Requires Form 5500 annual reports to be made available electronically on DOL's website and on the company sponsor's Intranet website and requires additional information to be provided in the Form 5500 annual report for certain defined benefit pension and multiemployer plans

Requires single-employer defined benefit pension plans to provide an annual funding notice to retirees, within 120 days after the close of the plan year, but eliminates summary annual reports

Requires quarterly benefits statements for participant-directed defined contribution plans such as 401k’s; annual statements for other defined contribution plans; and statements every three years for defined benefit pension plans or annually if requested in writing by a retiree

Establishes an 80 percent threshold that determines when a plan is at risk to PBGC and therefore triggering a form 4010 filing, and makes form 4010 information available to the public, except for “sensitive corporate proprietary information”

Establishes new minimum funding standard of 100 percent (was 90%), with funding shortfalls to be eliminated over seven years.

Accelerates contribution requirements for at-risk plans (under 60% funding) to 5 years

Provides a permanent interest rate (to discount projected benefits payable within five years, between five and 20 years, or after 20 years) based on a modified “yield curve”, reduces interest rate “smoothing” to two years (was five) and amends the interest rate calculation for lump sum distributions

Increases the annual flat rate PBGC premium to $30 per participant (was $19), requires under-funded plans to pay variable-rate premiums (re-named “risk-based premiums”) of $9 per $1,000 of underfunding, and establishes a $1,250 per participant termination premium, payable for three years

Limits benefit increases and accruals for all participants, including executive deferred compensation arrangements, for severely underfunded plans (less than 60 percent)

Requires shutdown benefits be funded through corporate assets if a plan’s funding is at 60% or would become less than 60% by the payment of shutdown benefits

Promotes increased funding for retiree medical costs and long-term care costs by allowing transfer of excess (over 120%) pension assets to fund the estimated retiree medical costs

Increases company income tax deduction limits up to 150% of a plan’s current liability

Allows direct rollovers from retirement plans to Roth IRAs and tax-free rollovers from a deceased person’s IRA or retirement plans to that of a designated beneficiary

For multiemployer defined benefit plans, requires actuarial certification as to whether plan is in endangered (funding is less than 80%) or critical (funding is less than 65%) status and modifies several other rules for multi-employer plans regarding each contributing-employer’s liability

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor to simplify Form 5500 annual return reporting requirements for certain plans with fewer than 25 participants and the filing requirements for one-participant plans

Extends interest rate rules for the funding standard account for multiemployer defined benefit plans that require the use of a rate based on long-term investment grade bonds

Title XII of the Act also includes miscellaneous provisions related to exempt organizations and charitable contributions, including public disclosure of Forms 990T by 501(c)(3) organizations (Previously, you had to get a receipt or other acknowledgement from a charity if you gave $250 or more. Now, for a monetary gift of any amount, you've got to have "a bank record or a written communication" from the charity detailing the group's name and the date and amount of the gift. When you give goods, you have to fill out Form 8283, Non-cash Charitable Contributions)

Gives airlines that opt for a “hard freeze” an additional 10 years to meet their funding obligations to avoid defaulting on the plans, with a $2,500 PBGC premium per participant if the plan is terminated in bankruptcy. Airlines opting for a “soft freeze” are given an additional three years, and are subject to a $1,250 premium per participant.

Waives the 10 percent early distribution penalty for military reservists and national guardsmen called to duty for at least 180 days (money must be repaid within two years), and similarly waives the penalty for certain public safety employees

Encourages the development of combination insurance products that may also provide a savings feature.

Continues the federal tax exemption for Section 529 college savings plans allowing the withdrawal of funds tax-free to pay school costs

 For corporate owned life insurance (COLI) issued after the August 17, 2006 enactment date requires businesses to include death benefit proceeds (in excess of premiums paid) in taxable income. Exceptions are if the insured individual was employed within 12 months of the date of death, the death benefit proceeds are paid to buy back certain equity ownership interests or if the insured individual was a "highly compensated employee" when the COLI contract was issued. A highly compensated employee is defined as someone who is a more-than-5 percent owner, a director, or any employee ranked in the top 35 percent by pay.

Allows persons age 70 ½ or older to make charitable gifts directly from an IRA of up to $100,000 per year.  The donor will benefit by not having to report the IRA distribution as taxable income, although the donor will not be able to claim a charitable income tax deduction for the gift. 

Provides $50 million for Montana's Going to the Sun Highway; and gives defense contractors a three-year grace period before dealing with their underfunded pensions.