House Passes Pension Protection Act Technical Corrections Bill

March 17, 2008

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Pension Protection Act Technical Corrections Bill, H.R. 3361, which provides provisional clarifications to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. A companion bill, S.1974, passed the Senate in December 2007.

The amended version of the bill included several provisions relevant to public sector plans. For example, the bill would clarify that the public safety retiree medical provision applies to self-insured health insurance plans, and contained a provision making clear that the non-spousal rollover will be a mandatory plan feature for private and public plans for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2008.

The bill also clarifies that distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans, tax-sheltered annuities, and governmental Section 457 plans are allowed to be rolled over directly into Roth IRA accounts. H.R.3361 would also provide that a rollover from a Roth-designated account in a tax-qualified retirement plan or tax-sheltered annuity (Section 402) to a Roth IRA is not subject to the gross income inclusion and adjusted gross income conditions.

When Congress returns from the two-week recess, the Senate will have to agree on the House-passed language before sending a final version to the President.

For more information about the Technical Corrections to the Pension Protection Act read ICMA-RC's Pension Protection Act coverage.