NRECA is supporting a bipartisan House bill that would give electric cooperatives a temporary tax credit to help keep their retirement plans funded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Preserving Employee Retirement Savings Act, introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa., would provide a two-year tax credit for up to 20% of the retirement costs paid by co-ops and other small businesses experiencing hardships because of the pandemic.

The credit would be refundable, so even a tax-exempt co-op that pays no federal taxes would be eligible to receive as much as $100,000 in 2020 and 2021.

The tax credit would not count as income for co-ops, so it would not threaten their tax-exempt status. To remain tax-exempt, co-ops cannot receive more than 15% of their income from non-member sources.

The credit would apply to both defined benefit and 401(k) retirement plans if co-ops maintain them at current levels for “non-highly compensated employees.” The Internal Revenue Service defines highly compensated employees as workers who earned more than $130,000 in 2020 from an employer that sponsors their 401(k) plan.

“We worked closely with the bill sponsors to make sure that all NRECA members, whether they are taxable or tax-exempt, are fully eligible for this tax credit,” said NRECA benefits lobbyist Chris Stephen.

“And, given our members’ incredible work to enact the RURAL Act late last year, the bill specifically exempts it from ‘member income’ to avoid any potential 85/15 issue.”

Last December, Congress passed the RURAL Act, protecting more than 900 electric cooperatives nationwide from the risk of losing their tax-exempt status when they accept government grants for disaster relief, broadband service and other programs that benefit their members.

NRECA joined with other not-for-profit groups, including the Girl Scouts, The Jewish Federations of North America and Christian Schools International in a recent letter endorsing the new retirement tax credit bill. NRECA is working with the bill sponsors to look for opportunities to pass the legislation this year.

“The bill assists small employers, like us, who are trying to ‘do the right thing’ for our employees by preserving current retirement benefit levels during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic,” the letter says.  

“During the Great Recession, employees suffered greatly when many employers were forced to reduce retirement benefits. We have an opportunity, right now, to prevent this from happening during an even more challenging time.”

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Updated: Dec. 20, 2019

Electric cooperatives could save more than $30 million a year in pension insurance premiums thanks to a sweeping government funding bill passed Thursday by Congress.

The legislation also repeals the so-called “Cadillac tax” imposed by the Affordable Care Act on health care benefits that co-ops and other employers provide for their workers.

The Senate voted Thursday to pass the bill, which was approved Tuesday by the House. President Trump has signed it into law.

NRECA has been advocating reform of the pension issue for several years, and passage of the bipartisan SECURE Act was a top priority for 2019. Nearly 2,000 co-op leaders lobbied Congress on the issue earlier this year as part of NRECA’s Legislative Conference.

The bills that provide relief to co-ops on both the pension and health care issues were approved by lawmakers as part of a broader legislative package that funds the federal government through September 2020.

More Spending Bill News: Congress Passes RURAL Act

“I applaud Congress for recognizing important differences in our pension plans and passing this bill to save electric co-ops more than $30 million annually,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “Our pension plan helps co-ops attract and retain qualified employees for the future, while promoting economic security for retirees.”

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., one of the lead sponsors of the SECURE Act, said the bill would “immediately and permanently” reduce pension premiums for co-ops starting this year.

The House passed the SECURE Act 417-3 in May, but it stalled in the Senate until a larger government-funding deal was reached.

The SECURE Act adjusts the formula that determines what certain co-ops and other not-for-profit organizations must pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The decrease in premiums for co-ops that participate in the NRECA Retirement Security Plan reflects the extremely low risk that they will default on their pension payments.

The PBGC is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1974 to guarantee that American workers would receive their retirement benefits even if their employers went bankrupt. It is funded by employers who pay premiums to insure their workers’ pensions.

However, co-ops and charity groups were forced, beginning in 2006, to subsidize large, for-profit Fortune 500 corporations that have pensions at much greater risk of going bankrupt, said NRECA lobbyist Christopher Stephen.

“This victory demonstrates the strength of our network and enables our members to focus resources on their core mission to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable services to their consumer-members,” Stephen said.

More than 880 co-ops participate in the NRECA retirement plan, which covers more than 56,000 employees in 47 states.

In addition to Kind, the SECURE Act’s lead sponsors were House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Reps. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Mike Kelly, R-Pa. In the Senate, similar legislation was championed by Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden of Oregon, the panel’s senior Democrat.

