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On December 21, 2004, President George W. Bush signed a bill into law which clarified that plans of the YMCA Retirement Fund are church plans. This allows the Fund to continue to provide YMCA employees with the same strong retirement savings and annuity program it has for over 80 years. Our Fund is now protected, thanks to the tremendous efforts by YMCA volunteers and staff throughout the country who wrote letters and made calls on behalf of the legislation.
The Legislation:
- Classifies the Retirement Plan as a defined contribution, money purchase church pension plan.
- Classifies the Tax Deferred Contribution Plan as a 403(b)(9) church retirement income account plan.
- Requires the Fund to adopt certain provisions of ERISA on enrollment, vesting, and contributions which will continue to ensure that all eligible employees participate and receive benefits.
- Allows the Fund to continue to commingle the assets of all of its plans for investment purposes, improving potential returns and controlling costs.
- Allows the Fund to continue to self-annuitize account balances without using an insurance company, thereby increasing annuity values and keeping costs low.
In February 2002, the IRS challenged the YMCA Retirement Fund's Church Plan status. Despite Fund management's explanations and defense, the IRS remained unimpressed.
As a result, the Fund decided to appeal to Congress for legislative relief, and engaged David Starr of the Washington DC law firm, Williams & Jensen, to advise and direct the initiative.
In 2003, Rep. Phil English (R-PA) introduced legislation in the House of Representatives which was subsequently included in the broader Portman-Cardin pension legislation (HR 1776). At the same time, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) introduced similar legislation in the Senate (S. 698). Unfortunately, the year ended without action on either bill.
In 2004, both bills were re-introduced and throughout the year a multitude of YMCA professionals, volunteers and retirees advanced the initiative with phone calls and meetings with key players in Washington at critical times.
In late October, House leadership allowed our legislation to be separated from the dormant Portman-Cardin bill and moved to the House floor for consideration. On November 19, our bill was passed by unanimous consent in the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate.
In early December, we initiated a nationwide call for help, and the response from members of the YMCA family was overwhelming. Over 5,000 letters were sent to Senators and, on December 7, our bill (HR 5365) was passed by unanimous consent in the full Senate and sent to President Bush.
On December 21, President Bush signed the legislation and our bill was assigned Public Law Number 108-476.
It is highly unusual for single-purpose tax legislation to name one specific organization as was done for us. Passing both the House and the Senate via unanimous consent is a testimony to Congressional recognition of the importance of the work of YMCA employees in all communities across America.
This stands as a tremendous victory for YMCA employees and retirees throughout the United States who contribute to or receive benefits from the YMCA Retirement Fund.
The following Senators, Representatives and Congressional staff were helpful in getting our bill passed:
 Senators
Representatives
| Senator | Staffer | | William H. Frist [R-TN] | |
| Senator | | | Mitch McConnell [R-KY] | |
| Senator | | | Bob Bennett [R-UT] | |
| Senator | | | Thomas A. Daschle [D-SD] | |
| Senator | | | John Breaux [D-LA] | |
| Senator | | | Barbara Mikulski [D-MD] | |
| Senator | Staffer | | Jim Bunning [R-KY] | |
| Senator | Staffer | | Bob Graham [D-FL] | |
| Senator | | | Gordon Smith [R-OR] | |
| Senator | | | Zell Miller [D-GA] | |
| Senator | | | Saxby Chambliss [R-GA] | |
| Senator | | | Christopher J. Dodd [D-CT] | |
| Senator | | | Orrin G. Hatch [R-UT] | |
| Senator | | | Kent Conrad [D-ND] | |
| Senator | Staffer | | Charles E. Grassley [R-IA] | |
| Senator | Staffer | | Max Baucus [D-MT] | |
| Representative | | | J. Dennis Hastert [R-IL] | |
| Representative | | | Thomas D. DeLay [R-TX] | |
| Representative | | | Roy Blunt [R-MO] | |
| Representative | | | Deborah Pryce [R-OH] | |
| Representative | | | Christopher Cox [R-CA] | |
| Representative | | | Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] | |
| Representative | | | Steny H. Hoyer [D-MD] | |
| Representative | | | Robert Menendez [D-NJ] | |
| Representative | Staffer | | Phil English [R-PA] | |
| Representative | Staffer | | Earl Pomeroy [D-ND] | |
| Representative | Staffer | | Robert E. Andrews [D-NJ] | |
| Representative | | | Bob Beauprez [R-CO] | |
| Representative | | | Martin Frost [D-TX] | |
| Representative | | | Eleanor Holmes Norton [D-DC] | |
| Representative | | | Earl Blumenauer [D-OR] | |
| Representative | | | Ed Case [D-HI] | |
| Representative | | | Mark Foley [R-FL] | |
| Representative | | | Nancy L. Johnson [R-CT] | |
| Representative | | | Richard E. Neal [D-MA] | |
| Representative | | | Bart Gordon [D-TN] | |
| Representative | | | Mark Udall [D-CO] | |
| Representative | | | John B. Larson [D-CT] | |
| Representative | | | Scott McInnis [R-CO] | |
| Representative | | | Rob Portman [R-OH] | |
| Representative | | | Benjamin L. Cardin [D-MD] | |
| Representative | Staffer | | Bill Thomas [R-CA] | | Lisa Schultz | | Shahira Knight | | Bob Winters |
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| Representative | Staffer | | Charles Rangel [D-NY] | |
| Representative | Staffer | | John Boehner [R-OH] | |
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