Mr. Friedman has more than 35 years of experience in litigating cutting edge ERISA issues before the United States Department of Labor, United States district courts, bankruptcy courts and courts of appeal on behalf of employers, plan sponsors and fiduciaries of ERISA plans across a wide breadth of industries, including... You are responsible for reading, understanding and agreeing to the National Law Review's (NLR’s) and the National Law Forum LLC's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before using the National Law Review website. Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act Has Passed the Senate . The Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 is a standalone version of a provision from the House-passed Heroes Act. But he has put forward two measures in recent years in an effort to resolve the issue. When the Multiemployer Program becomes insolvent, the PBC can no longer provide financial assistance to pay the current level of guaranteed benefits in insolvent plans. The National Law Review is not a law firm nor is www.NatLawReview.com intended to be a referral service for attorneys and/or other professionals. In 2019, the Ways and Means Committee and the full House of Representatives both passed Chairman Neal’s Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act, also known as the Butch Lewis Act. On Saturday, the COVID Relief package passed in the Senate chamber, inclusive of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act provision. Plans would have to reinstate benefits that were suspended and invest the monies in investment-grade bonds or other investments allowed by the PBGC. Plans with a modified funded percentage of less than 40% with more retirees than active workers (less than 2:3 ratio) in any plan year from 2020 through 2022. Under the Butch Lewis Act, the government would make low-interest loans to troubled plans so they could continue paying full pensions to … The Butch Lewis Act of 2021’s lofty goals seem promising, but employers and pension beneficiaries should be wondering how this Act will operate. Specifically, the proposed legislation offers several forms of relief to struggling multiemployer plans, including: Retention of a plan’s zone status at the beginning of the 2019 plan year for the plan years beginning in 2020 or 2021 (meaning that plans in “endangered or critical status” could delay updating the plan or schedules until the plan year beginning March 1, 2021); Extension of rehabilitation period by five years for plans in “endangered or critical status” for plan years beginning in 2020 or 2021 (effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2019); Permission for plans to use a thirty-year amortization base to spread out losses (effective for plan years ending on or after February 29, 2020); and. Seven years of grassroots organizing by retirees and workers has scored a historic victory, to protect earned pensions for hundreds of thousands of Teamster families and millions of American workers. Responding to Law Enforcement Demands for HIPAA Protected Information, SEC Going Cyber-Hunting for ESG-Related Misconduct. The Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 is a standalone version of a provision from the House-passed Heroes Act. Publication of Sweeping Changes to SEC Marketing Rule Sets Effective... Women in the Wake of COVID-19 - Leaders Moving Business Forward -... Government Report Calls On OSHA Step Up Its Response to COVID-19, The New Normal? In 2019, the Ways and Means Committee and the full … Business Divorce: Court Found That There Was A Fact Question On... Senior Living Communities, Liability for COVID-19 Countermeasures,... Health Care Enforcement Kept the DOJ Fraud Section Busy in 2020, Precedent for Mandamus Case set by EB-5 Lawsuit. The Pension Rehabilitation Administration may use the funds, without a further appropriation, to make loans, pay principal and interest on the bonds, or for administrative and operating expenses. It’s a bill that lawmakers expect will help stabilize the multiemployer pension plans that are in danger of insolvency. Democrats proposed the Butch Lewis Act in 2019 that would create a fund to make “loans to certain multi-employer defined benefit pension plans” through the Treasury Department. Array 9703. The pension section is essentially the Butch Lewis Act, a bill that Senators like Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have been pushing for the last six years. If the PBGC Multiemployer Program is on the brink of insolvency, how can it pay such hefty lump-sum payments to roughly 124 pension plans? Butch Lewis would provide loans cash grants to union-sponsored multiemployer pension plans that are otherwise headed toward insolvency. The National Law Review - National Law Forum LLC 4700 Gilbert Ave. Suite 47 #230 Western Springs, IL 60558 Telephone (708) 357-3317 or toll free (877) 357-3317. Butch Lewis is a continuation of various prior legislative efforts aimed at addressing the multiemployer pension plan crisis, including earlier versions of the Butch Lewis Act of 2019, the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2020, and other pending pension reform legislation. House Subcommittee Will Hold Oversight Hearing on Restoring “Vital... UK Makes Contactless Payments Easier – Purchases up to £100 (~$140)... New Guidance on National Interest Exception Categories and How to... New FDA Action to Reduce Toxic Metals in Baby Food. While federal funding from the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 to the United Mine Workers of American 1974 Pension Plan staved off PBGC’s insolvency for an extra year, the reality remains dire. ), Blog – In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress, Senate - 07/24/2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Through this program, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the “PBGC”) would send payments directly to eligible multiemployer pension plans. The choice of a lawyer or other professional is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. From these figures, at least 124 pension plans will be eligible for the Special Financial Assistance Program. 