What This Bill Does
This bill increases guaranteed pension benefits for workers and retirees in six specific pension plans that terminated. It requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (a federal agency that protects pension benefits) to recalculate what people are owed based on their full vested benefits (the retirement money they earned and can keep). It also requires the agency to pay back any money people did not receive due to the previous lower calculations.
Who It Affects
Workers and retirees who participate in these six pension plans: the Delphi Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan, the Delphi Retirement Program for Salaried Employees, the PHI Non-Bargaining Retirement Plan, the ASEC Manufacturing Retirement Program, the PHI Bargaining Retirement Plan, and the Delphi Mechatronic Systems Retirement Program. Excluded are people covered by 1999 General Motors and union agreements providing top-up benefits. The federal government and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation also are affected.
Key Provisions
• Guaranteed monthly benefits must equal the full vested plan benefit (the complete retirement amount earned without limits) for eligible workers and their survivors in the six covered pension plans (Sec. 2(a)(1)(A))
• The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation must recalculate benefits as soon as practicable after the bill becomes law and adjust all future payments accordingly (Sec. 2(a)(2)(A))
• The agency must make lump-sum payments (one large payment instead of installments) within 180 days of the bill becoming law to repay everyone who received less than they were owed, with added interest at 6 percent per year (Sec. 2(a)(2)(B))
• A special trust fund called the Delphi Full Vested Plan Benefit Trust Fund must be established in the Treasury to pay for the increased benefits and administrative costs (Sec. 2(b)(1))
• Lump-sum payments count as income spread across three tax years, unless a taxpayer chooses otherwise, with special rules if the worker dies (Sec. 2(d))
What Changes
If this becomes law, eligible workers and retirees in the six pension plans will receive their full vested benefits instead of reduced amounts. People who already received payments will get a lump-sum check to cover the difference between what they received and what they should have gotten, plus interest calculated at 6 percent annually. All future monthly payments will be higher. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's previous determinations about asset allocation remain in place except for the changes in this bill.
Important Definitions
"Full vested plan benefit" means the monthly retirement amount someone would receive under federal pension law as of when the plan ended, calculated without the normal legal limits on guaranteed benefits (Sec. 2(a)(3)(A)).
"Eligible participant or beneficiary" means someone currently receiving payments or eligible for future payments from one of the six covered plans, who has not received more than their full vested benefit, and who is not covered by 1999 General Motors and union top-up agreements (Sec. 2(a)(2)(C)(i)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 735
To increase the benefits guaranteed in connection with certain pension plans,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 1, 2023
Mr. TURNER (for himself, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. TENNEY, and Ms. MOORE of Wis-
consin) introduced the following bill; which was 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
A BILL
To increase the benefits guaranteed in connection with
certain pension plans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Susan Muffley Act of
4
2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. GUARANTEED BENEFIT CALCULATION FOR CER-
6
TAIN PLANS.
7
(a) IN GENERAL.—
8
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•HR 735 IH
(1) INCREASE
TO
FULL
VESTED
PLAN
BEN-
1
EFIT.—
2
(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of deter-
3
mining what benefits are guaranteed under sec-
4
tion 4022 of the Employee Retirement Income
5
Security Act of 1974 (in this section referred to
6
as ‘‘ERISA’’) with respect to an eligible partici-
7
pant or beneficiary under a covered plan speci-
8
fied in paragraph (4) in connection with the
9
termination of such plan, the amount of month-
10
ly benefits shall be equal to the full vested plan
11
benefit with respect to the participant.
12
(B) NO
EFFECT
ON
PREVIOUS
DETER-
13
MINATIONS.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
14
strued to change the allocation of assets and re-
15
coveries under sections 4044(a) and 4022(c) of
16
ERISA as previously determined by the Pension
17
Benefit Guaranty Corporation (in the section
18
referred to as the ‘‘corporation’’) for the cov-
19
ered plans specified in paragraph (4), and the
20
corporation’s applicable rules, practices, and
21
policies on benefits payable in terminated sin-
22
gle-employer plans shall, except as otherwise
23
provided in this section, continue to apply with
24
respect to such covered plans.
