This is an alternate version of the enhanced Erisa 40 Timeline .
The Revenue Acts of 1921 and 1926
11/23/1921
Championed by Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, the Revenue Acts of 1921 and 1926 were designed to lift the country out of the financial mire caused by World War I. The laws addressed an enduring problem: balancing the nation's obligations with the demand for lowering taxes. 1921 saw corporate taxes increased from 10 to 12.5 percent; in 1926 corporate tax rates were raised to 13.5 percent while personal income taxes were reduced.
The Revenue Act of 1942
10/21/1942
In 1939 only about five percent of American workers paid income tax. The United States' involvement in World War II changed that figure. The demands of war production put almost every American back to work, but the war's cost still exceeded tax revenue. President Roosevelt's Victory Tax (as the Revenue Act of 1942 came to be known) levied progressive taxes on nearly 75 percent of American workers. To ease workers' burden of paying a large sum once a year, and to create a regular flow of revenue into the U.S. Treasury, the government required employers to withhold money from employees' paychecks.For a deeper look into the law, visit /p>
Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act (WPPDA)
8/28/1958
The Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act (WPPDA) made the Department of Labor the chief regulator of employee benefits. A precursor to the Employee Retirement Income Secuirty Act, the law mandates that plan sponsors file plan descriptions and annual financial reports with the government. They also must make these materials available to plan participants and beneficiaries. This legislation was intended to provide employees with enough information to monitor their plans and prevent mismanagement and abuse of plan funds.
President's Committee on Corporate Pension Plans
5/15/1961
It is said that President John F. Kennedy created the President's Committee on Corporate Pension Plans '- yet another ERISA forerunner '- because he realized how privileged he was to have superior health insurance while dealing with Addison's disease, a chronic adrenal insufficiency. You can read the report issued by the Committee online at http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-075-012.aspx
WPPDA Ammendment
03/10/1962
The WPPDA was amended in 1962, giving the U.S. Department of Labor interpretative and investigatory powers.Read the amendment here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-76/pdf/STATUTE-76-Pg43.pdf
Studebaker Plant Closes
12/9/1963
The pension reform movement gained momentum when the automaker Studebaker, closed its South Bend, Indiana, assembly plant in 1963. Its pension plan was so poorly funded that Studebaker could not pay benefits to all of its employees. 3,600 workers who had reached the retirement age of 60 received full pension benefits, The remaining 7,000 workers received no more than 15 percent of their pension's value, with nearly 3,000 of those workers receiving nothing at all.
The Grandfather of ERISA
05/21/1967
Considered by many to be the grandfather of ERISA, Senator Jacob K. Javits proposes legislation in 1967 that addresses the funding, vesting, reporting, and disclosure issues identified by the JFK Presidential Committee.
NBC broadcasts "Pensions: The Broken Promise"
09/12/1972
This Peabody award-winning 1972 NBC News documentary by Edwin Newmann investigates abuses in the private pension system. It tells the stories of people who say their employers unfairly deprived them of their pensions\, bringing national attention to this increasingly devastating issue.
President Ford signs the Employee Retirement Income Security Act into law on Labor Day
09/02/1974
ERISA is the culmination of a long line of legislation concerned with the labor and tax aspects of employee benefit plans. ERISA sets the minimum standards for retirement, health and other welfare benefits, today enforced by the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The administration of ERISA is divided among the U.S. Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
The Retirement Equity Act of 1984
8/23/1984
The Retirement Equity Act amends ERISA in response to public concerns that working women did not receive their fair share of private pension benefits. Survivorship benefits, vesting and domestic relations orders are addressed.
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Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
8/1/1985
Signed by President Reagan on April 7, 1986, COBRA establishes rules for how and when continuation of health coverage must be offered and provided, how employees and their families may elect continuation coverage, and what circumstances justify terminating continuation coverage. Notably, it provides for the continuation of health care coverage for employees and their beneficiaries for a limited period of time if certain life events (like loss of employment or death of a covered employee) would otherwise result in a reduction in benefits. Read the bill in its entirety here: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/99/hr3128.
Omnibus Budget Act of 1986
4/07/1986
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 ends the practive of employers limiting the ability of older workers who are new hires from participating in retirmement plans. It also makes it illegal to freeze benefits for participants over age 65. Read an overview of the law: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/99/hr5300
Federal Employees' Retirement System Act
6/06/1986
Signed into law by President Reagan, the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act applies to employees hired after December 31, 1983. This is a departure from the Civil Service system and requires employees to participate in Social Security. It also permits FERS participants to contribute up to 10 percent of their earnings, on a tax-deferred basis, to a thrift savings plan - similar to a 4011(k) - with partial matching by the Government.
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989
12/19/1989
Affecting both Federal and state unemployment compensation programs, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 excludes either employer-paid educational or legal expenses from being classified as "wages." Also excluded are certain Medicare refunds and money paid for dependent care assistance. Read the bill online here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c101:h.r.3299.pp
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
8/21/1996
HIPAA amends ERISA by limiting the restrictions that a group health plan can place on benefits for pre-existing conditions. It also attempts to limit fraud and abuse within the health care system by mandating nationwide standards for electronic health care transations. An overview of HIPAA may be found here: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/
Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act of 1996
9/26/1996
This act requires insurance plans to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay following childbirth.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
6/25/1997
This program provides free or low-cost health coverage for more than 7 million children up to age 19. The legislation provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children and was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. Learn more about CHIP here: http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Chil ....
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998
10/21/1998
Also known as Janet's Law, this act protects patients who elect breast reconstruction after a mastectomy by mandating coverage for surgery and establishing a federal minimum requirement for post-operative stays in the hospital.
Pension Protection Act
8/17/2006
PPA requires companies who have underfunded their pension plans to pay higher premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and extends this requirement to companies that terminate their pension plans. The law also raises the cap on the amount employers are allowed to invest in their own plans.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
5/21/2008
GINA prohibits group health plans and health insurers from denying coverage to a healthy individual or charging that person higher premiums based solely on a genetic predisposition to developing a disease in the future. Watch President Bush sign GINA into law: http://www.c-span.org/video/?205576-1/genetic-information-nondiscriminat ....
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA)
2/04/2009
CHIPRA Provides states with significant new funding, programmatic options and incentives for covering children through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
3/23/2010
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. The law's many provisions include the creation of public healthcare marketplaces, and requirements that insurance companies cover all participants at the same rate regardless of pre-existing conditions or gender. Read about what the ACA means for you here: http://www.healthcare.gov .