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 ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and 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.