HR1357-119

What This Bill Does

The Susan Muffley Act changes benefit calculations for eligible participants and beneficiaries in specified terminated single-employer pension plans. For covered plans, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation must treat the guaranteed monthly benefit as the full vested plan benefit rather than a lower PBGC guarantee amount. The bill preserves existing asset-allocation and recovery rules, but it requires PBGC to recalculate benefits already determined before enactment and adjust future payments. The practical beneficiaries are retirees and surviving beneficiaries whose pensions were cut when their plans terminated.

Who Benefits and How

Eligible pension participants benefit because their PBGC-guaranteed monthly benefit must equal the full vested plan benefit. Surviving beneficiaries benefit because the recalculation applies to beneficiary payments under covered plans. Retiree advocacy organizations benefit from a statutory route to restore pension amounts for affected plan participants. Households relying on terminated-plan pensions benefit from higher and more predictable retirement income.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation must recalculate past determinations and adjust monthly payments for eligible covered-plan participants. Federal pension insurance funds bear higher payment obligations for restored benefits. Plan termination administrators must coordinate corrected benefit information with PBGC. Federal taxpayers may face indirect fiscal exposure if PBGC resources are insufficient for the higher payments.

Key Provisions

• Requires PBGC guaranteed benefits to equal the full vested plan benefit for covered plans.
• Preserves existing ERISA asset-allocation and recovery rules while changing the benefit floor.
• Directs recalculation of benefit amounts determined before enactment.
• Provides higher future pension payments for eligible participants and beneficiaries in specified terminated plans.