On July 28, legislators negotiating over the pension overhaul legislation said they have reached a final compromise on the bill (H.R. 2830) after months of deliberation and several missed deadlines.

The House quickly passed the pension overhaul legislation by a 279-131 margin before beginning its August recess on July 29. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill before August 4. There is still some contention over the bill in the Senate due to tax break extensions that were dropped from the bill the House passed. The Senate now needs to decide whether to pass the pension bill as it is now or amend it to include the tax break extensions. If the Senate votes to amend the bill, the House will have to come back to pass the amended bill before it can be sent to the President.

The “H.E.L.P.S. Retirees Act” provision was amended and included in the final pension compromise passed by the House, under Title VIII, Section 845. If enacted, this legislation would allow retired public safety officers to use up to $3,000 (under the original bill it was $5,000) annually from their pension funds, including defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans, to pay for qualified health insurance premiums without taxing these distributions.

The final compromise bill also includes language which waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax on certain distributions of pension plans for public safety officers (Title VIII, Sec. 827).

NAPO thanks Congressman Chocola and his staff for all of their hard work to keep this provision in the conference report. NAPO has been a supporter of the “H.E.L.P.S. Retirees Act” since the beginning and we are looking forward to seeing it signed into law. We will keep you updated on the final passage of the legislation.

From Andrea Mournighand, the Legislative Assistant to the National Association of Police Organization, Washington, D.C.

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