home

Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law

By Last Night in Little Rock, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Fri Aug 18, 2006 at 05:52:25 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

by Last Night in Little Rock

Yesterday, President Bush signed into law a 907 page pension law that has a little known proviso: Anyone can inherit a 401(k) without paying taxes on it. Before, only spouses could do so. The LA Times has the story today:

A little-noticed provision in a pension law signed Thursday by President Bush will for the first time allow anyone to inherit a 401(k) nest egg without immediately paying taxes on the windfall, a benefit that in the past was reserved for spouses.

Gay advocates and other observers described the measure as a significant shift in how the government treats domestic partners who are not married, even though the provision was not written specifically for same-sex couples.

With this change, Congress is acknowledging that improvements can be made to our laws that address financial inequities and impediments that same-sex couples face," said James M. Delaplane Jr., an attorney and specialist on pension benefits. "There's no doubt about it."

The legal change is an obscure element in a new 907-page law affecting pensions and workplace-based retirement accounts. Proponents of the overall package hailed it as a long-sought effort to stabilize a system of retirement benefits that has grown porous. Many traditional pension plans are teetering on a base of shaky funding, and many companies are cutting back on future commitments.

"Americans who spend a lifetime working hard should be confident that their pensions will be there when they retire," Bush said as he signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

The obvious intent was to remove tax penalties and enable 401(k) holders to pass the corpus to anyone they wanted. Congress knew exactly what it was doing. This was in the works for three years.

The move was made quietly and without controversy. In Congress, the idea of easing restrictions on the transfer of nest eggs was generally described as a fairness issue for family members and was not framed as a gay rights issue. Such a provision passed House and Senate committees as long ago as 2003. Among the early proponents was Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), then an influential House member on pension issues and today the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Portman could not be reached for comment Thursday.

One can only wonder if President Bush would have rattled the veto sword if he knew. Or did he, and he just didn't say anything. That only begs the question, though; what does the President ever "know"?

< Bush: It's 'Naive' to Believe the President Must Follow the Law | Swiftboating the Fourth Amendment in the Name of the War On Terrorism >

  • Premium Ads

  • Blog Ads

  • Contribute To TalkLeft

    donate to TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Aug 18, 2006 at 08:59:02 PM EST
    You know what they say about stopped clocks.

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Aug 18, 2006 at 09:45:05 PM EST
    Now you have gone and done it! Conservative legislators may actually have their assistants read that law. we are still a wee bit behind over here. The Chinese government just indicated they are going to start monoitoring gays (as well as prostitutes and truck drivers) to help prevent aids.

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#3)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 10:46:09 AM EST
    One can only wonder if President Bush would have rattled the veto sword if he knew. Or did he, and he just didn't say anything. That only begs the question, though; what does the President ever "know"?
    Why even ask the question? Whether he was fully aware of it or not, he signed into law something that you support. Why be an a$$ and belittle him for it? The only possible response to your insipid little jab is to poison the water even more...if he's even aware that you exist which is highly doubtful. In the immortal words of Howard Stern's father "Don't be such a moron, moron." It is this type of childish tit-for-tat that at the international level can get elevated into, you know, wars and stuff. I know, I know, you wouldn't do this type of stuff if you actually had a position of power... Excuse my rant, but this type of senseless, useless, uncalled for, biting the hand that feeds you is just plain stupid. Have a great weekend!

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 10:46:28 AM EST
    One has to wonder: was this REALLY an oversight or was it just another example of capitalism trumping all that comes before it - even political ideology? After all The Bush League will embrace bigotry only so long as it doesn't impede economic ideology. Capitalism whups ass, people. Behold, the almighty dollar!

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 02:58:43 PM EST
    Anyone check for signing statements?

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#6)
    by Dadler on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 03:43:36 PM EST
    Sarc, It seems perfectly rational to question whether this president, with his intellectual and political track record, actually knew that this was one effect of signing this into law. Or if he grudgingly accepted it, or gladly did. It's an important issue for society as a whole. And for a president who supported altering the constitution to define marriage as heterosexual? Come on. It's more than fair game. I'm glad it's signed, but I am curious as a cat to get a genuine reaction from the President about this part of the new law. This is hardly tit-for-tat.

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#7)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 05:03:14 PM EST
    Dadler - No, it isn't. You know my position is directly in opposition with Bush's on gay rights, but this kind of stuff, as rightly pointed out by SUO does nothing but poison the debate and will gain no converts to the cause.

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#8)
    by aw on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 08:16:47 PM EST
    but this kind of stuff, as rightly pointed out by SUO does nothing but poison the debate and will gain no converts to the cause.
    Shhhhhhhh. Don't wake the religious nuts up, we're having a hard enough time hanging on to Nascar dads and security moms as it is.

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#9)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 08:49:30 PM EST
    aw - You know, I have never won an argument with a guy by starting the conversation with an insult... Even when he wrong..

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#10)
    by Sailor on Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 09:49:43 PM EST
    Dadler - No, it isn't. You know my position is directly in opposition with Bush's on gay rights, but this kind of stuff, as rightly pointed out by SUO does nothing but poison the debate and will gain no converts to the cause.
    So much for ppj being a 'social liberal'. Funny how ppj always comes out against the causes he says he's for ... hmmm, I wonder why that would be?

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#11)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Aug 20, 2006 at 08:36:41 AM EST
    Sailor - It occurs to me that you must not have a life when you take the time to try and challenge my position on Gay Rights when I have just written:
    You know my position is directly in opposition with Bush's on gay rights,
    Now that seems rather straightforward to me. That you cannot understand it certainly calls your intelligence into question. Or perhaps you are unaware that Bush is not pro Gay Rights. You should try and keep up, Sailor. et al - Let me repeat. Bush did something. Good will come out of it. Why attack him for doing something good? It juts makes you look petty and small. Is that how you want to be seen? Why not make a point that his position on Gay Marriage is wrong?

    Re: Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dadler on Sun Aug 20, 2006 at 12:49:25 PM EST
    Jim, My interest in the question is purely intellectual, but since Bush is a politician the curiosity is inherently political as well. But I reject completely that it is poisonous or divisive or anything other that the logical, rational curiosity it is. My aim is true, Allison. Love, Elvis (Costello)

    Same Sex Partners Benefit From New 401(k) Law | 12 comments (12 topical)