X-Nico

6 unusual facts about Pension Protection Act of 2006


Cash balance plan

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed into law in August 2006 and prospectively made the flat salary credit type plans immune from age discrimination.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

Before the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), a defined benefit plan maintained a "funding standard account", which was charged annually for the cost of benefits earned during the year and credited for employer contributions.

Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, employer contributions made after 2006 to a defined contribution plan must become vested at 100% after three years or under a 2nd-6th year gradual-vesting schedule (20% per year beginning with the second year of service, i.e. 100% after six years).

Pension Protection Act of 2006

This legislation requires companies who have underfunded their pension plans to pay higher premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and extends the requirement of providing extra funding to the pension systems of companies that terminate their pension plans.

It also requires companies to analyze their pension plans' obligations more accurately, closes loopholes that previously allowed some companies to underfund their plans by skipping payments, and raises the cap on the amount employers are allowed to invest in their own plans.

United States policy responses to the Great Recession

The US Pension Protection Act of 2006 included a provision which changed the definition of Qualified Default Investments (QDI) for retirement plans from stable value investments, money market funds, and cash investments to investments which expose an individual to appropriate levels of stock and bond risk based on the years left to retirement.


Donor advised fund

On August 17, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4) into law, which includes a number of changes to the regulatory framework for donor-advised funds, and follows both House and Senate passage of H.R. 4.


see also