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Legislation
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives June 4 would allow pension plan participants to be automatically opted in to electronic delivery of documents. And a recent study suggests that the sponsors of the bill have good timing. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) introduced...
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Legislation introduced recently in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate would require retirement plans to include an “annuity equivalent” on participant statements.In the House, Reps. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) introduced the Lifetime Income Disclosure Act (H.R. 2317...
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In a bid to expand availability of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in S corporations and enhance retirement savings, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) on May 6 introduced legislation that he hopes will accomplish both.The Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2015, S. 1212, would...
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“The current retirement system in the private sector works well for those to have access to it. The challenge is to expand the availability of retirement savings in the private workforce.” That was the core message of American Retirement Association Congressional Affairs Manager Andrew Remo in his...
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A new legislative proposal wouldn’t just require employers to offer a retirement plan — it would mandate employer contributions too.The proposal, unveiled by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, would direct employers with 10 or more employees to open individualized...
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Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez used his first appearances before the 114th Congress to deliver a full-throated defense of the DOL’s controversial effort to expand the fiduciary standard of care to financial service providers under the jurisdiction of the department.Perez appeared at two...
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Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez used his first appearances before the 114th Congress to deliver a full-throated defense of the DOL’s controversial effort to expand the fiduciary standard of care to financial service providers under the jurisdiction of the department.Perez appeared at two...
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Identical bills before both chambers of the Iowa legislature would end state taxation of pensions and other forms of retirement income — but only through 2020.HF 280 and SF 277 would remove from the Iowa income tax law two provisions that define income as including all forms of retirement income,...
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Legislative phoenixes that would codify the president’s auto IRA proposal and change the qualified plan loan rules have arisen in both chambers of Congress.Auto IRALegislation has been reintroduced in both the House and the Senate that would formally enact President Obama’s federal automatic IRA...
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It’s no longer just states that are looking at the notion of expanding private sector retirement plan coverage.New York City Public Advocate Letitia James on Feb. 26 introduced legislation creating a commission of experts to study the establishment of a pension fund for private sector workers in...
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Proposals in New England neighbors Connecticut and Rhode Island would give their respective residents breaks from state taxes imposed on their pensions. Bills have been introduced in the legislatures of both states that would provide different degrees of relief: some would phase in a tax break;...
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Legislation just introduced in the Oregon State Senate brings the Beaver State a step closer to establishing a state-run retirement savings program.The legislation, backed by the Oregon Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum (D-Portland), would create an Oregon Retirement Savings Board tasked with...
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In addition to proposals for a retirement savings cap, double-taxing contributions of those above the 28% tax bracket, and encouraging automatic enrollment, President Obama’s budget blueprint for fiscal year 2016 contains proposals that would change the tax treatment of IRAs and qualified...
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President Obama’s 2016 budget has been issued, and while parts could expand retirement plan coverage, others are likely to undermine those good intentions. No surprise, but the $3 million cap on the value of retirement benefits and the double tax on contributions for those above the 28% tax bracket...
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One of my favorite movies — and perhaps my favorite “holiday” movie — is Groundhog Day, the 1993 film starring Bill Murray as an arrogant weatherman who finds himself stuck in Punxsutawney, Penn. by a blizzard, who then discovers that he is also “stuck” reliving Feb. 2 — over and over and over. A...
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The 114th Congress has officially kicked off, and federal tax reform remains high on the agenda for this year. On Jan. 15 the Senate Finance Committee, the committee with jurisdiction over tax policy, released a statement announcing that Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D...
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A year ago, President Obama touted the voluntary MyRA in his State of the Union Address — but the White House has a lot more to say about retirement this year — and it’s a lot less voluntary.According to a White House fact sheet, the administration is touting a series of retirement tax reform...
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House Budget Committee ranking member Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) unveiled a set of tax proposals Jan. 12 that are said to be designed, at least in part, to redistribute current tax breaks for the wealthy to middle-class workers.While the “action plan” includes proposals that could draw bipartisan...
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Retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) signature piece of retirement legislation, the USA Retirement Funds Act, has found a champion to carry it into the next Congress.Harkin, the outgoing chairman of the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions (HELP) Committee, might have been pleased to see that...
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While finalizing many of the details of the MyRA program, Treasury and the Department of Labor (DOL) may have unearthed some serious new questions.These concerns stem from an information letter from the DOL to Treasury answering two key questions about the MyRA program: whether the retirement...
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