Sec. 202. Reporting requirements generally applicable to State and local government pension plans
1,687 words·~8 min read·
/bill/114/s/2381/is/section-202A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The plan sponsor of a State or local government employee pension benefit plan shall file with the Secretary of the Treasury, in such form and manner as shall be prescribed by such Secretary, a report for each plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2017, setting forth the following information with respect to the plan, as determined by the plan sponsor as of the end of such plan year: A schedule of funding status, which shall include a statement as to the current liability of the plan, the amount of plan assets available to meet that liability, the amount of the net unfunded liability (if any), and the funding percentage of the plan.
A schedule of contributions by the plan sponsor and each contributing employer for the plan year, indicating which are or are not taken into account under paragraph (1). Alternative projections which shall be specified in regulations of the Secretary for each of the next 20 plan years following the plan year relating to the amount of annual contributions, the fair market value of plan assets, current liability, the funding percentage, and such other matters as the Secretary may specify in such regulations, together with a statement of the assumptions and methods used in connection with such projections, including assumptions related to funding policy, plan changes, future workforce projections, future investment returns, and such other matters as the Secretary may specify in such regulations.
The Secretary shall specify in such regulations the projection assumptions and methods to be used as necessary to achieve comparability across plans. A statement of the actuarial assumptions used for the plan year, including the rate of return on investment of plan assets and assumptions as to such other matters as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation. A statement of the number of participants who are each of the following— those who are retired or separated from service and are receiving benefits; those who are retired or separated and are entitled to future benefits; and those who are active under the plan.
A statement of the plan’s investment returns, including the rate of return, for the plan year and the 5 preceding plan years. A statement of the degree to which, and manner in which, the plan sponsor expects to eliminate any unfunded current liability that may exist for the plan year and the extent to which the plan sponsor has followed the plan’s funding policy for each of the preceding 5 plan years. The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the specific criteria to be used for meeting the requirements of this paragraph.
A statement of the amount of pension obligation bonds outstanding. The plan sponsor of a State or local government employee pension benefit plan shall make the filing required under subsection
(a)for each plan year not later than 210 days after the end of such plan year (or within such time as may be required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary in order to reduce duplicative filing). In any case in which, in determining the information filed in the annual report for a plan year under subsection (a)— the value of plan assets is determined using a standard other than fair market value, or the interest rate or rates used to determine the value of liabilities or as the discount value for liabilities are not the interest rates described in paragraph (3), the plan sponsor shall include in the annual report filed for such plan year pursuant to subsection
(a)the supplementary report for such plan year described in paragraph (2). A supplementary report filed for a plan year pursuant to this subsection shall include the information specified as required in the annual report under paragraphs (1), (3), (6), and
(7)of subsection (a), determined as of the end of such plan year by valuing plan assets at fair market value and by using the interest rates described in paragraph
(3)to value liabilities and as the discount value for liabilities. The interest rates described in this paragraph are— in the case of benefits reasonably determined to be payable during the 5-year period beginning on the first day of the plan year, the first segment rate with respect to the applicable month, in the case of benefits reasonably determined to be payable during the 15-year period beginning at the end of the period described in clause (i), the second segment rate with respect to the applicable month, and in the case of benefits reasonably determined to be payable after the period described in clause (ii), the third segment rate with respect to the applicable month. For purposes of this paragraph— The term first segment rate means, with respect to any month, the single rate of interest which shall be determined by the Secretary for such month on the basis of the U.S. Treasury obligation yield curve for such month, taking into account only that portion of such yield curve which is based on obligations maturing during the 5-year period commencing with such month. The term second segment rate means, with respect to any month, the single rate of interest which shall be determined by the Secretary for such month on the basis of the U.S. Treasury obligation yield curve for such month, taking into account only that portion of such yield curve which is based on obligations maturing during the 15-year period beginning at the end of the period described in clause (i). The term third segment rate means, with respect to any month, the single rate of interest which shall be determined by the Secretary for such month on the basis of the U.S. Treasury obligation yield curve for such month, taking into account only that portion of such yield curve which is based on obligations maturing during periods beginning after the period described in clause (ii). For purposes of this paragraph, the term U.S. Treasury obligation yield curve means, with respect to any month, a yield curve which shall be prescribed by the Secretary for such month and which reflects the average, for the 24-month period ending with the month preceding such month, of monthly yields on interest-bearing obligations of the United States. For purposes of this section— Except as provided in section 203, the terms State or local government employee pension benefit plan and plan mean any plan, fund, or program, other than a defined contribution plan (within the meaning of section 414(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), which was heretofore or is hereafter established or maintained, in whole or in part, by a State, a political subdivision of a State, or any agency or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision of a State, to the extent that by its express terms or as a result of surrounding circumstances such plan, fund, or program— provides retirement income to employees, or results in a deferral of income by employees for periods extending to the termination of covered employment or beyond, regardless of the method of calculating the contributions made to the plan, the method of calculating the benefits under the plan, or the method of distributing benefits from the plan. The term funding percentage for a plan year means the ratio (expressed as a percentage) which— the value of plan assets as of the end of the plan year, bears to the current liability of the plan for the plan year. The term current liability of a plan for a plan year means the present value of all benefits accrued or earned under the plan as of the end of the plan year. The term plan sponsor means, in connection with a State or local government employee pension benefit plan, the State, political subdivision of a State, or agency or instrumentality of a State or a political subdivision of a State which establishes or maintains the plan. The term contributing employer means any employer that contributes to or participates in a plan on behalf of its employees (including a plan sponsor that contributes to the plan). The term participant means, in connection with a State or local government employee pension benefit plan, an individual— who is an employee or former employee of a State, political subdivision of a State, or agency or instrumentality of a State or a political subdivision of a State which is the plan sponsor of such plan, and who is or may become eligible to receive a benefit of any type from such plan or whose beneficiaries may be eligible to receive any such benefit. The term beneficiary means a person designated by a participant, or by the terms of the plan, who is or may become entitled to a benefit thereunder. The term plan year means, in connection with a plan, the calendar or fiscal year on which the records of the plan are kept. The term State includes any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any possession or territory of the United States, including a possession described in section 7701(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The term fair market value has the meaning given such term under section 430(g)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (without regard to section 430(g)(3)(B) thereof). Any other term used in this section which is also used in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall have the same meaning as when used in such Code. The Secretary shall develop model reporting statements for purposes of subsections
(a)and (c). Plan sponsors of State or local government employee pension plans may elect, in such form and manner as shall be prescribed by the Secretary, to utilize the applicable model reporting statement for purposes of complying with requirements of such subsections. The Secretary shall create and maintain a public website, with searchable capabilities, for purposes of posting the information received by the Secretary pursuant to subsections
(a)and (c). Any such information received by the Secretary (including any updates to such information received by the Secretary) shall be posted on the website not later than 60 days after receipt and shall not be treated as return information for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.