9702 - Temporary Delay of Designation of Multiemployer Plans as in Endangered, Critical, or Critical and Declining Status. 9701 - Short Title. The text of the Act does little to answer this question. Impact and Analysis of The Supreme Court Decision on Characterization... TIK TOK TIK TOK: Time Running Out For Preliminary Court Approval of... Virginia Becomes 2nd State to Adopt a Comprehensive Consumer Data... NY Legislature ‘To Restore the Pre-Pandemic Balance of Power’;... Thousands Hacked: New Cyber-Attacks Affect Organizations Big and Small. Retailers Beware: “You can’t say your products are made in the USA... Sued Again: National Republican Senatorial Committee Hit with Another... New Investment Adviser Marketing Rules Take Effect May 4, 2021. The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow the sponsor of a multiemployer pension plan that is applying for a loan under this bill to also apply to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for financial assistance if, after receiving the loan, the plan will still become (or remain) insolvent within the 30-year period beginning on the date of the loan. I’ve criticized this repeatedly as a … This is Labor in California, Episode 4: Predictions for 2021, New March 2021 Reporting Deadline for California Employers. The Act may be cited as the “Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021.” Sec. The House Ways and Means Committee approved on a party-line vote its part of the COVID-19 economic stimulus bill yesterday, February 11th. Not immediately. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that taxpayers would be … Representative Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House, proposed this bill. 397), in various iterations. These plans are eligible: Plans in “critical and declining status” (within the meaning of section 305(b)(6) of ERISA) in any plan year beginning in 2020 through 2022. Bill summaries are authored by CRS. NLR does not answer legal questions nor will we refer you to an attorney or other professional if you request such information from us. 21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to 22 plan years beginning after December 31, 2019. Software Claims Lacking an Algorithm Are Held Indefinite for Lack of... Another BIPA Litigation Permutation Strikes, This Time Concerning... What Virginia’s New Privacy Law Means for Organizations in the... Energy & Sustainability M&A Activity – March 2021. These bills set up a new No provisions provide any monies to pension funds. Here … Any legal analysis, legislative updates or other content and links should not be construed as legal or professional advice or a substitute for such advice. Along a largely party-line vote, the House passed H.R. Questions regarding how many pension plans will require relief, and practical considerations about how the PBGC will secure the funding to relieve the eligible plans, remain up in the air. Here we discuss only the multiemployer pension plans. He has tried more than 35 jury trials and hundreds of arbitrations and bench trial on all aspects of ERISA. An Update On Commercial Division Operations, It’s Time to (Carefully) Secure that Guaranty. Introduced in Senate (07/24/2019) Butch Lewis Act of 2019 This bill establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration within the Department of the Treasury and a related trust fund to make loans to certain multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. These plans are projected to remain underfunded through 2025. The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, which is included in the bill, would create a special financial assistance program under which cash payments would be made by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to financially troubled multiemployer pension plans so they could continue paying retirees’ benefits. Interestingly, there may be fewer eligible funds than predicted. National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 57, Public Services, Infrastructure, Transportation. The NLR does not wish, nor does it intend, to solicit the business of anyone or to refer anyone to an attorney or other professional. The SEC Signals ESG as an Enforcement and Disclosure Priority, Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, Milliman’s December 2020 Multiemployer Pension Funding Study, Business Divorce: Court Found That There Was A Fact Question On Whether Officers Violated Fiduciary Duties By Obtaining A Side Bonus From A Purchaser When Negotiating A Sale Of The Company’s Assets. [chamberOfAction] => Senate The “Butch Lewis Act of 2017” and its House companion bill “The Rehabilitation of Multiemployer Pensions Act," introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown, provide an innovative way to avoid retiree benefit reductions by providing relief to financially-troubled plans. This projected insolvency directly conflicts with the goals of the Butch Lewis Act of 2021, which would cause the PBGC to pay essentially all pension benefits owed to retirees from the date of the Act’s enactment to the last day of the plan year ending in 2051. Attorney Advertising Notice: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The Butch Lewis Act of 2021’s lofty goals seem promising, but employers and pension beneficiaries should be wondering how this Act will operate. On the same day, PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis issued a statement calling for Congress to enact a bipartisan, long-term solution on the multiemployer pension system. However, this study relies predominately on data from Form 5500s from the 2018 and 2019 plan years. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Do the payments come with any obligations? Treasury must issue bonds to fund the loan program and transfer amounts equal to the proceeds to the trust fund established by this bill. Butch Lewis will have to meet certain technical criteria to be included, but we are hopeful for the bill’s passage. TCPA in the Workplace: An Employer’s Guide to Telecom Laws Impacting... Washington State to Ban PFAS in Four Types of Food Packaging. (. “Our proposal is the Butch Lewis Act, but, more importantly, we need and want multiemployer pension reform that works,” a senior Democratic … It also would raise the PBGC multiemployer plans premium rate to $52 per participant as of 2031. The much-heralded Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (the “Butch Lewis Act of 2021”) is closer to becoming a reality as part of the COVID-19 relief bill, which is set for a vote in the House of Representatives on February 26, 2021. 