Pension Fairness Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-5292
Sponsor: Rep. Miller, George [D-CA-7]
Introduced: 2004-10-08 in the House
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Bankruptcy
Commerce
Corporate reorganizations
Corporation directors
Debtor and creditor
Defined benefit pension plans
Department of Labor
Department of the Treasury
Excise tax
Executive compensation
Executives
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Law
Pension funds
Pension trust guaranty insurance
Standards
Tax penalties
Tax-deferred compensation plans
Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: 
 Pension Fairness Act of 2004 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to limit the availability of benefits for corporate directors and executives under an employer's nonqualified deferred compensation plans in the event that any of such employer's defined pension plans are subjected to a distress termination, or to a termination where the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) takes over plan liabilities, in connection with bankruptcy reorganization or a conversion to a cash balance plan.
 
Sets forth a termination fairness standard for nonqualified deferred compensation plans in cases where the corporation which is plan sponsor of a defined benefit plan adopts a plan amendment which: (1) terminates an underfunded workers' pension plan; or (2) converts a workers' pension plan into a cash balance plan that cuts benefits for workers with ten or more years of service under the plan, or takes away their choice to stay in their original plan.
 
Disqualifies any director or executive officer of the corporation, for a five-year period after adoption of such an amendment, from: (1) accruing any amount under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan; and (2) receiving any distribution of accrued deferred compensation, if a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or amendment is established or adopted during or after the one-year period preceding the notice date of the defined benefit plan termination or conversion.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-10-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1892-1893)
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Introduced in House