I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3657
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide
for improved disclosure, diversification, account access, and accountability
under individual account plans.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 29, 2002
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. GEPHARDT, Ms. PELOSI,
Mr. BONIOR, Mr. FROST, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BAR-
RETT of Wisconsin, Ms. LEE, Mr. STARK, Mr. FRANK, Mr. OWENS, Mr.
MCGOVERN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. WOOL-
SEY, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. HOLT, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHN-
SON of Texas, Mr. WYNN, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. WATSON of California,
Mrs. CLAYTON, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA´, Mr. HONDA, Mr.
PASTOR, Mr. STUPAK, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SABO, Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PHELPS,
Mr. OLVER, Mr. BACA, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. SAW-
YER, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr.
SANDLIN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. KAP-
TUR, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. NOR-
TON, Ms. RIVERS, and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 to provide for improved disclosure, diversifica-
tion, account access, and accountability under individual
account plans.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Employee Pension Freedom Act of 2002’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS IN DISCLOSURE
Sec. 101. Pension benefit information.
Sec. 102. Provision to participants and beneficiaries of material investment in-
formation in accurate form.
TITLE II—DIVERSIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 201. Freedom to make investment decisions with plan assets.
Sec. 202. Effective date for title II.
TITLE III—APPROPRIATE ACCESS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS
Sec. 301. One-year vesting of employer contributions to individual account
plans.
Sec. 302. Additional fiduciary protections relating to lockdowns.
TITLE IV—INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY
Sec. 401. Bonding or insurance adequate to protect interest of participants and
beneficiaries.
Sec. 402. Participation of participants in trusteeship of individual account
plans.
Sec. 403. Liability for breach of fiduciary duty.
Sec. 404. Preservation of rights or claims.
Sec. 405. Office of pension participant advocacy.
Sec. 406. Study regarding insurance system for individual account plans.
TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. General effective date.
Sec. 502. Plan amendments.
TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS IN
DISCLOSURE
SEC. 101. PENSION BENEFIT INFORMATION.
(a) PENSION BENEFIT STATEMENTS REQUIRED ON
PERIODIC BASIS.—
‘‘(6) information on how to contact the Social
Security Administration to obtain a participant’s
personal earnings and benefit estimate statement,
‘‘(7) information on early retirement benefit
and joint and survivor annuity reductions, and
‘‘(8) a notice advising participants and bene-
ficiaries of the importance of diversifying the invest-
ment of the assets in their accounts.’’.
(3) RULE FOR MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS.—Sub-
section (d) of section 105 of such Act (29 U.S.C.
1025) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) Each administrator of a plan to which more than
1 unaffiliated employer is required to contribute shall fur-
nish to any plan participant or beneficiary who so requests
in writing, a statement described in subsection (a).’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE OF BENEFIT CALCULATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 105 of such Act (as
amended by subsection (a)) is amended further—
(A) by redesignating subsections (b), (c),
(d), and (e) as subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f),
respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the
following new subsection:
‘‘(b)(1) In the case of a participant or beneficiary who
is entitled to a distribution of a benefit under an employee
pension benefit plan, the administrator of such plan shall
provide to the participant or beneficiary the information
described in paragraph (2) upon the written request of
the participant or beneficiary.
‘‘(2) The information described in this paragraph
includes—
‘‘(A) a worksheet explaining how the amount of
the distribution was calculated and stating the as-
sumptions used for such calculation,
‘‘(B) upon written request of the participant or
beneficiary, any documents relating to the calcula-
tion (if available), and
‘‘(C) such other information as the Secretary
may prescribe.
Any information provided under this paragraph shall be
in a form calculated to be understood by the average plan
participant.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) Section 101(a)(2) of such Act (29
U.S.C. 1021(a)(2)) is amended by striking
‘‘105(a) and (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘105(a), (b),
and (d)’’.
(B) Section 105(c) of such Act (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection) is
amended by inserting ‘‘or (b)’’ after ‘‘subsection
(a)’’.
(C) Section 106(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C.
1026(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘sections
105(a) and 105(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections
(a), (b), and (d) of section 105’’.
SEC. 
102. 
