PROCEDURES TO FACILITATE DISTRIBUTION OF TERMINATION BENEFITS.

SEC. 778. PROCEDURES TO FACILITATE DISTRIBUTION OF TERMINATION BENEFITS. (a) Remedies for Noncompliance With Requirements for Standard Termination.— (1) Notice of noncompliance.— Section 4041(b)(2)(C)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1341(b)(2)(C)(i)) is amended— (A) by striking subclause (I) and inserting the following new subclause: “(I) it determines, based on the notice sent under paragraph (2)(A) of subsection (b), that there is reason to believe that the plan is not sufficient for benefit liabilities,”; (B) by striking the period at the end of subclause (II) and inserting “, or”; and (C) by adding at the end the following new subclause: “(III) it determines that any other requirement of subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph or of subsection (a)(2) has not been met, unless it further determines that the issuance of such notice would be inconsistent with the interests of participants and beneficiaries.” (2) Effective date.—The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to any plan termination under section 4041(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with respect to which the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has not, as of the date of enactment of this Act, issued a notice of noncompliance that has become final, or otherwise issued a final determination that the plan termination is nullified. 108 STAT. 5050 (b) Distress Termination Criteria for Banking Institutions.— (1) Clarification of distress criterion.—Subclause (I) of section 4041(c)(2)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by inserting after “under any similar” the following: “Federal law or”. (2) Effective date.—The amendment made by this subsection shall be effective as if included in the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1986.