Sec. 4. Treatment of pension and employee benefit plans maintained by Tribal Governments
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Section 72(t)(10)(B)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining qualified public safety employee) is amended by— striking or political subdivision of a State and inserting , political subdivision of a State, or Indian tribal government ; and striking such State or political subdivision and inserting such State, political subdivision, or Indian tribal government . The last sentence of section 414(d) of such Code (defining governmental plan) is amended to read as follows:
The term . governmental plan includes a plan established or maintained for its employees by an Indian tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing. Section 3121(v)(3) of such Code (defining governmental deferred compensation plan) is amended by inserting by an Indian tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing, after political subdivision thereof, .
Section 457 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: Plans established before the date of enactment of this subsection and maintained by an Indian tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing, in compliance with subsection
(b)shall be treated as if established by an eligible employer under subsection (e)(1)(A). A plan described in the preceding sentence may, at the election of the employer, continue to be maintained without regard to the preceding sentence or be amended if necessary to be maintained in compliance with this section. . Section 401(k)(15)(C) of such Code is amended to read as follows: The provisions of paragraph (2)(D)(ii) shall not apply to— employees described in section 410(b)(3), and a governmental plan. . An Indian tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, and an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing, shall not be subject to a Federal agency enforcement action based solely on the amendments made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 with respect to any period prior to the publication of regulations with respect to such amendments. For purposes of this subsection, the term Indian tribal government has the meaning given such term in section 7701(a)(40) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) and the Secretary of Labor shall, in consultation with the Tribal Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 3 of the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014 and Indian tribal governments and relevant governmental agencies, shall issue such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. Chapter 77 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following: A Tribal pension plan shall be subject to the uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans. Any person who is a fiduciary with respect to a Tribal pension plan who breaches any of the responsibilities, obligations, or duties imposed upon fiduciaries by the uniform protection and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans, shall be personally liable to make good to such plan any losses to the plan resulting from each such breach, and to restore to such plan any profits of such fiduciary which have been made through use of assets of the plan by the fiduciary, and shall be subject to such other equitable or remedial relief as the court may deem appropriate, including removal of such fiduciary. No fiduciary shall be liable with respect to a breach of fiduciary duty under this section if such breach was committed before the fiduciary became a fiduciary or after the fiduciary ceased to be a fiduciary. It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline, or discriminate against a participant or beneficiary for exercising any right to which the participant or beneficiary is entitled under the provisions of a Tribal pension plan or under the uniform protection and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans, or for the purpose of interfering with the attainment of any right to which such participant or beneficiary may become entitled under such plan or the uniform protection and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans. Contributions or benefits provided under a Tribal pension plan shall not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees (within the meaning of section 414(q)). For purposes of this section— The term Tribal pension plan means any qualified employer retirement plan (as defined in section 72(d)(1)(G)) which— is a governmental plan (as defined in section 414(d)), has at least 500 active participants, and is established or maintained for the employees of an Indian tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing. The term uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans means that, in connection with a fiduciary’s duties with respect to a Tribal pension plan, the fiduciary shall discharge those duties— solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries, for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries, to defray reasonable expenses of administering the plan, with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims, by diversifying the investments of the plan so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so, and in accordance with the documents and instruments governing the plan insofar as such documents and instruments are consistent with the requirements of the preceding subparagraphs. In the case of a Tribal pension plan which provides for individual accounts and permits a participant or beneficiary to exercise control over the assets in their account, if a participant or beneficiary exercises control over the assets in their account— such participant or beneficiary shall not be deemed to be a fiduciary by reason of such exercise, and no person who is otherwise a fiduciary shall be liable under this section for any loss, or by reason of any breach, which results from such participant’s or beneficiary’s exercise of control. The plan administrator for any Tribal pension plan shall cause to be furnished to each participant covered under the plan a summary plan description. The summary plan description and any notice of material modifications shall be provided or made available to participants within a reasonable period following the effective date of a participant’s coverage or the effective date of material changes to the plan, as applicable. The summary plan description shall— be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant, be sufficiently accurate and comprehensive to reasonably apprise such participants and beneficiaries of their rights and obligations under the plan, and specify any material modification in the terms to the plan made after the previous summary plan description. In the case of a Tribal pension plan, a civil action may be brought— by a participant or beneficiary to recover benefits due under the terms of the plan, to enforce rights under the terms of the plan, or to clarify rights to future benefits under the terms of the plan, by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary for relief for any loss for which a fiduciary is personally liable under this section, and by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary— to enjoin any act or practice which violates any provision of the uniform protection and protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans, or to obtain other appropriate equitable relief— to redress such violations, or to enforce any provisions of the uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans or the terms of the plan. A Tribal pension plan may sue or be sued under this section as an entity. Service of summons, subpoena, or other legal process of a court upon a trustee or an administrator of a Tribal pension plan in such capacity shall constitute service upon the Tribal pension plan. Any money judgment under this section against a Tribal pension plan shall be enforceable only against the plan as an entity and shall not be enforceable against any other person or entity. Enforcement actions related to the uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans shall be in the applicable Tribal court unless the Indian tribal government has opted to limit Tribal court jurisdiction for such actions in favor of Federal court enforcement. In the absence of an established Tribal court, or for Indian tribal governments who have elected to limit their Tribal court’s jurisdiction to exclude claims for enforcing the uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans, a participant or beneficiary may seek enforcement in the district court of the United States for the district where the plan has its principal office, or in the United States District for the District of Columbia. When applicable, the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction without respect to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties. The court, in its discretion, may allow an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary who prevails in an action to enforce the uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans. Nothing in this section shall preempt or otherwise prevent an Indian Tribe from adopting additional laws and protections not inconsistent with this section. The Secretary, in consultation with the Tribal Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 3 of the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014 and Indian tribal governments and relevant governmental agencies, shall issue such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, including regulations or guidance with respect to the enforcement of such standards. . The table of sections for chapter 77 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item: Sec. 7531. Uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans. . The last sentence of section 3(32) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1002(32) ) is amended to read as follows: The term . governmental plan includes a plan established or maintained for its employees by an Indian tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing. The amendments made by this section shall apply to years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall, in consultation with the Tribal Advisory Committee established under section 3 of the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014 ( 26 U.S.C. 139E note), and in consultation with Indian tribal governments, develop guidance on the transition of plans to meet requirements added or changed by the amendments made by this section, including publication of transition relief if appropriate. The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) is authorized to extend deadlines imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reflect any such transition relief (and to coordinate such transition relief with relevant governmental agencies) as well as time for plan sponsors to adopt amendments and implement required changes.
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- 26 USC 139E
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Sec. 4
Treatment of pension and employee benefit plans maintained by Tribal Governments
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