There are three bipartisan bills that House and Senate members are discussing behind the scenes, attempting to reconcile any differences between the bills and put forth a package aimed at bolstering Americans' retirement security.
The House in March overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 on a 414-5 vote and both the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Senate Finance Committee have advanced similar bills since then.
The three bills include similar provisions to permit an employer to make matching contributions to a 401(k) plan, 403(b) plan or SIMPLE IRA based on qualified student loan payments; reduce the service requirement for part-time workers to participate in an employer's retirement plan to two years from three; and enhance the startup tax credit for small businesses launching a retirement plan, among others, and will form the basis of a SECURE 2.0 package.
Once a final SECURE 2.0 package is finished, industry sources expect lawmakers to attach it to a piece of must-pass legislation, such as a spending bill.
"The biggest variable in my mind is not, 'Can they find agreement on the substance of SECURE 2.0?' but rather whether there will be a vehicle to attach it to," said Kent Mason, a Washington-based partner with law firm Davis & Harman LLP. "If we know there's a vehicle to attach it to, my confidence would go way up."