Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/626

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118 STAT. 596 PUBLIC LAW 108–218—APR. 10, 2004 Public Law 108–218 108th Congress An Act To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to temporarily replace the 30 year Treasury rate with a rate based on long term corporate bonds for certain pension plan funding requirements and other provisions, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004’’. TITLE I—PENSION FUNDING SEC. 101. TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT OF 30 YEAR TREASURY RATE. (a) EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.— (1) DETERMINATION OF PERMISSIBLE RANGE.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Clause (ii) of section 302(b)(5)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amended by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause (III) and by inserting after subclause (I) the following new subclause: ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR YEARS 2004 AND 2005.— In the case of plan years beginning after December 31, 2003, and before January 1, 2006, the term ‘permis sible range’ means a rate of interest which is not above, and not more than 10 percent below, the weighted average of the rates of interest on amounts invested conservatively in long term investment grade corporate bonds during the 4 year period ending on the last day before the beginning of the plan year. Such rates shall be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of 2 or more indices that are selected periodically by the Secretary of the Treasury and that are in the top 3 quality levels avail able. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make the permissible range, and the indices and methodology used to determine the average rate, publicly avail able.’’. (B) SECRETARIAL AUTHORITY.—Subclause (III) of section 302(b)(5)(B)(ii) of such Act, as redesignated by subpara graph (A), is amended— (i) by inserting ‘‘or (II)’’ after ‘‘subclause (I)’’ the first place it appears, and Public information. 29 USC 1082. Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004. 29 USC 1001 note. Apr. 10, 2004 [H.R. 3108]