ability’’ means all liabilities to employees and
their beneficiaries under the plan.
‘‘(B) TREATMENT
OF
UNPREDICTABLE
CONTINGENT EVENT BENEFITS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of
subparagraph (A), any unpredictable con-
tingent event benefit shall not be taken
into account until the event on which the
benefit is contingent occurs.
‘‘(ii) UNPREDICTABLE
CONTINGENT
EVENT BENEFIT.—The term ‘unpredictable
contingent event benefit’ means any benefit
contingent on an event other than—
‘‘(I) age, service, compensation,
death, or disability, or
‘‘(II) an event which is reason-
ably and reliably predictable (as deter-
mined by the Secretary).
‘‘(C) INTEREST RATES USED.—The rate of
interest used to determine current liability shall
be the rate of interest used under subsection
(b)(5); except that the permissible range under
subparagraph (B)(ii) of subsection (b)(5) shall
not exceed 100 percent of the weighted average
referred to in such subparagraph.
‘‘(D) CERTAIN SERVICE DISREGARDED.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a
participant to whom this subparagraph ap-
plies, only the applicable percentage of the
years of service before such individual be-
came a participant shall be taken into ac-
count in computing the current liability of
the plan.
‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For
purposes of clause (i), the applicable per-
centage shall be determined as follows:
If the years of
The applicable
participation are:
percentage is:
1 .........................................................
2 .........................................................
3 .........................................................
4 .........................................................
5 or more ............................................
100
‘‘(iii) PARTICIPANTS TO WHOM THIS
SUBPARAGRAPH
APPLIES.—This subpara-
graph shall apply to any participant who,
at the time of becoming a participant—
‘‘(I) has not accrued any other
benefit under any defined benefit plan
(whether or not terminated) main-
tained by the employer or a member
of the same controlled group of which
the employer is a member,
‘‘(II) who first becomes a partici-
pant under the plan in a plan year be-
ginning after December 31, 1989, and
‘‘(III) has years of service great-
er than the minimum years of service
necessary for eligibility to participate
in the plan.
‘‘(iv) ELECTION.—An employer may
elect not to have this subparagraph apply.
Such an election, once made, may be re-
voked only with the consent of the Sec-
retary.
‘‘(4) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of
this subsection and subsection (o)—
‘‘(A) UNFUNDED
CURRENT
LIABILITY.—
The term ‘unfunded current liability’ means,
with respect to any plan year, the excess (if
any) of—
‘‘(i) the current liability under the
plan, over
‘‘(ii) the value of the plan assets de-
termined under subsection (c)(2), reduced
by any credit balance in the funding stand-
ard account.
‘‘(B) FUNDED
CURRENT
LIABILITY
PER-
CENTAGE.—The term ‘funded current liability
percentage’ means, with respect to any plan
year, the percentage which—
‘‘(i) the amount determined under
subparagraph (A)(ii), is of
‘‘(ii) the current liability under the
plan.
‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULES FOR SMALL PLANS.—
‘‘(A) PLANS WITH 100 OR FEWER PARTICI-
PANTS.—This subsection and subsection (g)
shall not apply to any plan for any plan year
if on each day during the preceding plan year
such plan had no more than 100 participants.
‘‘(B) PLANS WITH MORE THAN 100 BUT
NOT
MORE
THAN
150
PARTICIPANTS.—In the
case of a plan to which subparagraph (A) does
not apply and which on each day during the
preceding year had no more than 150 partici-
pants, the additional amounts required by the
underfunding reduction requirement under this
subsection or the solvency maintenance require-
ment under subsection (g) shall be equal to the
product of—
‘‘(i) the excess of such requirements
(determined without regard to this sub-
paragraph) over the funding deficiency (if
any) under subsection (b), multiplied by,
‘‘(ii) 2 percent for the highest number
of participants in excess of 100 on any
such day.
‘‘(C) AGGREGATION OF PLANS.—For pur-
poses of this paragraph, all defined benefit
plans maintained by the same employer (or any
member of such employer’s controlled group)
shall be treated as 1 plan, but only employees
of such employer or member shall be taken into
account.
‘‘(D) CONTROLLED GROUP.—For purposes
of this paragraph, the term ‘controlled group’
means any group treated as a single employer
under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of section
414.’’
SEC. 103. SOLVENCY MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.
Section 302 of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1082) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as
subsections (h) and (i), respectively, and
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(g) SOLVENCY MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENT FOR
PLANS THAT ARE NOT MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS.—
‘‘(1) 
SOLVENCY
MAINTENANCE
REQUIRE-
MENT.—In the case of a defined benefit plan (other
than a multiemployer plan) which has a funded cur-
rent liability percentage of less than 100 percent (as
of the first day of the plan year), the solvency main-
tenance requirement for such plan year is the sum
of—
‘‘(A) the sum of:
‘‘(i) all disbursements from the plan
for the plan year, and
‘‘(ii) an amount equal to the unfunded
current liability of the plan (as of such
first day) multiplied by the interest rate
used by such plan to determine current li-
ability,
‘‘(B) the amount determined under sub-
section (d)(1)(B), and
‘‘(C) the amount determined under sub-
section (d)(1)(C).
The solvency maintenance requirement shall not ex-
ceed the sum of the amount necessary to increase
the funded liability percentage (as of such first day)
to 100 percent and the amount determined under
subparagraph (B).
