The House of Representatives this afternoon approved the Pension Protection Act after attempts by House Democrats to send the legislation back to committee failed. The vote was 294-132. The bill now must be reconciled with a bill already passed by the Senate last month.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Bill Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, would create a new benchmark for pension plans to value their liabilities; raise insurance premiums that corporations pay the PBGC; reiterate that new conversions of traditional pension plans to hybrid cash balance pension plans do not discriminate against older workers; and make it easier for employers to automatically enroll their workers in defined contribution retirement plans.
(updated with correction)
