RISE Up: Retirement Reform Bill Introduced in House

The chairman and ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee have introduced—and plan to act on—bipartisan legislation that shares some overlap with SECURE Act 2.0.

The Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement (RISE) Act (H.R. 5891) was introduced Nov. 5 by committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA); Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the committee’s ranking Republican; Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA), the HELP Subcommittee’s ranking Republican. 

The Education and Labor Committee also announced that it plans to mark up the RISE Act on Wed., Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. EST. The markup will be livestreamed here. 

While nearly all the provisions in the bill appear to be contained in the SECURE Act 2.0, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Education and Labor Committee do share some jurisdiction over retirement issues. Included in the RISE Act are the following changes, according to a summary. 

• Multiple Employer 403(b) Plans. The legislation would broaden the scope of the SECURE Act’s pooled employer plan or open multiple employer plan provisions to allow unrelated public education and other non-profit employers to join a single 403(b) plan.
• Pooled Employer Plan Modification. This section clarifies that a named fiduciary is responsible for collecting contributions in a PEP and implementing written contribution collection procedures that are reasonable, diligent, and systematic. One or more trustees will remain responsible for holding assets of the plan. 
• Retirement Plan Modernization Act. Employers currently may transfer former employees’ retirement accounts from a workplace retirement plan into an Individual Retirement Account if their balances are between $1,000 and $5,000. The bill increases the limit from $5,000 to $7,000. 
• Small Immediate Financial Incentives for Contributing to a Plan. Employers would be permitted to offer de minimis financial incentives, such as low-dollar gift cards, to boost employee participation in workplace retirement plans. 
• Improving Coverage for Part-Time Workers. The requirement for part-time workers to participate in an employers’ retirement savings plan would be reduced from three years of service with the employer to two years. 
• Retirement Savings Lost and Found. A national online searchable database at the Department of Labor (DOL) would be established, enabling retirement savers, who might have lost track of their pension or 401(k) plan, to search for the contact information of their plan administrator.
• Performance Benchmarks for Asset Allocation Funds. The DOL would be directed to update its guidelines regarding benchmarking investments, such as target-date funds, that include a mix of asset classes. This section also requires DOL to report to Congress on the effectiveness of its benchmarking requirements. 
• Eliminating Unnecessary Plan Requirements Related to Unenrolled Participants. The requirement for employers to provide certain notices to employees who have not elected to participate in a workplace retirement plan would be removed. Employers would still be required to send annual eligibility notices to unenrolled participants to encourage participation. 
• Recovery of Retirement Plan Overpayments. This section clarifies and improves the rules related to recouping overpayments to retirees to help plan sponsors and protect plan participants. 
• Review and Report to Congress Relating to Reporting and Disclosure Requirements. The DOL, the Treasury Department and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) would be required to review reporting and disclosure requirements for pension plans and make recommendations to consolidate, simplify, standardize and improve such requirements. 
• Review of Pension Risk Transfer Interpretive Bulletin. This section requires DOL to review the current interpretive bulletin governing pension risk transfers and report to Congress on its findings. 

“We have a responsibility to create an economy where American workers can retire with dignity and security,” Scott said in a written statement. “These policies are a step in the right direction toward a more secure retirement for workers and their families. I am pleased to have partnered with Ranking Member Foxx, HELP Subcommittee Chair DeSaulnier, and HELP Subcommittee Ranking Member Allen on this bipartisan bill and look forward to advancing it in our Committee this week.”

Still Waiting for SECURE Act 2.0 

The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (H.R. 2954)—a.k.a. “SECURE Act 2.0”—was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee in May by a unanimous voice vote, but it has not yet been considered by the House of Representatives. While this bill is likely to pass on a bipartisan basis, it has been currently overshadowed and delayed by negotiations on the Build Back Better Act. 

The SECURE Act 2.0 builds on the 2019 SECURE Act and includes several provisions advanced by the American Retirement Association. With the RISE Act now emerging, it seems possible the two bills could be merged before action by the full House.