The separate “Cadillac tax” issue was created by the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. It was set to impose a 40% excise tax on employer-sponsored health care plans that are considered “high cost,” including those offered by co-ops through the NRECA group benefits program.

Congress previously signaled its dislike for the “Cadillac tax” by delaying it from taking effect four times. It was set to begin in 2022 if lawmakers hadn’t acted.

Co-ops provide health insurance benefits to more than 100,000 employees, retirees and their families.

NRECA has been a leader in supporting a full repeal of the tax. Taxing any part of co-op employees’ health care benefits would have resulted in less comprehensive health coverage for families at a higher cost to them, Stephen said.

 “No cooperative, whether they get health insurance through NRECA’s benefit plans or from another source, should be penalized for doing the right thing for their employees just because our members live in rural communities where limited access can drive the cost disproportionately higher than in urban areas,” he said.

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.

When Congress returns next month from its August recess, there are only about 40 legislative days left this year in the House and about 50 in the Senate. That leaves a small window of opportunity for progress on the most pressing issues for electric cooperatives.

John Cassady, NRECA’s vice president of legislative affairs, gives an update on how co-op priorities have fared so far in 2019 and what’s next. The greatest urgency in this session of Congress is to try to push through two key bills: the SECURE Act, which would save co-ops more than $30 million a year in pension insurance premiums paid to the federal government, and the RURAL Act, which would protect co-ops from losing their tax-exempt status if they accept government funds, such as disaster relief or rural broadband grants.

What would you say is the most important progress that NRECA lobbyists have made so far in this session of Congress?

“We’ve made progress on key priorities, including progress on our top two legislative initiatives. The first is ensuring that the Senate follows the work of the House and finishes the job on the SECURE Act, which contains the language that provides relief from the high premiums the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is charging our co-op pension plan. Our premium relief is tied up in a broader retirement package that has been approved by the House on an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.

“Currently, the larger package is being held up by a few senators, not based on anything related to the substance of the issue that we care about. Nevertheless, it’s slowed the momentum from quick Senate action. Now, there is going to be a process on the Senate floor for the SECURE Act to move forward, and the hope is that the process will eventually lead to the Senate passing the bill and then getting it to the president’s desk this fall.

“There are a lot of trapdoors throughout the process, and that’s why these things never come easy … but this issue has been a long time coming.”

What about the other top legislative priority, the RURAL Act?

“On the issue of the RURAL Act, we’ve made a great deal of progress but are not quite as far along as the SECURE Act. This time last year, we were still doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work on this issue: explaining to key members of Congress and their staff the impact of the issue, why it needed to be addressed, and lining up champions for our legislation. A lot of the blocking and tackling work had to be done.

“Fast forward to now, where we sit favorably if you look at the fact that the RURAL Act now boasts over 90 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and 18 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate. There’s a high degree of awareness of the issue, and there’s a recognition that our challenge was an unintended consequence of the 2017 tax law. There’s an appetite to get it done.

“But we also face some obstacles. There are still some negative optics among some on the Hill who associate anything tax-related with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which was handled in a very partisan manner that created a lot of bad partisan feelings. There are still some rough edges out there on Capitol Hill when tax policy is brought up. The challenge we have had, and what we’ve tried to maneuver around, is to avoid having the perception on the Hill that our issue is a purely partisan priority. We want to create a bipartisan recognition that our issue needs to be addressed on behalf of co-ops throughout the country and the rural communities they serve.”

Co-ops are worried about losing their tax-exempt status if they take federal, state or local broadband grants or disaster relief grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Is this one of the issues you hear most about from co-ops?

“Yes, we’re hearing concerns in certain sections of the co-op world. I know Florida co-ops are very engaged from a FEMA standpoint, as an example. Many co-ops are leading with the concern that if their co-ops are hit with a major storm and there’s a presidential disaster declaration and FEMA grants are dispersed, that having those resources that help us restore power would then negatively impact our tax-exempt status and generate a tax liability for our member co-ops. That is an issue that helps put a point on our advocacy.

“The other issue is that some co-ops are working to help bridge the digital divide and leaning on grant dollars to put forward the initial capital investment. For example, there are a number of co-ops in Indiana looking to take advantage of the broadband grant program that the state has instituted. In doing so, they could potentially upset their tax-exempt status, which really runs counter to the goal of bringing broadband to rural areas. It’s a perverse outcome of public policy that our members would be in this position. They’re just trying to do the right thing, to bring solutions to their communities for broadband, and this unintended consequence has real impact on their ability to do so.”