1319) by a (near) party-line vote of 219-212 (Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) were the only two Democrats to vote no, and no Republicans supported the measure). One pension reform proposal on the table is the Butch Lewis Act. DOJ Reaches Acquisition Settlement with Geisinger, Evangelical;... Property Tax Appeals Can Save You Money in 2021. Pension solvency doesn’t appear in the economic agenda Neal outlined Jan. 11. If you would ike to contact us via email please click here. The money would be provided to … [actionDate] => 2019-07-24 Eligible plans would have to provide employers with an estimate of the employer’s share of the plan’s unfunded vested benefits (accounting for any payment under the Program) as of the end of each plan year. There is no cap on this payment, and the funding predictions will be performed on a “deterministic basis.”. It would address the financial crisis among multiemployer pension plans which have fallen on hard times as … The Butch Lewis Act would address the pension crisis by creating a new office within the Treasury Department called the Pension Rehabilitation Administration (PRA). If you require legal or professional advice, kindly contact an attorney or other suitable professional advisor. What does this Program do? The federal stimulus package, which includes $1,400 checks for many Americans and increased funding for vaccines, also holds the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA), an update to the Butch Lewis Act. Questions regarding how many pension plans will require relief, and practical considerations about how the PBGC will secure the funding to relieve the eligible plans, remain up in the air. Additionally, Kamp himself was on the team of government and industry professionals that drafted the Butch Lewis Act. That legislation would, among other features, provide funds for 30-year loans and new forgivable financial assistance, in the form of government grants, aimed at supporting the most financially troubled multiemployer pension plans. 23 SEC. Congress is working on a lengthy bill for further COVID relief. His first attempt—a standalone 30-year government loan program known as the Butch Lewis Act—passed the House in July 2019. Under the Act, modified funded percentage means “the percentage equal to a fraction the numerator of which is current value of plan assets and the denominator of which is current liabilities.”. US Federal Labor Viewpoints – Week of March 1, 2021. Under certain state laws the following statements may be required on this website and we have included them in order to be in full compliance with these rules. ( The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act was approved Feb. 27 as part of the mammoth American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. Paul A. Friedman is a Principal in the White Plains, New York, office of Jackson Lewis, P.C. Illinois Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Providing Leave for... Class Action False Advertising Suits Continue to Inflict Pain on the... New York State Passes Bill Granting Employees Paid Time Off for COVID... IRS Issues More COVID-Related Guidance on Flexible Spending Accounts. The Butch Lewis Act of 2021 strives to address the plight of multiemployer and single-employer pension plans in the wake of COVD-19. [i] For 2021, the Section 415(c) annual contribution limit is $58,000, the Section 415(b)(1)(A) annual DB limit is $230,000, and the Section 401(a)(17) annual compensation limit is $290,000. Does this Program affect employers? Included is the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (Butch Lewis EPPRA). This bill establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration within the Department of the Treasury and a related trust fund to make loans to certain multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. After a plan’s application is approved, the PBGC will make a single, lump-sum payment in the amount required for the plan “to pay all benefits due during the period beginning on the date of enactment and ending on the last day of the plan year ending in 2051 with generally no reduction in a participant’s or beneficiary’s accrued benefit.” Essentially, the PBGC would be paying all pension benefits owed to retirees. A summary of the pension provisions can be found here and the legislative text of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act here. The Butch Lewis Act of 2021 strives to address the plight of multiemployer and single-employer pension plans in the wake of COVD-19. An employer’s withdrawal liability will still be calculated without consideration of the payment received under the Program until the plan year beginning 15 calendar years after the effective date of the special financial assistance. Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: There is one summary for S.2254. Which multiemployer pension plans are eligible? The Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act (HR 397), also known as the Butch Lewis Act, was introduced January 9, 2019 and passed the House on July 24, 2019. Milliman’s December 2020 Multiemployer Pension Funding Study concluded that the aggregate funded percentage for all multiemployer pension plans as of December 31, 2020, was 88%, the highest percentage it has been since before the 2008 market crash. Some states have laws and ethical rules regarding solicitation and advertisement practices by attorneys and/or other professionals. When Democrats in the House proposed their alternative to the Senate’s CARES Act, it included the Butch Lewis Act. ESG Is in the (SEC) House: SEC Exams, Enforcement and Regulations are Coming, Publication of Sweeping Changes to SEC Marketing Rule Sets Effective and Compliance Dates, Women in the Wake of COVID-19 - Leaders Moving Business Forward - Watch Video, Germany Considers Enacting First-Ever Law Requiring Companies To Both Monitor And Control Supply Chain Practices, Second Court Finds COVID‐19 Business Interruption Coverage Under Tribal First Policy, Expansion of Consumer Privacy Rights in the U.S.: Virginia Adopts CCPA-like Privacy Law. The PRA would allow pension plans such as the CSPF to borrow money needed to remain solvent and continue providing security for retirees and workers for the decades to come. [externalActionCode] => 10000 [displayText] => Introduced in Senate The Butch-Lewis Act The opening bid from congressional Democrats to address this process was the Butch-Lewis Act (H.R. It establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration under the Department of the Treasury and provides low interest loans to critical and declining plans. The bill has been fast-tracked. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) on Jan. 21 introduced the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (EPPRA), which is an updated version of the Butch Lewis Act and the first piece of legislation Neal introduced in the new 117 th Congress, signaling the importance of the issue to him. But the study provides valuable insight into the potential number of pension plans eligible for the Special Financial Assistance Program. The PBGC’s 2020 Annual Report reflects the looming insolvency of its Multiemployer Program by 2027. Rental Properties Not Exempt From Price Gouging Laws, New SEC Task Force Confirms Commitment to ESG Focus. Statement in compliance with Texas Rules of Professional Conduct. The Butch Lewis Act of 2021 strives to address the plight of multiemployer and single-employer pension plans in the wake of COVD-19. Does The Secretary Of State's Definition of "Publicly Held... Telemedicine and Texting: Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Multiemployer Pension Plans May See Relief from the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 To receive a loan, a plan must be either in critical and declining status (including any plan with respect to which a suspension of benefits has been approved) or insolvent, if the plan became insolvent after December 16, 2014, and has not been terminated. The National Law Review is a free to use, no-log in database of legal and business articles. Only 124 pension plans were designated as “critical and declining” as of December 31, 2020. No attorney-client or confidential relationship is formed by the transmission of information between you and the National Law Review website or any of the law firms, attorneys or other professionals or organizations who include content on the National Law Review website. Eligible funds must apply to the Program no later than December 31, 2025. 17 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 18 and section 432 of the Internal Revenue Code of 19 1986 shall have the same meaning as when used in 20 such sections. ADJUSTMENTS TO FUNDING STANDARD AC-24 COUNT RULES. Failing To Take Proper Precautions, Hooked Media Lets Trade Secret... USCIS Offers Flexibility for OPT Applications. Retailers Beware: “You can’t say your products are made in the USA when [they are] made elsewhere.”, Sued Again: National Republican Senatorial Committee Hit with Another TCPA Suit For Unwanted Robotexts, Hold Your Horses: Ensuring Equine Purchase and Sale Agreements Comply with Applicable Laws and Protect the Parties, EC Committee Publishes Final Opinion on Copper (Nano) and Colloidal Copper (Nano). Per Milliman, the impact of COVID-19 is thus only reflected on investment returns, and not plan participation or contribution levels. The text of the Butch Lewis Act of 2021 provides that “an eighth fund shall be established for special financial assistance to multiemployer pension plans,” and that funds will be appropriated from the general fund to provide for the costs of providing financial assistance. Subtitle H -The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 Section-by-Section Sec. Unless otherwise noted, attorneys are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, nor can NLR attest to the accuracy of any notation of Legal Specialization or other Professional Credentials. The bill also appropriates to the PBGC the funds that are necessary to provide the financial assistance required by this bill. The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act has passed the U.S. Senate and is expected to be signed into law within a week. Senior Living Communities, Liability for COVID-19 Countermeasures, and the PREP Act: Is the Tide Turning for Providers? The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan's pension section differs slightly from previous proposed fixes to the funding crisis, though it follows a mold laid out in the Butch Lewis Act. The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (Butch Lewis EPPRA) was passed in the House in February as part of a larger COVID-19 relief bill. [description] => Introduced Butch Lewis was a decorated Army Ranger who served in the Vietnam War and later became a Teamster truck driver. Rather, under the Special Financial Assistance Program for Financially Troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans, a portion of the Butch Lewis Act of 2021, monies will be provided to aid approximately 10 million Americans that participate in multiemployer pension plans, 1.3 million of whom are stuck in quickly sinking plans. 397, which provides taxpayer-funded grants to highly underfunded plans and taxpayer loans that can be forgiven to struggling multiemployer-pension plans. One small portion of it is modeled on the union-backed Butch Lewis Act, which passed the U.S. House in 2019 but not the U.S. Senate. In May 2020, the House Democrats’ HEROES Act included a new version of multi-employer pension relief, the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2020, which I … Plans that became insolvent (under section 418E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) after December 16, 2014, and have remained insolvent.