Clarification of church welfare plan status under State insurance law

For purposes of determining the status of a church plan that is a welfare plan under provisions of a State insurance law described in subsection (b), such a church plan (and any trust under such plan) shall be deemed to be a plan sponsored by a single employer that reimburses costs from general church assets, or purchases insurance coverage with general church assets, or both. A State insurance law described in this subsection is a law that— For purposes of this section: The term “church plan” has the meaning given such term by section 414(e) of title 26 and section 1002(33) of this title. The term “reimburses costs from general church assets” means engaging in an activity that is not the spreading of risk solely for the purposes of the provisions of State insurance laws described in subsection (b). The term “welfare plan”— Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, for purposes of enforcing provisions of State insurance laws that apply to a church plan that is a welfare plan, the church plan shall be subject to State enforcement as if the church plan were an insurer licensed by the State. Except as provided in subsection (d), the application of this section is limited to determining the status of a church plan that is a welfare plan under the provisions of State insurance laws described in subsection (b). This section shall not otherwise be construed to recharacterize the status, or modify or affect the rights, of any plan participant or beneficiary, including participants or beneficiaries who make plan contributions.