Do you think there will be a big infrastructure bill in this Congress that could include more broadband funds and grid modernization?

“If you were to go through the halls of Congress, every member would say ‘infrastructure is a great idea. Democrats and Republicans should come together on infrastructure.’ But if you don’t have the right environment, it makes it challenging. There’s a high degree of tension between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration … and it doesn’t show any signs of letting up. So that doesn’t create a conducive atmosphere for bipartisan cooperation.

 “If I had to handicap the likelihood of a broad infrastructure package making its way through Congress, I would say it’s a low-probability proposition at this point.”

Have you played more offense or more defense on co-op issues so far with this Congress?

“We’re playing offense on the SECURE Act and the RURAL ACT. We played defense on a number of issues as well. A good example is the administration’s budget proposal to, once again, propose that the transmission assets of the Power Marketing Administrations be privatized. We had to play defense there and engage with policymakers on the Hill to ensure that that idea didn’t gain any footing.”

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.

The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to repeal the “Cadillac tax” on health care benefits that electric cooperatives and other employers provide for their workers.

In a rare bipartisan action, House members voted 419-6 to repeal the excise tax, which was created as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Congress has twice delayed the tax from taking effect, but it is scheduled to begin in 2022 unless lawmakers take further action.

The Senate still must vote, but may not take up the bill immediately, instead waiting for the 2020 election year, said NRECA lobbyist Christopher Stephen. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., has introduced a repeal bill in that chamber. It has more than 40 bipartisan co-sponsors.

The tax imposes a 40% surcharge on employer-sponsored health care plans that are considered “high cost,” including those offered by co-ops. It was created to help fund medical coverage for uninsured Americans, and its repeal could cost the federal government nearly $200 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

NRECA believes the tax unfairly harms co-op employees in rural areas, where health care costs are higher because of limited access to medical care. Co-ops provide health insurance benefits to more than 100,000 employees, retirees and their families, Stephen said.

The tax has been widely unpopular, drawing opposition from both business groups and labor unions. Supporters of the repeal bill said the tax would hurt middle-class families because employers would likely pass the cost on to workers in the form of higher deductibles and co-pays.

“Taxing any part of co-op employees’ health care benefits will leave electric cooperative families with less comprehensive health coverage, many at higher costs,” Stephen wrote in a fact sheet that NRECA provides to members of Congress.

“No cooperative, whether they get health insurance through NRECA’s benefit plans or from another source, should be penalized for doing the right thing for their employees.”

The bipartisan repeal bill was sponsored by Reps. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa.

“Today, you are going to see Republicans and Democrats come together to do the right thing for the right reasons,” Kelly said Wednesday on the House floor. “And good things are going to come of that.”

ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) today applauded House passage of H.R. 1994, the SECURE Act. The bill will lower the premiums that electric co-ops pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for their defined benefit pension plan.

“Electric co-op pension plans pose nominal risk of default, yet co-ops continue to pay PBGC premiums as if they were Fortune 500 companies with higher risk profiles,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said. “I applaud the House for recognizing these important differences and passing this bill to save electric co-ops more than $30 million annually. Our pension plan helps co-ops attract and retain qualified employees for the future, while promoting economic security for retirees. We are grateful to Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) for championing these provisions in the House.”

NRECA offers retirement and health insurance benefits to co-op employees, including a defined benefit pension plan. More than 880 electric co-ops participate in the plan, which covers more than 56,000 employees in 47 states.

The PBGC is a government agency that protects pension benefits in private-sector defined benefit plans. In April, more than 2,000 electric co-op advocates raised the PBGC premium issue with their members of Congress during NRECA’s legislative conference.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.

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Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., received the NRECA Distinguished Service Award for leading congressional efforts to pass legislation to benefit electric cooperatives, including a bill that saved co-op pension plans hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Georgia’s electric co-op leaders who were attending the 2019 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., recognized the senator at his office on Capitol Hill.

Dennis Chastain, president and CEO at Georgia Electric Membership Corp., lauded Isakson as a “tireless advocate for electric cooperatives throughout his time in public service,” which began in the state legislature decades ago.

The senator “has played a key role on many of the issues affecting electric cooperatives that those of us in this room advocate on during these conferences,” Chastain said.

