Here We Go Again, Pension Funding Smoothing Extended to 2021

On July 31, after back-and-forth volleying on how to replenish the federal highway construction fund which was expected to be depleted this year, Congress passed the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HTFA)1; the President is expected to sign the bill into law. Although this Act does not have a catchy title like its 2012 predecessor, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)2 , the main mechanism by which it funds transportation spending is the same: by reducing minimum required contributions for single-employer (corporate) pension plans and thereby increasing the tax liability of their corporate sponsors. And it does that by extending pension discount rate smoothing provisions by another 5 years.