Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan

This bill directs the Secretary of Labor to issue a regulation within 180 days allowing pension plan administrators to voluntarily transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to state unclaimed property programs through a national clearinghouse. It sets conditions for transfers, provides legal relief for fiduciaries, requires reporting, and establishes an information-sharing mechanism.

Sec. 2, Unclaimed retirement distributions regulation: The Secretary of Labor must issue a regulation allowing pension plan administrators to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to state unclaimed property programs via a national clearinghouse. Before transferring distributions of $50 or more, fiduciaries must search for updated contact information and send a notice to the participant or beneficiary explaining the pending transfer and how to prevent it. If no updated contact is found, notice is not required.

Sec. 2, Plan or fiduciary relief: Fiduciaries who meet the requirements are deemed to have satisfied ERISA sections 404(a) and 406 when making transfers to state unclaimed property programs.

Sec. 2, Information sharing mechanism: The Secretary must provide plan administrators a way to verify whether a transferred distribution has been claimed by a participant or beneficiary.

Sec. 2, Report required: Plan fiduciaries must submit reports every 90 days to the Secretary detailing each unclaimed distribution transfer (including participant name, SSN, date of birth, last known address, amount, state, and plan name) and identifying claimed transfers. These reports are not subject to public disclosure. The Secretary must include this information in the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database.

Sec. 2, Participant data: A pension plan or fiduciary is not liable for transmitting participant data to a state unclaimed property program through a national clearinghouse if they exercise reasonable care.

Sec. 2, Treatment of transfer for purposes of qualified trust rules: A trust forming part of a pension plan will not fail to be a qualified trust under Internal Revenue Code section 401 solely because of a transfer meeting the bill's requirements.

Sec. 2, Congressional report: Within 24 months of the regulation's promulgation, the Secretary must report to Congress on its progress, effectiveness, and recommendations for improvement.

Sec. 2, Definitions: Key terms are defined, including 'contact information', 'informational database', 'outside source', 'state unclaimed property program', and 'unclaimed retirement distribution'. Unclaimed retirement distribution means, for terminating plans, distributions not cashed within 90 days; for other plans, unpaid obligations under $5,000 not claimed for 12 months. The Secretary may increase the $5,000 limit.