Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008

Bill: 110-hr-7327
Sponsor: Rep. Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY-15]
Introduced: 2008-12-10 in the House
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Bankruptcy
Employee benefits and pensions
Financial crises and stabilization
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health care costs and insurance
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Motor carriers
Railroads
Small business
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Transportation employees

Summary:
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: 
Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 - Makes technical corrections to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to conform to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 regarding various specified items, including: (1) the target normal cost of benefits; (2) specified implementation and effective dates for certain requirements; (3) one-participant retirement plans; (4) special age-related rules in accrued benefit requirements for applicable defined benefit plans; (5) inapplicability in certain cases of the limitation on income deductions (for tax purposes) for employer contributions to one or more defined contribution plans; and (6) adjustments to averaging in the determination of the value of the assets of single-employer defined benefit pension plans for minimum funding purposes.
 
Makes technical corrections to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 with respect to railroad retirement payments to persons not entitled to an annuity.
 
Makes technical corrections to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 with respect to special age-related rules for determination of the market rate of return in the calculation of interest credits in governmental defined benefit plans.
 
Makes technical corrections to the Internal Revenue Code to modify: (1) the interest rate assumption required with respect to certain small employer plans; and (2) the penalties for failure to file partnership returns and S corporation returns.
 
Prescribes a special rule for exclusion from gross income of certain reimbursements from governmental plans for medical care.
 
Requires treatment as a qualified rollover contribution of any airline payment amount received by a qualified airline employee in an airline carrier bankruptcy which is transferred to a Roth IRA.
 
Revises asset valuation rules for certain commercial airline benefit plans.
 
Provides a waiver of minimum distribution requirements for certain retirement plans for 2009.
 
Sets forth requirements to: (1) provide for the delay of the designation of multiemployer benefit plans as endangered or critical for FY2009; and (2) extend the funding improvement and rehabilitation periods for such plans that are endangered or critical for FY2008 or FY2009.

action_date: 2008-12-23
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008
 - 
 
Title I: Technical Corrections Related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 - Subtitle A: Technical Corrections Related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 -
 (Sec. 101) Makes technical corrections to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to conform to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 regarding various specified items, including: (1) the target normal cost of benefits; (2) specified implementation and effective dates for certain requirements; (3) one-participant retirement plans; (4) special age-related rules in accrued benefit requirements for applicable defined benefit plans; (5) inapplicability in certain cases of the limitation on income deductions (for tax purposes) for employer contributions to one or more defined contribution plans; and (6) adjustments to averaging in the determination of the value of the assets of single-employer defined benefit pension plans for minimum funding purposes.

(Sec. 110) Makes technical corrections to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 with respect to railroad retirement payments to persons not entitled to an annuity.

Subtitle B: Other Provisions - 
(Sec. 121) Requires that the value of assets for any ERISA plan under the averaging method be adjusted for expected earnings (in addition to contributions and distributions, as under current law).

(Sec. 122) Modifies the interest rate assumption required with respect to certain small employer plans.

(Sec. 123) Makes technical corrections to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to require treatment of a rate of return or a method of crediting interest as a market rate of return and a permissible method of crediting interest in special age-related rules for governmental defined benefit plans.

(Sec. 124) Prescribes a special rule for exclusion from gross income of certain reimbursements from governmental plans for health care expenses of a deceased accident or health care plan participant's beneficiary.

(Sec. 125) Requires treatment as a qualified rollover contribution of any airline payment amount received by a qualified airline employee in an airline carrier bankruptcy which is transferred to a Roth IRA within 180 days of receipt.

(Sec. 126) Revises asset valuation rules for certain commercial airline benefit plans.

(Sec. 127) Increases by $4 the penalties for failure to file partnership returns and S corporation returns.

Title II: Pension Provisions Relating to Economic Crisis - 
(Sec. 201) Provides a waiver of minimum distribution requirements for certain retirement plans and accounts for 2009.

(Sec. 202) Revises requirements for determining the shortfall amortization base for a single-employer defined benefit pension plan the value of whose plan assets exceeds the plan funding target for any plan year beginning after 2007 and before 2011.

(Sec. 203) Modifies for FY2009 application of the limitation on benefit accruals for single-employer plans with severe funding shortfalls. Requires substituting the plan's adjusted funding target attainment percentage for the preceding plan year for the adjusted funding target attainment percentage for the new plan year, but only if the percentage for the preceding plan year is greater.

(Sec. 204) Provides for delay of the designation of multiemployer benefit plans as endangered or critical during FY2009.

(Sec. 205) Extends the funding improvement and rehabilitation periods for multiemployer benefit plans in endangered or critical status for FY2008 or FY2009.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-12-23
text: Became Public Law No: 110-458.
action_date: 2008-12-23
text: Became Public Law No: 110-458.
action_date: 2008-12-23
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2008-12-23
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2008-12-17
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2008-12-17
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2008-12-12
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2008-12-11
text: Cleared for White House.
action_date: 2008-12-11
text: Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S10914-10915)
action_date: 2008-12-11
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S10914-10915)
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: On passage Passed without objection. (text: CR H10935-10943)
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.(text: CR H10935-10943)
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Considered by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR H10935-10943)
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Mr. Pomeroy asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Committee on Education and Labor discharged.
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Committee on Education and Labor discharged.
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Committee on Ways and Means discharged.
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Committee on Ways and Means discharged.
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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: 2008-12-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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: 2008-12-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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: 2008-12-10
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2008-12-10
text: Introduced in House

Enacted as: number: 110-458