PROVISION 
TO 
PARTICIPANTS 
AND 
BENE-
FICIARIES OF MATERIAL INVESTMENT IN-
FORMATION IN ACCURATE FORM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(c) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1104(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(4) The plan sponsor and plan administrator of a
pension plan described in paragraph (1) shall have a fidu-
ciary duty to ensure that each participant and beneficiary
under the plan, in connection with the investment by the
participant or beneficiary of plan assets in the exercise of
his or her control over assets in his account, is provided
with all material investment information regarding invest-
ment of such assets to the extent that the provision of
such information is generally required to be disclosed by
the plan sponsor to investors in connection with such an
investment under applicable securities laws. The provision
by the plan sponsor or plan administrator of any mis-
leading investment information shall be treated as a viola-
tion of this paragraph.’’.
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(c) of such Act
(29 U.S.C. 1132(c)) is amended—
(A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as
paragraph (8); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty against
any person of up to $1,000 a day from the date of the
person’s failure or refusal to comply with the requirements
of section 404(c)(4) until such failure or refusal is cor-
rected.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
502(a)(6) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(6)) is
amended by striking ‘‘(5), or (6)’’ and inserting
‘‘(5), (6), or (7)’’.
TITLE II—DIVERSIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS
SEC. 201. FREEDOM TO MAKE INVESTMENT DECISIONS
WITH PLAN ASSETS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104)
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(e)(1)(A)(i) Subject to clause (ii) and paragraph (2),
an individual account plan under which a participant or
beneficiary is permitted to exercise control over assets in
his or her account shall provide that any participant or
beneficiary has the right to allocate his or her entire non-
forfeitable accrued benefit to any investment option pro-
vided under the plan. The application of any penalty or
any restriction based on age or years of service in connec-
tion with any exercise of such right shall be construed as
a violation of this clause.
‘‘(ii) Clause (i) shall apply only to so much of a non-
forfeitable accrued benefit as consists of employer securi-
ties which are readily tradable on an established securities
market.
‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), within 30
days after the date of any election by a participant or ben-
eficiary allocating his or her nonforfeitable accrued benefit
to any investment option provided under the plan, the plan
administrator shall take such actions as are necessary to
effectuate such allocation.
‘‘(ii) In any case in which the plan provides for elec-
tions periodically during prescribed periods, the 30-day pe-
riod described in clause (i) shall commence at the end of
each such prescribed period.
‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
limit the authority of a plan to impose limitations on the
portion of plan assets in any account which may be in-
vested in employer securities.
‘‘(2) In the case of an employee stock ownership plan
(as defined in section 4975(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986), paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to
the nonforfeitable accrued benefit derived from employer
matching contributions only after completion by the par-
ticipant of 10 years of participation (as defined in section
204(b)(4)) under the plan.
‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days prior to the date on
which the right of a participant under an individual ac-
count plan to his or her accrued benefit becomes non-
forfeitable (or, in the case of an employee stock ownership
plan, the date on which the participant completes 10 years
of participation), the plan administrator shall provide to
such participant and his or her beneficiaries a written
notice—
‘‘(A) setting forth their rights under this sec-
tion with respect to the accrued benefit, and
‘‘(B) describing the importance of diversifying
the investment of account assets.’’.
(b) RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING
TO NON-PUB-
LICLY TRADED STOCK.—Within 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall
transmit to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate
the Secretary’s recommendations regarding legislative
changes relating to treatment, under section 404(e) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as
added by this section), of individual account plans under
which a participant or beneficiary is permitted to exercise
control over assets in his or her account, in cases in which
such assets do not include employer securities which are
readily tradable under an established securities market.
SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR TITLE II.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the
amendments made by this title shall apply with respect
to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2003.
(b) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE
FOR EXISTING
HOLDINGS.—In any case in which a portion of the non-
forfeitable accrued benefit of a participant or beneficiary
is held in the form of employer securities (as defined in
section 407(d)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974) immediately before the first date of
the first plan year to which the amendments made by this
title apply, such portion shall be taken into account only
with respect to plan years beginning on or after January
1, 2004.
