To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify the obligation of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to reclaim any overpayment of special financial assistance payment under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including amounts paid on behalf of a deceased participant or beneficiary, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · January 30, 2024
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The GHOST Act (Ghost Handouts and Overpayments Stop Today Act) requires the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to identify and recover overpayments of special financial assistance that were distributed to multiemployer pension plans under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The bill specifically targets situations where pension payments were made on behalf of deceased participants or beneficiaries, which it treats as improper overpayments that must be returned. Within six months of the bill's enactment, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation must audit pension plan records against Social Security Administration death records to identify any assistance paid to deceased individuals, and affected pension plans have 30 days to repay identified overpayments plus interest. The legislation also requires the corporation to follow fraud detection procedures recommended by its Inspector General and gives pension plans an opportunity for a hearing to dispute findings before repayment is required. Any recovered funds must be transferred back to the federal Treasury's general fund.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.