I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4204
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide comprehensive
pension protection for women.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 26, 1996
Mrs. KENNELLY (for herself, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms.
MCKINNEY, Ms. DELAURO, Miss COLLINS of Michigan, Ms. FURSE, Ms.
KAPTUR, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. PELOSI, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. NORTON, and Ms.
ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on
Economic and Educational Opportunities, Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture, and Government Reform and Oversight, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
comprehensive pension protection for women.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Comprehensive Women’s Pension Protection Act of
1996’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
Sec. 1. Short title.
TITLE I—PENSION REFORM
Sec. 101. Pension integration rules.
Sec. 102. Application of minimum coverage requirements with respect to sepa-
rate lines of business.
Sec. 103. Division of pension benefits upon divorce.
Sec. 104. Effective dates.
Sec. 105. Clarification of continued availability of remedies relating to matters
treated in domestic relations orders entered before 1985.
Sec. 106. Entitlement of divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities inde-
pendent of actual entitlement of employee.
TITLE II—PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF FORMER SPOUSES TO
PENSION BENEFITS UNDER CERTAIN GOVERNMENT AND GOV-
ERNMENT-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PROGRAMS
Sec. 201. Extension of tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former
spouses pursuant to divorce agreements.
Sec. 202. Survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Fed-
eral employees who die before attaining age for deferred annu-
ity under civil service retirement system.
Sec. 203. Court orders relating to Federal retirement benefits for former
spouses of Federal employees.
Sec. 204. Prevention of circumvention of court order by waiver of retired pay
to enhance civil service retirement annuity.
TITLE III—REFORMS RELATED TO 401(K) PLANS
Sec. 301. 401(k) plans prohibited from investing in collectibles.
Sec. 302. Requirement of annual, detailed investment reports applied to certain
401(k) plans.
Sec. 303. 10-percent limitation on acquisition and holding of employer securi-
ties and employer real property applied to 401(k) plans.
TITLE IV—MODIFICATIONS OF JOINT AND SURVIVOR ANNUITY
REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 401. Modifications of joint and survivor annuity requirements.
TITLE V—SPOUSAL CONSENT REQUIRED FOR DISTRIBUTIONS
FROM SECTION 401(K) PLANS
Sec. 501. Spousal consent required for distributions from section 401(k) plans.
TITLE VI—WOMEN’S PENSION TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBER
Sec. 601. Women’s pension toll-free phone number.
TITLE VII—ANNUAL PENSION BENEFITS STATEMENTS
Sec. 701. Annual pension benefits statements.
TITLE I—PENSION REFORM
SEC. 101. PENSION INTEGRATION RULES.
(a) APPLICABILITY OF NEW INTEGRATION RULES
EXTENDED TO ALL EXISTING ACCRUED BENEFITS.—
Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1) of section 1111 of the
Tax Reform Act of 1986 (relating to effective date of ap-
plication of nondiscrimination rules to integrated plans)
(100 Stat. 2440), effective for plan years beginning after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the amendments
made by subsection (a) of such section 1111 shall also
apply to benefits attributable to plan years beginning on
or before December 31, 1988.
(b) INTEGRATION DISALLOWED
FOR SIMPLIFIED
EMPLOYEE PENSIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (D) of section
408(k)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re-
lating to permitted disparity under rules limiting
discrimination under simplified employee pensions)
is repealed.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph
(C) of such section 408(k)(3) is amended by striking
‘‘and except as provided in subparagraph (D),’’.
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made
by this subsection shall apply with respect to taxable
years beginning on or after January 1, 1996.
(A) by inserting after paragraph (31) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(32) DIVISION OF PENSION BENEFITS UPON
DIVORCE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a di-
vorce of a participant in a pension plan from a
spouse who is, immediately before the divorce,
a beneficiary under the plan, a trust forming a
part of such plan shall not constitute a quali-
fied trust under this section unless the plan
provides that at least 50 percent of the marital
share of the accrued benefit of the participant
under the plan ceases to be an accrued benefit
of such participant and becomes an accrued
benefit of such divorced spouse, determined and
payable upon the earlier of the retirement of
the participant, the participant’s death, or the
termination of the plan, except to the extent
that a qualified domestic relations order in con-
nection with such divorce provides otherwise.