Isakson, who chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, is a longtime member of Cobb EMC in Marietta.

“In my state, our electric membership cooperatives serve 4.4 million Georgians and employ nearly 6,000 workers,” Isakson said. “It’s my honor to fight for the customers and employees in Georgia and across the United States who benefit from not only stable sources of power but also the numerous community services, training programs and other initiatives led by our EMCs.” 

Isakson helped secure a provision in the 2015 “Medicare Doc Fix” bill that exempted co-ops in the NRECA Retirement Security (RS) Plan from a $300 million deficit reduction contribution. 

He was also a co-sponsor of the “Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act,” which permanently excluded the RS Plan from the volatile and costly provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. It was signed into law in 2014.

Isakson recently led the effort for a tax credit for advanced nuclear power facilities. Georgia’s generation co-op, Oglethorpe Power in Tucker, and its distribution co-ops are co-owners in Plant Vogtle, where units 3 and 4 are under construction, and expected to go online in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

“By working across the aisle, Senator Isakson was ultimately successful in getting this measure in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018,” said Chastain. “If not for Senator Isakson’s efforts, the modification to the Nuclear Production Tax Credit would not have been realized.”

NRECA advocates on many public policy issues on behalf of electric cooperatives. As the new Congress kicks off, here’s a look at several electric co-op policy priorities for 2019.

Energy Policy/Infrastructure

The potential for energy and infrastructure legislation presents a significant opportunity as electric cooperatives work to meet the growing needs of their communities. NRECA will work to ensure that any infrastructure package focuses on more than roads and bridges, including opportunities to modernize the electric grid and expand rural broadband access.

Environment

NRECA will promote and encourage bipartisan support for energy research and development programs—including on renewables and programs that focus on finding a viable use for carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Broadband

Expanded rural broadband access remains a priority for NRECA. As electric co-ops engage the new Congress, we will work to ensure that all rural broadband discussions include the electric co-op perspective.

Employee Benefits

NRECA provides benefits to 56,000 electric cooperative employees nationwide. We will continue working to protect electric cooperative employee retirement benefits by supporting legislation to substantially reduce the insurance premiums that co-ops pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Tax Policy

The 2017 tax reform law included a provision that treated federal grants as income, threatening the tax-exempt status of some electric cooperatives. NRECA will seek to fix this unintended consequence of the tax law.

Grid Resilience

Protecting our nation’s vast power grid is a national priority and focus for electric cooperatives. Ensuring appropriate information sharing and preserving existing partnerships and structures are essential to these efforts.  We will advocate for resources and technologies that meet the unique cybersecurity and recovery needs of small and medium-sized utilities to help protect our systems.

Listen to our podcast episode on how NRECA works with Congress to advocate for co-op priorities: 

No one likes overpaying, and electric cooperatives are no exception. Yet co-ops are spending much more than they should when it comes to insurance premiums for retirement pension plans.

“Because of the strength of our network, electric co-op retirement plans pose little risk of default. Yet we are required to pay insurance premiums as if we are a high-risk venture,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “When we overpay these premium costs, we take money away from our core mission as co-ops—member benefits and services.”

NRECA is pushing hard in the remaining weeks of Congress this year to bring down pension insurance costs. It joins more than two dozen other national organizations in urging Congress to pass the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (H.R. 5282 and S. 2526).

The legislation would reduce premiums paid by NRECA to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) for the Retirement Security Plan by more than 80 percent. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon are among those who support the legislation.

How Congress Could Reduce Co-op Pension Plans

The Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act would cut by 80 percent PBGC premiums for electric co-ops’ pension plans. (Source: Joint Committee on Taxation)

“There are heavy-hitters in our corner looking for a path forward,” said Christopher Stephen, NRECA senior legislative affairs director.

NRECA has been seeking to reduce these costs since 2006, when Congress changed the rules for all pension plans. Lawmakers in 2014 recognized that the retirement plans of NRECA and other rural co-ops and charity groups have significantly lower risk profiles than those of Fortune 500 companies and excluded them from volatile increases in required plan funding. But the formula determining PBGC insurance costs remained the same.

“Current PBGC rules are designed for large for-profit companies, not small, not-for-profit co-ops and charities. The legislation will address this inequity,” said Stephen.

The bill also addresses compliance issues for co-ops in the Retirement Security Plan or in their own plans that are closed to new employees while continuing benefits for current employees.

