The recently enacted coronavirus economic relief package, the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (“ARPA”), contains the most significant changes in fifteen years to the funding rules of single employer pension plans. These changes have largely has fallen under the radar of the national press – an outcome disappointing perhaps only to ERISA nerds. The little press addressing the pension provisions of ARPA mostly has been focused on the financial relief the legislation provides to troubled multiemployer pension plans — which, as we discuss elsewhere, have major implications for employers that participate, or are considering whether to participate, in a multiemployer plan.
Nevertheless, the significant changes to the single-employer plan funding rules warrant the attention of any employer that sponsors a single-employer defined benefit plan. While the new law may significantly reduce the amount of contributions to pension plans that are required by law, reducing contributions may have other consequences that employers may wish to weigh.Continue Reading To Fund or Not To Fund: Considerations for Employers Impacted by Recent Changes to Pension Plan Funding Rules