TITLE 
III—APPROPRIATE 
AC-
CESS 
TO 
INDIVIDUAL 
AC-
COUNTS
SEC. 301. ONE-YEAR VESTING OF EMPLOYER CONTRIBU-
TIONS TO INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(a)(2) of the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29
U.S.C. 1053(a)(2)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and
(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;
(2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’;
(3) by inserting ‘‘defined benefit’’ before ‘‘plan’’
each place it appears; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(B) An individual account plan satisfies the
requirements of this paragraph if an employee who
has completed at least 1 year of service has a non-
forfeitable right to 100 percent of the employee’s ac-
crued benefit derived from employer contributions.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 203(a)(4)
of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(a)(4)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subpara-
graph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)(i)’’;
and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘subpara-
graph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)(ii)’’.
SEC. 302. ADDITIONAL FIDUCIARY PROTECTIONS RELAT-
ING TO LOCKDOWNS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as amended by sec-
tion 201) is amended further by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(f)(1) In the case of any eligible individual account
plan (as defined in section 407(d)(3))—
‘‘(A) no lockdown may take effect until at least
30 days after written notice of such lockdown is pro-
vided by the plan administrator to such participant
or beneficiary, and
‘‘(B) any lockdown may not continue for a pe-
riod in excess of 10 consecutive business days.
‘‘(2) Subject to such regulations as the Secretary may
prescribe, the requirements of paragraph (1) shall not
apply in cases of emergency.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘lockdown’ means any temporary lockdown, blackout, or
freeze with respect to, suspension of, or similar limitation
on the ability of a participant or beneficiary (who has met
minimum participation requirements applicable in accord-
ance with section 202) to exercise control over the assets
in his or her account as otherwise generally provided
under the plan (as determined under regulations of the
Secretary).’’.
TITLE IV—INCREASED
ACCOUNTABILITY
SEC. 401. BONDING OR INSURANCE ADEQUATE TO PRO-
TECT 
INTEREST 
OF 
PARTICIPANTS 
AND
BENEFICIARIES.
Section 412 of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1112) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
section, each fiduciary of an individual account plan shall
be bonded or insured, in accordance with regulations
which shall be prescribed by the Secretary, in an amount
sufficient to ensure coverage by the bond or insurance of
financial losses due to any failure to meet the require-
ments of this part.’’.
SEC. 402. PARTICIPATION OF PARTICIPANTS IN TRUSTEE-
SHIP OF INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1103(a)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
(2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the assets of
a single-employer plan which is an individual account plan
and under which some or all of the assets are derived from
employee contributions shall be held in trust by a joint
board of trustees, which shall consist of two or more trust-
ees representing on an equal basis the interests of the em-
ployer or employers maintaining the plan and the interests
of the participants and their beneficiaries.
‘‘(B) This paragraph shall apply for any plan year
only if a majority of the participants of the individual ac-
count plan indicates to the plan administrator, in such
form and manner as shall be prescribed in regulations of
the Secretary, its intention to have this paragraph so
apply.
‘‘(C)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), in any case
in which the plan is maintained pursuant to one or more
collective bargaining agreements between one or more em-
ployee organizations and one or more employers, the trust-
ees representing the interests of the participants and their
beneficiaries shall be designated by such employee organi-
zations.
‘‘(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply with respect to a plan
described in such clause if the employee organization (or
all employee organizations, if more than one) referred to
in such clause file with the Secretary, in such form and
manner as shall be prescribed in regulations of the Sec-
retary, a written waiver of their rights under clause (i).
‘‘(iii) In any case in which clause (i) does not apply
with respect to a single-employer plan because the plan
is not described in clause (i) or because of a waiver filed
pursuant to clause (ii), the trustee or trustees representing
the interests of the participants and their beneficiaries
shall be selected in accordance with regulations of the Sec-
retary. Such regulations may provide for selection of trust-
ees by the employer, but only from individuals who have
been demonstrated to be independent and to have no con-
flict of interest. An individual shall not be treated as ineli-
gible for selection as trustee solely because such individual
is an employee of the plan sponsor, except that the em-
ployee so selected may not be a highly compensated em-
ployee (as defined in section 414(q) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986).
‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall provide by regulation for
the appointment of a neutral, in accordance with the pro-
cedures under section 203(f) of the Labor Management
Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 173(f)), to cast votes as
necessary to resolve tie votes by the trustees.’’.
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall
prescribe the initial regulations necessary to carry out the
provisions of the amendments made by this section not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 403. LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY.