25
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•HR 735 IH
(2) RECALCULATION OF CERTAIN BENEFITS.—
1
(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which
2
the amount of monthly benefits with respect to
3
an eligible participant or beneficiary described
4
in paragraph (1) was calculated prior to the
5
date of enactment of this Act, the corporation
6
shall recalculate such amount pursuant to para-
7
graph (1), and shall adjust any subsequent pay-
8
ments of such monthly benefits accordingly, as
9
soon as practicable after such date.
10
(B) LUMP-SUM
PAYMENTS
OF
PAST-DUE
11
BENEFITS.—Not later than 180 days after the
12
date of enactment of this Act, the corporation,
13
in consultation with the Secretary of the Treas-
14
ury and the Secretary of Labor, shall make a
15
lump-sum payment to each eligible participant
16
or beneficiary whose guaranteed benefits are re-
17
calculated under subparagraph (A) in an
18
amount equal to—
19
(i) in the case of an eligible partici-
20
pant, the excess of—
21
(I) the total of the full vested
22
plan benefits of the participant for all
23
months for which such guaranteed
24
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•HR 735 IH
benefits were paid prior to such recal-
1
culation, over
2
(II) the sum of any applicable
3
payments made to the eligible partici-
4
pant; and
5
(ii) in the case of an eligible bene-
6
ficiary, the sum of—
7
(I) the amount that would be de-
8
termined under clause (i) with respect
9
to the participant of which the eligible
10
beneficiary is a beneficiary if such
11
participant were still in pay status;
12
plus
13
(II) the excess of—
14
(aa) the total of the full
15
vested plan benefits of the eligi-
16
ble beneficiary for all months for
17
which such guaranteed benefits
18
were paid prior to such recalcula-
19
tion, over
20
(bb) the sum of any applica-
21
ble payments made to the eligible
22
beneficiary.
23
Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the cor-
24
poration shall increase each lump-sum payment
25
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•HR 735 IH
made under this subparagraph to account for
1
foregone interest in an amount determined by
2
the corporation designed to reflect a 6 percent
3
annual interest rate on each past-due amount
4
attributable to the underpayment of guaranteed
5
benefits for each month prior to such recalcula-
6
tion.
7
(C) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS AND BENE-
8
FICIARIES.—
9
(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of
10
this section, an eligible participant or bene-
11
ficiary is a participant or beneficiary
12
who—
13
(I) as of the date of the enact-
14
ment of this Act, is in pay status
15
under a covered plan or is eligible for
16
future payments under such plan;
17
(II) has received or will receive
18
applicable payments in connection
19
with such plan (within the meaning of
20
clause (ii)) that does not exceed the
21
full vested plan benefits of such par-
22
ticipant or beneficiary; and
23
(III) is not covered by the 1999
24
agreements between General Motors
25
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•HR 735 IH
and various unions providing a top-up
1
benefit to certain hourly employees
2
who were transferred from the Gen-
3
eral Motors Hourly-Rate Employees
4
Pension Plan to the Delphi Hourly-
5
Rate Employees Pension Plan.
6
(ii)
APPLICABLE
PAYMENTS.—For
7
purposes of this paragraph, applicable pay-
8
ments to a participant or beneficiary in
9
connection with a plan consist of the fol-
10
lowing:
11
(I) Payments under the plan
12
equal to the normal benefit guarantee
13
of the participant or beneficiary.
14
(II) Payments to the participant
15
or beneficiary made pursuant to sec-
16
tion 4022(c) or otherwise received
17
from the corporation in connection
18
with the termination of the plan.
19
(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
20
section—
21
(A) FULL VESTED PLAN BENEFIT.—The
22
term ‘‘full vested plan benefit’’ means the
23
amount of monthly benefits that would be guar-
24
anteed under section 4022 of ERISA as of the
25
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•HR 735 IH
date of plan termination with respect to an eli-
1
gible participant or beneficiary if such section
2
were applied without regard to the phase-in
3
limit in subsection (b)(1) of such Act and the
4
maximum guaranteed benefit limitation in sub-
5
section (b)(3) of such Act (including the ac-
6
crued-at-normal limitation).
7
(B) NORMAL BENEFIT GUARANTEE.—The
8
term ‘‘normal benefit guarantee’’ means the
9
amount of monthly benefits guaranteed under
10
such section with respect to an eligible partici-
11
pant or beneficiary without regard to this Act.
