29 U.S.C. § 1161 — Plans must provide continuation coverage

Page 557 TITLE 29—LABOR § 1161 date of the enactment of this subsection, the ad- ministrator of a plan to which the vesting stand- ards of section 1053 of this title apply shall sub- mit to the Secretary, at such time and in such form and manner as is prescribed in regula- tions— (1) the information described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 6057(b) of title 26; (2) the information described in subpara- graphs (A) and (B) of section 6057(a)(2) of title 26; (3) the name and taxpayer identifying num- ber of each participant or former participant in the plan— (A) who, during the current plan year or any previous plan year, was reported under section 6057(a)(2)(C) of title 26, and with re- spect to whom the benefits described in clause (ii) thereof were fully paid during the plan year; (B) with respect to whom any amount was distributed under section 401(a)(31)(B) of title 26 during the plan year; or (C) with respect to whom a deferred annu- ity contract was distributed during the plan year; and (4) in the case of a participant or former par- ticipant to whom paragraph (3) applies— (A) in the case of a participant described in subparagraph (B) thereof, the name and address of the designated trustee or issuer described in section 401(a)(31)(B)(i) of title 26 and the account number of the individual re- tirement plan to which the amount was dis- tributed; and (B) in the case of a participant described in subparagraph (C) thereof, the name and ad- dress of the issuer of such annuity contract and the contract or certificate number. (f) Use of information collected The Secretary— (1) may use or disclose information collected under this section only for the purpose de- scribed in subsection (a)(1)(B), and (2) may disclose such information only to such employees of the Department of Labor whose official duties relate to the purpose de- scribed in such subsection. (g) Program integrity audit On an annual basis for each of the first 5 years beginning one year after the establishment of the database in subsection (a)(1) and every 5 years thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Labor shall— (1) conduct an audit of the administration of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found; and (2) submit a report on such audit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives. (Pub. L. 93–406, title I, § 523, as added Pub. L. 117–328, div. T, title III, § 303(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5339.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Education and Labor of House of Rep- resentatives changed to Committee on Education and the Workforce of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. PART 6—CONTINUATION COVERAGE AND ADDI- TIONAL STANDARDS FOR GROUP HEALTH PLANS § 1161. Plans must provide continuation coverage to certain individuals (a) In general The plan sponsor of each group health plan shall provide, in accordance with this part, that each qualified beneficiary who would lose cov- erage under the plan as a result of a qualifying event is entitled, under the plan, to elect, within the election period, continuation coverage under the plan. (b) Exception for certain plans Subsection (a) shall not apply to any group health plan for any calendar year if all employ- ers maintaining such plan normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day during the preceding calendar year. (Pub. L. 93–406, title I, § 601, as added Pub. L. 99–272, title X, § 10002(a), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 227; amended Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, §§ 7862(c)(1)(B), 7891(a)(1), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2432, 2445.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1989—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–239 struck out at end ‘‘Under regulations, rules similar to the rules of sub- sections (a) and (b) of section 52 of title 26 (relating to employers under common control) shall apply for pur- poses of this subsection.’’ Pub. L. 101–239, § 7891(a)(1), substituted ‘‘Internal Rev- enue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1954’’, which for purposes of codification was translated as ‘‘title 26’’ thus requiring no change in text. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1989 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 7862(c)(1)(B) of Pub. L. 101–239 applicable to years beginning after Dec. 31, 1986, see section 7862(c)(1)(C) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 106 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. Amendment by section 7891(a)(1) of Pub. L. 101–239 ef- fective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–514, to which such amendment relates, see section 7891(f) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 1002 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 99–272, title X, § 10002(d), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 231, provided that: ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—The amendments made by this section [enacting this part and amending section 1132 of this title] shall apply to plan years beginning on or after July 1, 1986. ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE- MENTS.