(a) LIABILITY
FOR PARTICIPATING
IN
OR CON-
CEALING FIDUCIARY BREACH.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 409(a) of the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29
U.S.C. 1109(a)) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘, or any other person
who, with notice of the facts constituting the
breach, participates in or undertakes to conceal
such breach,’’ after ‘‘duties imposed upon fidu-
ciaries by this title’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘and to each participant
and beneficiary of the plan’’ after ‘‘plan’’ the
second place it appears, and by inserting ‘‘or
such participant or beneficiary’’ after ‘‘plan’’
the third place it appears;
(C) by inserting ‘‘or such other person’’
after ‘‘profits of such fiduciary’’ and ‘‘by the fi-
duciary’’; and
(D) by inserting ‘‘or entry of an order pro-
hibiting such fiduciary or such other person
from dealing with employee benefit plans’’ after
‘‘removal of such fiduciary’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
409(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1109(b)) is amended
by inserting before the period the following:
‘‘, unless his liability arises out of his role as a per-
son who, with notice of facts constituting such
breach, participates in or undertakes to conceal such
breach (as described in subsection (a))’’.
(b) MAINTENANCE OF FIDUCIARY LIABILITY.—Sec-
tion 404(c)(1)(B) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1104(c)(1)(B))
is amended by inserting before the period the following:
‘‘, except that this subparagraph shall not be construed
to exempt any fiduciary from liability for any violation of
subsection (e) or (f)’’.
(c) EXPANSION OF AVAILABLE REMEDIES.—Para-
graphs (3) and (5) of section 502(a) of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1132(a)(3), (5)) are each amended by inserting after ‘‘eq-
uitable relief’’ the following: ‘‘and such additional relief
as a court of equity might have awarded in a case involv-
ing the enforcement or administration of a trust’’.
SEC. 404. PRESERVATION OF RIGHTS OR CLAIMS.
Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(n)(1) The rights under this title (including the
right to maintain a civil action) may not be waived, de-
ferred, or lost pursuant to any agreement not authorized
under this title with specific reference to this subsection.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an agreement
providing for arbitration or participation in any other non-
judicial procedure to resolve a dispute if the agreement
is entered into knowingly and voluntarily by the parties
involved after the dispute has arisen or is pursuant to the
terms of a collective bargaining agreement.’’.
SEC. 405. OFFICE OF PENSION PARTICIPANT ADVOCACY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the
Department of Labor an office to be known as the
‘Office of Pension Participant Advocacy’.
‘‘(2) PENSION
PARTICIPANT
ADVOCATE.—The
Office of Pension Participant Advocacy shall be
under the supervision and direction of an official to
be known as the ‘Pension Participant Advocate’ who
shall—
‘‘(A) have demonstrated experience in the
area of pension participant assistance, and
‘‘(B) be selected by the Secretary after
consultation with pension participant advocacy
organizations.
The Pension Participant Advocate shall report di-
rectly to the Secretary and shall be entitled to com-
pensation at the same rate as the highest rate of
basic pay established for the Senior Executive Serv-
ice under section 5382 of title 5, United States
Code.
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE.—It shall be the func-
tion of the Office of Pension Participant Advocacy to—
‘‘(1) evaluate the efforts of the Federal Govern-
ment, business, and financial, professional, retiree,
labor, women’s, and other appropriate organizations
in assisting and protecting pension plan participants,
including—
‘‘(A) serving as a focal point for, and ac-
tively seeking out, the receipt of information
with respect to the policies and activities of the
Federal Government, business, and such organi-
zations which affect such participants,
‘‘(B) identifying significant problems for
pension plan participants and the capabilities of
the Federal Government, business, and such or-
ganizations to address such problems, and
‘‘(C) developing proposals for changes in
such policies and activities to correct such prob-
lems, and communicating such changes to the
appropriate officials,
‘‘(2) promote the expansion of pension plan cov-
erage and the receipt of promised benefits by in-
creasing the awareness of the general public of the
value of pension plans and by protecting the rights
of pension plan participants, including—
‘‘(A) enlisting the cooperation of the public
and private sectors in disseminating informa-
tion, and
‘‘(B) forming private-public partnerships
and other efforts to assist pension plan partici-
pants in receiving their benefits,
‘‘(3) advocating for the full attainment of the
rights of pension plan participants, including by
making pension plan sponsors and fiduciaries aware
of their responsibilities,
‘‘(4) giving priority to the special needs of low
and moderate income participants,
‘‘(5) developing needed information with respect
to pension plans, including information on the types
of existing pension plans, levels of employer and em-
ployee contributions, vesting status, accumulated
benefits, benefits received, and forms of benefits,
and
‘‘(6) pursuing claims on behalf of participants
and beneficiaries and providing appropriate assist-
ance in the resolution of disputes between partici-
pants and beneficiaries and pension plans, including
assistance in obtaining settlement agreements.