12
(4) COVERED PLANS.—The covered plans speci-
13
fied in this paragraph are the following:
14
(A) The Delphi Hourly-Rate Employees
15
Pension Plan.
16
(B) The Delphi Retirement Program for
17
Salaried Employees.
18
(C) The PHI Non-Bargaining Retirement
19
Plan.
20
(D) The ASEC Manufacturing Retirement
21
Program.
22
(E) The PHI Bargaining Retirement Plan.
23
(F) The Delphi Mechatronic Systems Re-
24
tirement Program.
25
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•HR 735 IH
(5) TREATMENT OF PBGC DETERMINATIONS.—
1
Any determination made by the corporation under
2
this section concerning a recalculation of benefits or
3
lump-sum payment of past-due benefits shall be sub-
4
ject to administrative review by the corporation. Any
5
new determination made by the corporation under
6
this section shall be governed by the same adminis-
7
trative review process as any other benefit deter-
8
mination by the corporation.
9
(b) TRUST FUND
FOR PAYMENT
OF INCREASED
10
BENEFITS.—
11
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in
12
the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to
13
be known as the ‘‘Delphi Full Vested Plan Benefit
14
Trust Fund’’ (hereafter in this subsection referred
15
to as the ‘‘Fund’’), consisting of such amounts as
16
may be appropriated or credited to the Fund as pro-
17
vided in this section.
18
(2) FUNDING.—There is appropriated from the
19
general fund such amounts as are necessary for the
20
costs of the payment of the portion of monthly bene-
21
fits guaranteed to a participant or beneficiary pursu-
22
ant to subsection (a) and for necessary administra-
23
tive and operating expenses of the corporation relat-
24
ing to such payment. The Fund shall be credited
25
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•HR 735 IH
with amounts from time to time as the Secretary of
1
the Treasury, in conjunction with the Director of the
2
corporation, determines appropriate, from the gen-
3
eral fund of the Treasury.
4
(3) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—Amounts in
5
the Fund shall be available for the payment of the
6
portion of monthly benefits guaranteed to a partici-
7
pant or beneficiary pursuant to subsection (a) and
8
for necessary administrative and operating expenses
9
of the corporation relating to such payment.
10
(c) REGULATIONS.—The corporation, in consultation
11
with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of
12
Labor, may issue such regulations as necessary to carry
13
out this section.
14
(d) TAX TREATMENT OF LUMP-SUM PAYMENTS.—
15
(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless the taxpayer elects
16
(at such time and in such manner as the Secretary
17
may provide) to have this paragraph not apply with
18
respect to any lump-sum payment under subsection
19
(a)(2)(B), the amount of such payment shall be in-
20
cluded in the taxpayer’s gross income ratably over
21
the 3-taxable-year period beginning with the taxable
22
year in which such payment is received.
23
(2) SPECIAL RULES RELATED TO DEATH.—
24
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•HR 735 IH
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the taxpayer dies be-
1
fore the end of the 3-taxable-year period de-
2
scribed in paragraph (1), any amount to which
3
paragraph (1) applies which has not been in-
4
cluded in gross income for a taxable year end-
5
ing before the taxable year in which such death
6
occurs shall be included in gross income for
7
such taxable year.
8
(B) SPECIAL
ELECTION
FOR
SURVIVING
9
SPOUSES OF ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS.—If—
10
(i) a taxpayer with respect to whom
11
paragraph (1) applies dies,
12
(ii) such taxpayer is an eligible partic-
13
ipant,
14
(iii) the surviving spouse of such eligi-
15
ble participant is entitled to a survivor
16
benefit from the corporation with respect
17
to such eligible participant, and
18
(iv) such surviving spouse elects (at
19
such time and in such manner as the Sec-
20
retary may provide) the application of this
21
subparagraph,
22
subparagraph (A) shall not apply and any
23
amount which would have (but for such tax-
24
payer’s death) been included in the gross in-
25
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•HR 735 IH
come of such taxpayer under paragraph (1) for
1
any taxable year beginning after the date of
2
such death shall be included in the gross in-
3
come of such surviving spouse for the taxable
4
year of such surviving spouse ending with or
5
within such taxable year of the taxpayer.
6
Æ
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