Title: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
This bill specifies requirements for the application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to general account policies that receive contributions from employee benefit plans. A "general account policy" is an insurance policy or contract to the extent that the policy or contract allocates amounts to the insurer's general account including any surplus in a separate account but excluding any other portion of a separate account.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7278 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7278

     To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2018

 Mr. Estes of Kansas 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. APPLICATION OF ERISA TO INSURANCE COMPANY GENERAL ACCOUNTS 
              AND GENERAL ACCOUNT CONTRACTS.

    (a) Section 3 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 is amended--
            (1) by adding the phrase ``or (C)'' after the phrase 
        ``subparagraph (B)'' in subparagraph (A) to subsection (21); 
        and
            (2) by adding the following new subparagraph (C) to 
        subsection (21):
                    ``(C) If any money or other property of an employee 
                benefit plan is contributed to a general account policy 
                (as defined in section 401 (b)(2)(B)), such insurer 
                shall not be deemed to be a fiduciary or a party in 
                interest as those terms are defined in this subchapter, 
                respectively, by reason of such contribution or the 
                insurer's issuance or administration of such general 
                account policy, the insurer's exercise of contractual 
                rights or discharge of its contractual obligations 
                under such general account policy, or the management of 
                the insurer's general account, except insofar as such 
                insurer directs the contribution on behalf of an 
                employee benefit plan covering employees of the 
                insurer. Nothing contained in this subparagraph shall 
                limit the duties imposed on such insurer by any other 
                law.''.
    (b) Section 401 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 is amended--
            (1) by deleting paragraph (2) of subsection (b); and
            (2) by adding the following new paragraph (2) to subsection 
        (b):
            ``(2) In the case of a plan which contributes to a general 
        account policy, the assets of such plan shall be deemed to 
        include the insurance promises and guarantees granted there 
        under to the policyholder, subject to any reserved rights of 
        the insurer, but shall not be deemed to include the general 
        account policy, any contractual rights reserved to the insurer 
        under such policy or any other assets of the insurer, For 
        purposes of this paragraph:
                    ``(A) The term `insurer' means an insurance 
                company, insurance service, or insurance organization, 
                qualified to do business in a State.
                    ``(B) The term `general account policy' means an 
                insurance policy or contract to the extent that such 
                policy or contract allocates amounts to the insurer's 
                general account including any surplus in a separate 
                account but excluding any other portion of a separate 
                account.''; and
            (3) by deleting subsection (c).
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply effective as of January 1, 1975.
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