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Legislation
The so-called Butch Lewis Act to address funding problems facing multiemployer pension plans continues to work its way through the legislative labyrinth, with a second House committee approving the legislation in recent weeks.
In what at times was a hotly debated markup session, on July 10 the...
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Pension plans managed by religious organizations in Rhode Island now must provide regular updates to participants on the financial health of the plans. Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) signed a measure on July 2 setting that requirement into law.
House Majority Leader K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Warwick)...
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The Treasury and IRS have proposed regulations designed to encourage adoption of multiple employer plans (MEPs) – though they’re not final yet.
Specifically, the proposed regulations would provide an exception to the “one bad apple” rule for certain MEPs. A MEP is a plan adopted by two or more...
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More than 20 years after the last such overhaul, on July 1 President Trump signed into law bipartisan legislation to revamp the Internal Revenue Service. The newly enacted Taxpayer First Act of 2019 (H.R. 3151) overhauls the IRS’ operations and tax administration systems and implements new taxpayer...
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While it’s not precisely robbing Peter to pay Paul, a new legislative proposal purports to pay off all student loan debt – with proceeds from a tax that will hit retirement savings.
First touted as an effort to limit speculative trading, the so-called financial transaction tax is now being...
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The House Ways & Means Committee has voted to extend a vast array of individual and corporate tax provisions, including special disaster-related rules for use of retirement funds.
Disaster Relief Assistance
The Committee late June 20 approved the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act...
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The American Retirement Association, as well as a broad coalition of groups and associations, on June 18 sent a letter to the Senate expressing their support for the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act.
The House passed the measure on May 23 by an overwhelming margin of 417-3....
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Following a contentious markup session, a key House Committee approved legislation on June 11 that would address the funding problems facing multiemployer pension plans.
The House Education & Labor Committee’s approval of an amended version of the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act...
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The headline in a recent New York Times piece cautions that “Confusing Options May Be Coming to Your 401(k). It Could Cost You.”
Those “confusing options”? Retirement income. And, ironically, they might undermine support for the most significant piece of pro-retirement legislation in a decade...
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Following House passage of the bipartisan SECURE Act last month, it looked like the legislation was headed for quick enactment. Since then, however, the realities of the Senate’s legislative process appear to have taken over.
A quick recap from where we last left off: On May 23, the House...
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Oregon employers that do not comply with the rules of OregonSaves — the Beaver State’s state-sponsored retirement program — will face penalties starting next year.
Gov. Kate Brown (D) has signed into law SB 164, a measure which provides that an employer found not to be in compliance will face...
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For those who thought the notion of a financial transaction tax might be a passing fad, guess again.
Presidential aspirant Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) have just introduced the Inclusive Prosperity Act of 2019, along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) (also a...
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UPDATED MAY 24 AT 9:30 A.M. ET
One of the most consequential pieces of retirement security legislation in more than a decade has been approved overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a May 23 House floor debate that featured much praise and few objections, the Setting Every...
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The House of Representatives is moving forward with its promise to approve the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act during the month of May.
On May 21, the House approved on a party-line vote the so-called “rule” for the SECURE Act (H.R. 1994) – a key procedural...
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Bipartisan legislation to create a new federal commission that would study and recommend ways to improve Americans’ retirement security has been reintroduced in the Senate.
The Federal Retirement Commission Act, reintroduced May 14 by Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), would charge...
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Changes that don’t have anything to do with retirement might undermine bipartisan support for retirement security legislation.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) late last month had announced that the House planned to take up the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE...
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So is there a retirement crisis or not? House Budget Committee members and experts who testified before the committee on May 15 did not agree. But at least they did concur on one thing: the need to take action to bolster the retirement readiness of those who are not well-prepared.
Testifying...
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Members of the Senate Finance Committee expressed hope May 14 that Congress would move quickly to approve the long-pending Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) before moving to the next round of broader retirement savings reforms.
“I’m hoping that the House will send its version of RESA...
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Picking up where they left off in the last Congress, the bipartisan duo of Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) reintroduced their comprehensive “Retirement Security and Savings Act” on May 13.
The 132-page bill includes more than 50 provisions designed to strengthen Americans’...
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A key member of Congress has reintroduced legislation that would permit 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE and governmental 457(b) retirement plans to make matching contributions to workers as if their student loan payments were salary reduction contributions.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the...
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