Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Ghost Handouts and Overpayments Stop Today Act” or the “GHOST Act”.
Ghost Handouts and Overpayments Stop Today Act
A BILL
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.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has the authority and responsibility to recover taxpayer funded benefits disbursed by the corporation in error, including any amount disbursed to fund benefits for participants or beneficiaries who are deceased as of the date of the disbursement.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is obligated to ensure, through strong accounting processes and controls and using the resources available (and should follow procedures recommended by the Office of the Inspector General and verify census data for multiemployer plans that will receive or have received special financial assistance), that taxpayer money is not wasted.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is obligated to audit, investigate, and resolve any discrepancies in census data for all special financial assistance plans, including through matching data for participants and beneficiaries to data that resides in the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.
Multiemployer plans are obligated to remit to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and the corporation is obligated to take all steps necessary to ensure full recovery of, the amount of any special financial assistance payment made to a multiemployer plan as a result of an error and the amount of any special financial assistance payment attributable to any deceased participants or beneficiaries, and the associated earnings thereon.
Sec. 3 Recovery of overpayments
In general— Section 4262 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(o) Recovery
“(1) In general—If the corporation makes a determination that an overpayment of special financial assistance, including an overpayment of special financial assistance described in paragraph (2)(A), was made under this section, the applicable multiemployer plan (or a successor plan) shall pay, not later than 30 days after the date of such determination, to the corporation an amount equal to the total amount of overpayment of special financial assistance to the applicable multiemployer plan, adjusted by the corporation for interest (using the interest rate used in determining the amount of special financial assistance under subsection (e)(2)) for the period beginning on the date on which the special financial assistance was provided to such plan and ending on the date that such plan makes the payment required under this paragraph.
“(2) Recovery in case of deceased participant or beneficiary
“(A) Determination—Not later than 45 days after the later of the date on which an audit conducted under subparagraph (B) is complete or the date on which the hearing described in subparagraph (C) occurs, the corporation shall make a determination of the total amount of special financial assistance paid to the applicable multiemployer plan on behalf of participants or beneficiaries determined to be deceased, which shall be deemed an overpayment of special financial assistance.
“(B) Audit
“(i) In general—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this subsection or, in the case of an eligible multiemployer plan to which special financial assistance is provided under this section after the date of enactment of this subsection, 6 months after the date on which such assistance is provided, the corporation shall audit the census data maintained by an eligible multiemployer plan to which such assistance was provided to determine—
“(I) whether any of such assistance was provided on behalf of a participant or beneficiary who was deceased as of the date such assistance was provided; and
“(II) the total amount of special financial assistance paid to such plan on behalf of participants or beneficiaries described in subclause (I).
“(ii) Process—In conducting an audit under clause (i), the corporation shall—
“(I) follow a process recommended by the Office of the Inspector General of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, including the recommendations in the white paper issued by such Office entitled “Detecting Fraud and Improper Payments Involving Deceased Participants” and dated March 9, 2018; and
“(II) match census data with the information on records of death maintained by the Social Security Administration under section 205(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)).
“(iii) Review—The Office of the Inspector General of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation shall review an audit conducted under clause (i) prior to such audit being provided to an eligible multiemployer plan under paragraph (C).
“(C) Hearing
“(i) Notice—Not later than 10 days after the completion of an audit under subparagraph (B), the corporation shall provide to the eligible multiemployer plan (or a successor plan) the following information:
“(I) A list of participants or beneficiaries on behalf of whom assistance was provided as described in subparagraph (B)(i)(I).
“(II) The total amount of financial assistance paid as described in subparagraph (B)(i)(II).
“(ii) Hearing—The corporation shall provide an eligible employer plan with the opportunity for a hearing—
“(I) which shall, unless extenuating circumstances (as determined by the corporation) exist, occur not later than 60 days after the information described in clause (i) is provided to the plan; and
“(II) at which such plan may demonstrate that a participant or beneficiary is alive.
“(3) Transfer to general fund—Any amount paid under paragraph (1), or any other payment that represents a voluntary return of a special financial assistance payment, shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.
“(p) Payments from applicable multiemployer plans—The corporation shall accept any payment (including a payment required under subsection (o)(1)) made to such corporation by an eligible multiemployer plan.”
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to overpayments of special financial assistance under section 4262 of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (29 U.S.C. 1104) occurring before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.