29 U.S.C. § 1001B
Section 1001b · Findings and declaration of policy
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 20 court decisions — leading case Landry v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n International AFL-CIO (1990)
Most recently applied in 78 F. Supp. 3d 431 - Royal Oak Enterprises, LLC v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (January 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Congress finds that—
(1) single-employer defined benefit pension plans have a substantial impact on interstate commerce and are affected with a national interest;
(2) the continued well-being and retirement income security of millions of workers, retirees, and their dependents are directly affected by such plans;
(3) the existence of a sound termination insurance system is fundamental to the retirement income security of participants and beneficiaries of such plans; and
(4) the current termination insurance system in some instances encourages employers to terminate pension plans, evade their obligations to pay benefits, and shift unfunded pension liabilities onto the termination insurance system and the other premium-payers.
The Congress further finds that modification of the current termination insurance system and an increase in the insurance premium for single-employer defined benefit pension plans—
(1) is desirable to increase the likelihood that full benefits will be paid to participants and beneficiaries of such plans;
(2) is desirable to provide for the transfer of liabilities to the termination insurance system only in cases of severe hardship;
(3) is necessary to maintain the premium costs of such system at a reasonable level; and
(4) is necessary to finance properly current funding deficiencies and future obligations of the single-employer pension plan termination insurance system.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of this title—
(1) to foster and facilitate interstate commerce;
(2) to encourage the maintenance and growth of single-employer defined benefit pension plans;
(3) to increase the likelihood that participants and beneficiaries under single-employer defined benefit pension plans will receive their full benefits;
(4) to provide for the transfer of unfunded pension liabilities onto the single-employer pension plan termination insurance system only in cases of severe hardship;
(5) to maintain the premium costs of such system at a reasonable level; and
(6) to assure the prudent financing of current funding deficiencies and future obligations of the single-employer pension plan termination insurance system by increasing termination insurance premiums.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This title, referred to in subsec. (c), is title XI of Pub. L. 99–272, Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 237, known as the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1986. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1986 Amendment note set out under section 1001 of this title and Tables.
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1986, and not as part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 which comprises this chapter.
Effective Date
Section effective Jan. 1, 1986, with certain exceptions, see section 11019 of Pub. L. 99–272, set out as an Effective Date of 1986 Amendment note under section 1341 of this title.