Retirement Income Security for Employees Act

Retirement Income Security for Employees Act Title I: - Administration - Establishes within the Internal Revenue Service an Office of Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations. Authorizes to be appropriated to the Department of the Treasury for the purpose of carrying out all functions of the Office for each of the fiscal years 1974, 1975, and 1976, an amount equal to the sum of $35,000,000 and one-half of the collections from the taxes imposed under section 4910 of the Internal Revenue Code (relating to excise tax based on investment income).

Requires certain specified Federal, State, and private pension plans to be registered annually with the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transmit any statements, reports, or other information obtained by him under this section to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Title II: Participation, Vesting, Funding Certain Benefits - Sets forth minimum standards for participation, vesting, and funding of trusts created or organized in the United States to form a qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plan under section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code. Requires every employer to, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, maintain records with respect to each of his employees sufficient to determine the benefits due or which may become due to such employees. Provides a civil penalty for any person who fails to furnish information about, or to maintain, such records as required under this Act. Establishes an excise tax on the failure to meet the minimum standards of funding required for such plans.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make a study of the funding of government plans, which takes account of the minimum funding standards under the Act, and the taxing power of the governmental unit, and make recommendations as to whether it would be advisable to require such plans to comply with the funding requirements applicable to private pension plans, or some other funding standard, as recommended by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to file his report with the Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee by December 31, 1967.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to develop, in consultation with professional societies, business organizations, and other Federal agencies, recommendations for modifications of Federal procurement regulations to ensure, to the maximum possible extent, that professional, scientific, technical and other personnel employed under Federal contracts shall be protected against loss of their pensions resulting from job transfers or loss of employment.

Title III: Portability - Establishes a voluntary central portability fund for the use of employees who leave an employer with the vested retirement plan benefits. Allows an employee to receive a complete distribution from his former employer's qualified plan and recontribute this amount within 60 days of receipt to the qualified plan of a new employer, or the the central portability fund or an individual retirement account, without being taxed on the distribution. Directs the Social Security Administration to keep records of plans which an employee leaves with vested retirement benefits so that, upon retirement, he will know whom to consult to obtain his retirement benefits.

Title IV: Plan Termination Insurance - Establishes a governmental corporation, called the Pension benefit Guaranty Corporation within the Department of Labor, to provide plan termination insurance through administration of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Fund. States that the Corporation is to be directed by a board of directors consisting of the Secretaries of Labor, of the Treasury, and of Commerce, with the Secretary of Labor as chairman of the board. Makes provisions for the funding of such insurance program.

States that in order to be "qualified" for tax benefits under the Internal Revenue Code, defined benefit plans must provide plan termination insurance coverage for their participants through payment of excise tax premiums.

Limits coverage of a plan participant to the lesser of 50 percent of the participant's average monthly gross income during his highest paid five consecutive year period as a plan participant or $750 monthly (adjusted for changes in the Social Security contributions and benefits base).

Sets forth provisions under which the Corporation may institute proceedings to terminate a plan established under this Act.

Provides that employers are liable to the extent of 30 percent of their net worth for the Corporation's payments upon terminations of their plans, but employers may elect to avoid this liability by paying an additional premium in an amount to be determined, from time to time, by the Corporation.

Title V: Disclosure and Fiduciary Standards - States that the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act is amended to require that additional information be provided in the plan descriptions and annual reports filed with the Labor Department. Requires annual reports for private funded employee benefit plans of any size maintained by an employer or employee organization affecting interstate commerce. Extends such coverage to most tax exempt organizations.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make appropriate investigations when he believes it necessary in order to determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate any provision of this Act or the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act. States that the contents of plan descriptions and annual reports filed with the Secretary pursuant to this Act shall be public information and the Secretary may publish any such information and data as he may deem appropriate.

Establishes an Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to advise the Secretary with respect to the carrying out of his functions under this Act.

Title VI: Enforcement - Vests jurisdiction in the United States Tax Court to hear controversies and to enter judgments declaring whether a plan established by an employer for his employees is a qualified plan under this Act.

Establishes an arbitration procedure to be provided in each employee benefit plan, for the settlement of claims under the plans. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations for the type of arbitration provisions to be included in such plans.

Sets forth procedures for the bringing of Civil Actions against the administrator of any such plan for breach of fiduciary obligations.

Title VII: Retirement Savings, Limitation on Proprietary employee contributions, Taxation of certain Lump-Sum Distributions - States that any individual who was not covered during a year as an active participant in a qualified retirement plan, or a government plan (whether or not qualified), or a section annuity plan, is to be permitted a deduction of $1,000 a year from earned income, or (if greater) 15 percent of earned income up to $1,500, for contributions to a personal retirement account. Provides that the deduction in this case is to be from gross income, and as a result can be taken even by those taxpayers who also take the standard deduction.

States that in the case of a married couple, each spouse may establish his or her separate retirement savings account and the $1,000 ( or 15 percent-$1,500) limitation is to be applied separately to the earned income of each spouse.

Provides that if an individual wishes to establish an individual retirement account, the trustee of the account is required to maintain, under the provisions of a written governing instrument, a separate accounting of the individual's contributions, the earnings on them, and the distributions made either to the individual involved or to his beneficiaries.

Establishes an excise tax on individual retirement accounts to be imposed for taxable years beginning after the taxable year in which the individual who established such account attains the age of 70 1/2 years.

Makes provisions for retirement plans established by proprietary employees.