Will There Be SAFE Passage for a Grab-Bag of ERISA Changes?

Abstract

In July 2013, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Secure Annuities for Employee Retirement Act of 2013 (the "Act"), or the SAFE Act. The introduction of the Act attracted a modicum of publicity in light of the provisions in Title I of the Act that attempt to address the troubled state of government pension plans. Flying more under the radar were the provisions in Title II of the Act, which include a fairly extensive grab-bag of miscellaneous changes. Sen. Hatch has indicated that the Act will be re-proposed. With his ascension to the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, several of the Act's less politically-charged provisions may well be poised to become law. The authors believe it is now SAFE to outline the proposals included in Title II of the Act, as previously introduced.