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON SOLVENCY MAINTENANCE
REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount required
under paragraph (1) for any plan year shall not
exceed the sum of—
‘‘(i) the amount required under sub-
section (d); and
‘‘(ii) the product of—
‘‘(I) the excess (if any) of the
amount required under paragraph (1)
over the amount required under sub-
section (d); multiplied by
‘‘(II) the applicable percentage,
‘‘(B) 
APPLICABLE
PERCENTAGE.—For
purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable
percentage is:
‘‘For plan years
The applicable
beginning in:
percentage is:
1995 ...................................................
20 percent
1996 ...................................................
40 percent
1997 ...................................................
60 percent
1998 ...................................................
80 percent
1999 or thereafter ..............................
100 percent.
‘‘(3) DISBURSEMENTS FROM THE PLAN.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘disburse-
ments from the plan’ means benefit payments,
including purchases of annuities or payment of
lump sums in satisfaction of liabilities, adminis-
trative expenditures or any other disbursements
from the plan or its trust.
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR PURCHASES OF
ANNUITIES AND PAYMENT OF LUMP SUMS.—In
determining the applicable amounts attributable
to purchases of annuities or the payment of
lump sums under clause (i), the actual purchase
or lump sum amounts paid by the plan or trust
shall be multiplied by the excess (if any) of one
over the initial funding ratio of the plan.’’
SEC. 104. TRANSITION USE OF CREDIT BALANCES FROM
PLAN YEARS BEFORE 1996.
At the election of the employer maintaining a defined
benefit plan subject to the requirements of section 302 of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
the amounts required under sections 302(d) and 302(g)
of such Act, as amended by this Act, may be reduced by
the net of (1) the sum of credits to the funding standard
account for plan years beginning on or before December
31, 1995, arising under clauses (ii) and (iii) of section
302(b)(3)(B) of such Act and for amounts considered con-
tributed by the employer under section 302(b)(3)(A) of
such Act (to the extent necessary to avoid an accumulated
funding deficiency under section 302(f) of such Act) and
(2) charges to the funding standard account for plan years
beginning on or before December 31, 1995, arising under
clauses (iv) and (v) of section 302(b)(2)(B) of such Act.
SEC. 105. EFFECTIVE DATES.
The amendments made by this title shall apply to
plan years beginning after December 31, 1995.
TITLE II—REQUIRED SECURITY
FOR CERTAIN PLAN AMEND-
MENTS
SEC. 201. INCREASE IN REQUIRED FUNDING PERCENTAGE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 307(a)
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(29 U.S.C. 1085b(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘60 per-
cent’’ and inserting ‘‘90 percent’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) of
section 302 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1082(d)) is amended
by striking ‘‘60 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘90 percent’’.
SEC. 202. INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF REQUIRED SECURITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 307 of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(29 U.S.C. 1085b(c)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF SECURITY.—The security shall be
in an amount equal to the excess (if any) of—
‘‘(1) the amount of additional plan assets which
would be necessary to increase the funded current li-
ability percentage under the plan to 90 percent, in-
cluding the amount of the unfunded current liability
under the plan attributable to the plan amendment,
over
‘‘(2) $1,000,000.’’
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (f) of
section 307 of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘, except
that’’ and all that follows and inserting a period.
SEC. 203. PROVISIONS MADE APPLICABLE TO MULTIEM-
PLOYER PLANS.
Paragraph (1) of section 307(a) of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1085b(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(other than a multi-
employer plan)’’.
SEC. 204. CRIMINAL PENALTY MADE APPLICABLE.
Section 501 of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1131) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘or of section 307’’ after ‘‘this subtitle’’.
SEC. 205. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this title shall apply to
plan amendments adopted after 1995.
TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. REPORTS BY PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY COR-
PORATION AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET
OFFICE.
Effective with respect to fiscal years ending after
September 30, 1995, section 4008 of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 is amended by—
(1) striking ‘‘five’’ in the second sentence of
such section and inserting ‘‘five, ten, twenty and
thirty’’,
(2) adding at the end thereof the following new
sentences: ‘‘The actuarial evaluation shall set forth
alternative premium schedules to assure that the as-
sets of the corporation equal or exceed its liabilities
during such periods. For any fiscal year that it
deems appropriate, the Congressional Budget Office
may transmit a separate report that analyzes and
comments upon the actuarial evaluation prepared by
the corporation (and premium schedules contained
therein).’’
SEC. 302. CERTAIN INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE FUR-
NISHED TO PBGC.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—Subtitle A of title IV of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29
U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 4010. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE CERTAIN INFORMA-
TION.
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For plans described in sub-
section (b), the corporation may require that a plan spon-
sor or members of a sponsor’s controlled group provide
the corporation with such records, documents, or other in-
formation that the corporation deems necessary to deter-
mine the liabilities and assets of plans covered by this title,
or the financial condition of sponsors or members of spon-
sors’ controlled groups maintaining plans covered by this
title.
‘‘(b) DESCRIPTION OF PLANS.—For purposes of sub-
section (a), a plan is described in this subsection if—
‘‘(1) the underfunding under such plan exceeds
$10,000,000;
‘‘(2) the number of participants under such
plan is greater than 2,000; or
‘‘(3) minimum funding waivers in excess of
$1,000,000 have been granted with respect to such
plan.
For purposes of this section, all plans maintained by the
same sponsor (or any member of such sponsor’s controlled
group) shall be treated as 1 plan. For purposes of this
subsection, determinations of liabilities and assets shall be
made in the same manner as under section 4006.’’
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
contained in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 4009 the following new
item:
‘‘Sec. 4010. Authority to require certain information.’’
Æ
HR 37 IH——2