A major bipartisan retirement security package has been reintroduced in the Senate.
The Retirement Security and Savings Act, sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., features more than 50 provisions aimed at getting people to save more for retirement.
The bill, a version of which was last introduced in 2019, would increase the tax credit for small business starting a new retirement plan, raise the "catch-up" contribution limits to $10,000 from $6,000 for individuals over 60 with 401(k) plans, improve access to guaranteed lifetime income products and allow employers to make matching contributions to retirement accounts of employees paying off qualified student-loan debt.
Many of the provisions are also included in the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, which was introduced earlier this month by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Ranking Member Kevin Brady, R-Texas. The House bill was unanimously passed out of committee by voice vote on May 5. It now heads to the full House, though a vote has yet to be scheduled.
Both bills include provisions that would create a national online database of lost retirement accounts to reduce the number of missing participants and raise the age at which individuals are required to begin withdrawing a percentage of their tax-deferred retirement plan to 75 from 72 over the next decade. The bills build on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known as the SECURE Act, which Congress passed and was signed into law in late 2019.
"There is strong bipartisan momentum to strengthen our retirement system and ensure Americans can achieve post-work financial stability," Mr. Cardin said in a news release when the bill was announced Friday.
Sens. Portman and Cardin said in the news release that there is "a renewed energy in considering the next round of retirement security reforms in the Senate Finance Committee" and that they will work with "colleagues and stakeholders throughout this process to reach consensus on a final package."
The retirement industry overwhelmingly supports both the Senate and House bills.
With respect to the Senate's Retirement Security and Savings Act, Doug Chittenden, head of client relationships at TIAA-CREF, said in a statement that it will "further modernize the private retirement system and improve the financial outcomes of individuals and families across the country by helping preserve income, increase savings and allow greater access to solutions that provide guaranteed income in retirement."
Wayne Chopus, president and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute said in a statement that Sens. Cardin and Portman's "leadership in advancing common-sense, bipartisan policies that expand access to workplace retirement plans and increase access to guaranteed lifetime income options will help individuals and families build their nest eggs and better prepare for their retirement years."