During the post-election lame duck session of Congress, NRECA is also urging lawmakers to resolve other issues important to co-ops. They include amending Section 118 of the 2017 tax law, which threatens co-ops’ tax-exempt status by counting government grants for rural development, broadband or storm recovery toward the non-member income limit of 15 percent.

NRECA also is advocating for strong rural development and broadband programs in a final compromise on a Farm Bill, before Congress adjourns for the year.

Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.

Co-ops Urge Full “Cadillac Tax” Repeal in Final Conference Agreement

Issue. NRECA has worked to ensure that all member cooperatives have access to comprehensive, flexible and affordable health insurance programs for employees and their dependents. Electric cooperatives provide health insurance benefits to over 100,000 employees, retirees and their families. Under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the NRECA Medical Plan is a national plan that allows each member co-op to design a health benefit package tailored to its employees and retirees. Whether an electric co-op provides health insurance through NRECA or from another source, ever-rising health care costs threaten our ability to provide health insurance. We support all efforts to make health care more affordable, so that all electric co-ops can maintain these critical benefits. Reforms must also preserve each electric co-op’s ability to tailor its health benefits package as currently allowed under ERISA, and should not be taxed in order to fund other government spending.

Status. NRECA has been a leader for years in supporting full repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) “Cadillac Tax” for all electric co-ops. Originally effective in 2013, it was postponed by Congress to 2018, and now 2020. The “American Health Care Act” passed the House 217-213 on May 4, and would delay this tax further until 2025. Bipartisan, bicameral legislation (S. 58 and H.R. 173) introduced in January 2017 by Sens. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Joe Courtney (D-CT) repeals this unfair tax in full.

NRECA Position. We applaud the “American Health Care Act” for not including any new, direct taxes on workers’ employer-provided health benefit, and for delaying the “Cadillac Tax” until 2025. However, we will work with lawmakers to fully repeal this unfair tax in any final Conference Agreement.

No co-op, whether they get health insurance through NRECA’s Medical Plan or from another source, should be penalized for “doing the right thing” for their employees; and our employees should not be penalized for where they work, or where they live. We don’t have “Gold-Plated Cadillac Plans” – our employees live in rural communities where limited access makes the cost of that health care disproportionately higher than in urban areas.

NRECA’s Medical Plan is a not-for-profit, self-insured/self-administered trust fund that operates “at cost” like our members It utilizes group purchasing to lower drug costs and PPO provider discounts. Collaboration with our provider networks ensures that our employees can access health care where they live. All assets are used only for member employee benefits, and premiums are priced to meet expenses.

In short, taxing any part of any co-op employee’s health care benefits will leave all electric cooperative families with less comprehensive health coverage and/or higher costs. Congress should focus on strengthening the employment-based system that currently covers over 100,000 electric cooperative employees, retirees and their families; not taxing them to pay for others. Congress and the Administration should fully repeal this unfair “Cadillac Tax” in any final Conference Agreement.

Chris Stephen, NRECA / 703-907-6026 / chris.stephen@nreca.coop

(ARLINGTON, Va.) – For the 10th consecutive year, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has received the Companies As Responsive Employers (CARE) Award by Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS).

Developed by NVFS and area business leaders in 1993, the CARE Award recognizes companies in Northern Virginia that excel in providing innovative, supportive and family-friendly policies, programs and services.

“We’re extremely proud to receive our 10th consecutive CARE award, because we place great value on creating a workplace that fully supports our employees and their families,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “NRECA strives to help employees find a healthy work-life balance and encourages them to explore opportunities to volunteer in their communities. Commitment to community is part of who we are as a cooperative, and it’s a value reflected in our employees and our more than 900 not-for-profit co-op members.”

Matheson will give the keynote address at a Nov. 18 NVFS ceremony, during which NRECA and 15 other local companies will receive the award.

CARE Award recipients are selected based on their performance in the categories of flexible work arrangements, dependent care, work-family stress management, and benefits and community involvement.

NRECA, which administers the health plans for many of its rural electric cooperative members, is fully committed to employee health and wellness. NRECA offers robust benefits including a free, onsite fitness center, free yoga and employer contribution match to employee Dependent Care and Medical FSA accounts. Additionally, NRECA offers educational assistance, commuter assistance, telework and compressed work schedules. Employees also can receive eight hours of paid leave for every 24 hours of volunteer work at approved organizations.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.

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