‘‘(B) 
LIMITATION.—Subparagraph 
(A)
shall not be construed—
‘‘(i) to require a plan to provide any
type or form of benefit, or any option, not
otherwise provided under the plan,
‘‘(ii) to require the plan to provide in-
creased benefits (determined on the basis
of actuarial value),
‘‘(iii) to require the payment of bene-
fits to the divorced spouse which are re-
quired to be paid to another individual in
accordance with this paragraph or pursu-
ant to a domestic relations order previously
determined to be a qualified domestic rela-
tions order, or
‘‘(iv) to require payment of benefits to
the divorced spouse in the form of a quali-
fied joint and survivor annuity to the di-
vorced spouse and his or her subsequent
spouse.
‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this
paragraph—
‘‘(i) DOMESTIC
RELATIONS
ORDER;
QUALIFIED
DOMESTIC
RELATIONS
ORDER.—The terms ‘domestic relations
order’ and ‘qualified domestic relations
order’ shall have the meanings provided in
section 414(p).
‘‘(ii) MARITAL
SHARE.—The term
‘marital share’ means, in connection with
an accrued benefit under a pension plan,
the product derived by multiplying—
‘‘(I) the actuarial present value
of the accrued benefit, by
‘‘(II) a fraction, the numerator of
which is the period of time, during the
marriage between the spouse and the
participant in the plan, which con-
stitutes creditable service by the par-
ticipant under the plan, and the de-
nominator of which is the total period
of time which constitutes creditable
service by the participant under the
plan.
‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED JOINT AND SURVI-
VOR ANNUITY.—The term ‘qualified joint
and survivor annuity’ has the meaning pro-
vided in section 417(b).
‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—In prescribing regu-
lations under this paragraph, the Secretary
shall consult with the Secretary of Labor.’’; and
(B) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘and
(20)’’ and inserting ‘‘(20), and (32)’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) 
Subparagraph 
(B) 
of 
section
401(a)(13) of such Code (relating to special
rules for domestic relations orders) is amended
by inserting ‘‘or if such creation, assignment, or
recognition pursuant to such order is necessary
for compliance with the requirements of para-
graph (32)’’ before the period.
(B) Subsection (p) of section 414 of such
Code (defining qualified domestic relations or-
ders) is amended—
(i) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting
‘‘or to a divorced spouse of the participant
in connection with a previously occurring
divorce 
as 
required 
under 
section
401(a)(32)’’ before the period; and
(ii) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking
‘‘if there had been no order’’ and inserting
‘‘in accordance with section 401(a)(32) as
if there had been no qualified domestic re-
lations order’’.
(b) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT
INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 206 of Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1056) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(e)(1) In the case of a divorce of a participant in
a pension plan from a spouse who is, immediately before
the divorce, a beneficiary under the plan, the plan shall
provide that at least 50 percent of the marital share of
the accrued benefit of the participant under the plan
ceases to be an accrued benefit of such participant and
becomes an accrued benefit of such divorced spouse, deter-
mined and payable upon the earlier of the retirement of
the participant, the participant’s death, or the termination
of the plan, except to the extent that a qualified domestic
relations order in connection with such divorce provides
otherwise.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed—
‘‘(A) to require a plan to provide any type or
form of benefit, or any option, not otherwise pro-
vided under the plan,
‘‘(B) to require the plan to provide increased
benefits (determined on the basis of actuarial value),
‘‘(C) to require the payment of benefits to the
divorced spouse which are required to be paid to an-
other individual in accordance with this subsection
or pursuant to a domestic relation order previously
determined to be a qualified domestic relations
order, or
‘‘(D) to require payment of benefits to the di-
vorced spouse in the form of a joint and survivor an-
nuity to the divorced spouse and his or her subse-
quent spouse.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection—
‘‘(A) The terms ‘domestic relations order’ and
‘qualified domestic relations order’ shall have the
meanings provided in subsection (d)(3)(B).
‘‘(B) The term ‘marital share’ means, in con-
nection with an accrued benefit under a pension
plan, the product derived by multiplying—
‘‘(i) the actuarial present value of the ac-
crued benefit, by
‘‘(ii) a fraction—
‘‘(I) the numerator of which is the pe-
riod of time, during the marriage between
the spouse and the participant in the plan,
which constitutes creditable service by the
participant under the plan, and
‘‘(II) the denominator of which is the
total period of time which constitutes cred-
itable service by the participant under the
plan.