House Passes Pension Legislation

On December 10, 2008, the House passed the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Bill of 2008 (HR 7327). The legislation includes provisions suspending the required minimum distribution excise tax for 2009, providing temporary funding relief for multi-employer plans, and allowing the rollover of amounts received in an airline carrier bankruptcy to a Roth IRA. The legislation also includes a number of pension-related technical corrections to prior pension legislation. Included as revenue raisers are increases in the failure to file penalties for partnerships and S Corporations.

The Senate is expected to take up its version of the legislation this week. It is unclear whether it will modify its version to match the House version. Passing different versions of the bill may prevent the legislation from being enacted this year.