—In the case of a group health plan maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agree- ments between employee representatives and one or more employers ratified before the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Apr. 7, 1986], the amendments made by this section shall not apply to plan years beginning before the later of— ‘‘(A) the date on which the last of the collective bargaining agreements relating to the plan termi- nates (determined without regard to any extension Page 558 TITLE 29—LABOR § 1162 1 See References in Text note below. thereof agreed to after the date of the enactment of this Act), or ‘‘(B) January 1, 1987. For purposes of subparagraph (A), any plan amendment made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement re- lating to the plan which amends the plan solely to con- form to any requirement added by this section shall not be treated as a termination of such collective bar- gaining agreement.’’ § 1162. Continuation coverage For purposes of section 1161 of this title, the term ‘‘continuation coverage’’ means coverage under the plan which meets the following re- quirements: (1) Type of benefit coverage The coverage must consist of coverage which, as of the time the coverage is being provided, is identical to the coverage provided under the plan to similarly situated bene- ficiaries under the plan with respect to whom a qualifying event has not occurred. If cov- erage is modified under the plan for any group of similarly situated beneficiaries, such cov- erage shall also be modified in the same man- ner for all individuals who are qualified bene- ficiaries under the plan pursuant to this part in connection with such group. (2) Period of coverage The coverage must extend for at least the period beginning on the date of the qualifying event and ending not earlier than the earliest of the following: (A) Maximum required period (i) General rule for terminations and re- duced hours In the case of a qualifying event de- scribed in section 1163(2) of this title, ex- cept as provided in clause (ii), the date which is 18 months after the date of the qualifying event. (ii) Special rule for multiple qualifying events If a qualifying event (other than a quali- fying event described in section 1163(6) of this title) occurs during the 18 months after the date of a qualifying event de- scribed in section 1163(2) of this title, the date which is 36 months after the date of the qualifying event described in section 1163(2) of this title. (iii) Special rule for certain bankruptcy proceedings In the case of a qualifying event de- scribed in section 1163(6) of this title (re- lating to bankruptcy proceedings), the date of the death of the covered employee or qualified beneficiary (described in sec- tion 1167(3)(C)(iii) of this title), or in the case of the surviving spouse or dependent children of the covered employee, 36 months after the date of the death of the covered employee. (iv) General rule for other qualifying events In the case of a qualifying event not de- scribed in section 1163(2) or 1163(6) of this title, the date which is 36 months after the date of the qualifying event. (v) Special rule for PBGC recipients In the case of a qualifying event de- scribed in section 1163(2) of this title with respect to a covered employee who (as of such qualifying event) has a nonforfeitable right to a benefit any portion of which is to be paid by the Pension Benefit Guar- anty Corporation under subchapter III, notwithstanding clause (i) or (ii), the date of the death of the covered employee, or in the case of the surviving spouse or depend- ent children of the covered employee, 24 months after the date of the death of the covered employee. The preceding sentence shall not require any period of coverage to extend beyond January 1, 2014. (vi) Special rule for TAA-eligible individ- uals In the case of a qualifying event de- scribed in section 1163(2) of this title with respect to a covered employee who is (as of the date that the period of coverage would, but for this clause or clause (vii), other- wise terminate under clause (i) or (ii)) a TAA-eligible individual (as defined in sec- tion 1165(b)(4)(B) of this title), the period of coverage shall not terminate by reason of clause (i) or (ii), as the case may be, be- fore the later of the date specified in such clause or the date on which such indi- vidual ceases to be such a TAA-eligible in- dividual. The preceding sentence shall not require any period of coverage to extend beyond January 1, 2014. (vii) Medicare entitlement followed by qualifying event In the case of a qualifying event de- scribed in section 1163(2) of this title that occurs less than 18 months after the date the covered employee became entitled to benefits under title XVIII of the Social Se- curity Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.], the pe- riod of coverage for qualified beneficiaries other than the covered employee shall not terminate under this subparagraph before the close of the 36-month period beginning on the date the covered employee became so entitled. (viii) Special rule for disability In the case of a qualified beneficiary who is determined, under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.], to have been disabled at any time during the first 60 days of continu- ation coverage under this part, any ref- erence in clause (i) or (ii) to 18 months is deemed a reference to 29 months (with re- spect to all qualified beneficiaries), but only if the qualified beneficiary has pro- vided notice of such determination under section 1166(3) 1 of this title before the end of such 18 months.