‘‘(c) REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than Decem-
ber 31 of each calendar year, the Pension Partici-
pant Advocate shall report to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate on its ac-
tivities during the fiscal year ending in the calendar
year. Such report shall—
‘‘(A) identify significant problems the Ad-
vocate has identified,
‘‘(B) include specific legislative and regu-
latory changes to address the problems, and
‘‘(C) identify any actions taken to correct
problems identified in any previous report.
The Advocate shall submit a copy of such report to
the Secretary and any other appropriate official at
the same time it is submitted to the committees of
Congress.
‘‘(2) SPECIFIC REPORTS.—The Pension Partici-
pant Advocate shall report to the Secretary or any
other appropriate official any time the Advocate
identifies a problem which may be corrected by the
Secretary or such official.
‘‘(3) REPORTS TO BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY.—
The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
provided directly to the committees of Congress
without any prior review or comment than the Sec-
retary or any other Federal officer or employee.
‘‘(d) SPECIFIC POWERS.—
‘‘(1) RECEIPT
OF
INFORMATION.—Subject to
such confidentiality requirements as may be appro-
priate, the Secretary and other Federal officials
shall, upon request, provide such information (in-
cluding plan documents) as may be necessary to en-
able the Pension Participant Advocate to carry out
the Advocate’s responsibilities under this section.
‘‘(2) APPEARANCES.—The Pension Participant
Advocate may represent the views and interests of
pension plan participants before any Federal agency,
including, upon request of a participant, in any pro-
ceeding involving the participant.
‘‘(3) CONTRACTING
AUTHORITY.—In carrying
out responsibilities under subsection (b)(5), the Pen-
sion Participant Advocate may, in addition to any
other authority provided by law—
‘‘(A) contract with any person to acquire
statistical information with respect to pension
plan participants, and
‘‘(B) conduct direct surveys of pension
plan participants.’’
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents for title III of such Act is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘Subtitle C—Office of Pension Participant Advocacy
‘‘3051. Office of Pension Participant Advocacy.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section shall take effect on January 1, 2003.
SEC. 406. STUDY REGARDING INSURANCE SYSTEM FOR IN-
DIVIDUAL ACCOUNT PLANS.
(a) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation shall undertake a study relating to the estab-
lishment of an insurance system for individual account
plans. In conducting such study, the Corporation shall
consider—
(1) the feasibility of such a system, and
(2) options for developing such a system.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Corporation shall report
the results of its study, together with any recommenda-
tions for legislative changes, to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate.
TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, the amendments made by this Act shall apply
with respect to plan years beginning on or after January
1, 2003.
(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BARGAINED
PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained pursuant to 1
or more collective bargaining agreements between em-
ployee representatives and 1 or more employers ratified
on or before the date of the enactment of this Act, sub-
section (a) shall be applied to benefits pursuant to, and
individuals covered by, any such agreement by substituting
for ‘‘January 1, 2003’’ the date of the commencement of
the first plan year beginning on or after the earlier of—
(1) the later of—
(A) January 1, 2004, or
(B) the date on which the last of such col-
lective bargaining agreements terminates (de-
termined without regard to any extension there-
of after the date of the enactment of this Act),
or
(2) January 1, 2005.
SEC. 502. PLAN AMENDMENTS.
If any amendment made by this Act requires an
amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not
be required to be made before the first plan year beginning
on or after the effective date specified in section 501, if—
(1) during the period after such amendment
made by this Act takes effect and before such first
plan year, the plan is operated in accordance with
the requirements of such amendment made by this
Act, and
(2) such plan amendment applies retroactively
to the period after such amendment made by this
Act takes effect and before such first plan year.
Æ