,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #djhg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #bf1 #bjbb,mrs4 ,murray 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,smith1 and ,ms4 ,baldwin7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to require pension plans that offer participants and beneficiaries the option of receiving lifetime annuity payments as lump sum payments1 to meet certain notice and disclosure requirements4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,information ,needed for ,financial ,options ,risk ,mitigation ,act or the ,,inform ,act4 #b4 ,notice and disclosure requirements with respect to lump sum windows 7a7 ,in general ,part #a of subtitle ,b of title ,i of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajba et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #aab4 ,notice and disclosure requirements with respect to lump sum windows 7a7 ,in general ,a plan sponsor of a pension plan that amends the plan to provide a period of time during which a participant or beneficiary may elect to receive a lump sum under clause 7i7 of section #dja7;a77#i77;,a77i7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 instead of future monthly payments under clause 7ii7 of such section1 shall provide notice-- 7#a7 to each participant or beneficiary offered such lump sum amount1 in the manner in which the participant and beneficiary receives the lump sum offer from the plan sponsor1 not later than #ij days prior to the first day on which the participant or beneficiary may make an election with respect to such lump sum2 and 7#b7 to the ,secretary and the ,pension ,benefit ,guaranty ,corporation1 not later than #cj days prior to the first day on which participants and beneficiaries may make an election with respect to such lump sum4 7b7 ,notice to participants and beneficiaries 7#a7 ,content ,the notice required under subsection 7a77#a7 shall include the following3 7,a7 ,available benefit options1 including the estimated monthly benefit that the participant or beneficiary would receive at normal retirement age1 whether there is a subsidized early retirement option or qualified joint and survivor annuity that is fully subsidized 7in accordance with section #dag7;a77#e7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf71 the monthly benefit amount if payments begin immediately1 and the lump sum amount available if the participant or beneficiary takes the option4 7,b7 ,an explanation of how the lump sum was calculated1 including the interest rate1 mortality assumptions1 and whether any additional plan benefits were included in the lump sum1 such as early retirement subsidies4 7,c7 ,in a manner consistent with the manner in which a written explanation is required to be given under #dag7;a77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 the relative value of the lump sum option for a terminated vested participant compared to the value of-- 7i7 the single life annuity1 7or other standard form of benefit72 and 7ii7 the qualified joint and survivor annuity 7as defined in section #bje7;d77#a772 7,d7 ,whether it would be possible to replicate the plan's stream of payments by purchasing a comparable retail annuity using the lump sum4 7,e7 ,the potential ramifications of accepting the lump sum1 including longevity risks1 loss of protections guaranteed by the ,pension ,benefit ,guaranty ,corporation 7with an explanation of the monthly benefit amount that would be protected by the ,pension ,benefit ,guaranty ,corporation if the plan is terminated with insufficient assets to pay benefits71 loss of protection from creditors1 loss of spousal protections1 and other protections under this ,act that would be lost4 7,f7 ,general tax rules related to accepting a lump sum1 including rollover options and early distribution penalties with a disclaimer that the plan does not provide tax1 legal1 or accounting advice1 and a suggestion that participants and beneficiaries consult with their own tax1 legal1 and accounting advisors before determining whether to accept the offer4 7,g7 ,how to accept or reject the offer1 the deadline for response1 and whether a spouse is required to consent to the election4 7,h7 ,contact information for the point of contact at the plan sponsor for participants and beneficiaries to get more information or ask questions about the options4 7#b7 ,plain language ,the notice under this subsection shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant4 7#c7 ,model notice ,the ,secretary shall issue a model notice for purposes of the notice under subsection 7a77#a71 including for information required under subparagraphs 7,c7 through 7,f7 of paragraph 7#b74 7c7 ,notice to the ,secretary and ,pension ,benefit ,guaranty ,corporation ,the notice required under subsection 7a77#b7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,the total number of participants and beneficiaries eligible for such lump sum option4 7#b7 ,the length of the limited period during which the lump sum is offered4 7#c7 ,an explanation of how the lump sum was calculated1 including the interest rate1 mortality assumptions1 and whether any additional plan benefits were included in the lump sum1 such as early retirement subsidies4 7#d7 ,a sample of the notice provided to participants and beneficiaries under subsection 7b74 7d7 ,post-,offer report to the ,secretary and ,pension ,benefit ,guaranty ,corporation ,not later than #ij days after the conclusion of the limited period during which participants and beneficiaries in a plan may accept a plan's offer to convert their annuity into a lump sum as generally permitted under section #dja7;a77#i7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 a plan sponsor shall submit a report to the ,secretary and the ,director of the ,pension ,benefit ,guaranty ,corporation that includes the number of participants and beneficiaries who accepted the lump sum offer and such other information as the ,secretary may require4 7e7 ,public availability ,the ,secretary shall make the information provided in the notice to the ,secretary required under subsection 7a77#b7 and in the post-offer reports submitted under subsection 7d77#a7 publicly available in a form that protects the confidentiality of the information provided4 7f7 ,guidance and regulations ,the ,secretary-- 7#a7 not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this section1 shall issue guidance and model notices for plan sponsors to use in providing the notice described in subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 may promulgate such other regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section4 7g7 ,biannual report ,not later than #f months after the date of enactment of this section and every #f months thereafter1 so long as the ,secretary has received notices and post-offer reports under subsections 7c7 and 7d71 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report that summarizes such notices and post-offer reports during the applicable reporting period4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents in section #a of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #aaa the following new item3 ,sec4 #aab4 ,notice and disclosure requirements with respect to lump sum windows4 7c7 ,enforcement ,section #ejb of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aacb7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c77#a71 by striking or section #aje7;a7 and inserting 1 section #aje7;a71 or section #aab7;a72 and 7#b7 in subsection 7a77#d71 by striking #aje7;c7 and inserting section #aje7;c7 or #aab7;a74 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsections 7a71 7b71 and 7c7 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act4 7e7 ,regulatory authority ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury and the ,secretary of ,labor shall jointly issue regulations to implement section #aab of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd1 as added by subsection 7a74 ,such regulations shall require plan sponsors to comply in good faith with the regulations beginning not later than #a year after issuance of a final rule with respect to subsections 7a77#a7 and 7b7 of such section #aab1 and beginning not later than #f months after issuance of a final rule with respect to subsections 7a77#b71 7c71 7d71 and 7e7 of such section #aab4