On June 25, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3962, the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (the Act), a stand-alone measure to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians and to provide short-term funding relief to both single- and multi-employer pension plans. The Act contains several provisions to help multiemployer pension funds hit hard by 2008-2009 investment losses. However, it does not contain the preferred measures sought by Â鶹ÊÓƵand its coalition partners and passed by the House earlier this year.Â
Key multiemployer pension funding adjustments permitted by H.R. 3962 include:
- Expanded 30-year amortization of net investment losses incurred in either or both of the first two plan years ending after August 31, 2008;
- Expanded 10-year smoothing of investment losses incurred in either or both of the first two plan years ending after August 31, 2008; and
- Expanded asset smoothing corridor to 130 percent for either or both of the first two plan years ending after August 31, 2008.