The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed by President Bush on July 30, 2002.
This Act includes:
· qualified plan blackout period provisions mandating:
o 30 day advance notice to participants
o the contents of the participant notice; penalties for failure to provide notice
o a prohibition on corporate officers and directors trading during the blackout
o exclusion of one participant, owner only plans and owner and spouse only plans from these rules
· limitations on loans to corporate executives and directors - potential "split-dollar" life insurance issue in DB plans.
· tougher ERISA penalties-- increase in monetary and criminal penalties.
Effective date for the blackout provisions is180 days after law was signed on July 30, 2002. Thus, the effective date January 26, 2003.
Click here for the text of relevant sections of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act.