Lawmakers offer bipartisan bill to encourage retirement savings

The leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at helping people save for retirement, in an effort to build upon legislation enacted late last year.

The legislation is being offered by the committee’s chairman, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), and its top Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas).

“COVID-19 has only exacerbated our nation’s existing retirement crisis, further compromising Americans’ long-term financial security,” Neal said in a news release. “In addition to meeting workers’ and families’ most pressing, immediate needs, we must also take steps to ensure their wellbeing further down the road.”

Brady added that the bill “will make it easier for folks to save, protect Americans’ retirement accounts, and give workers more peace of mind as they plan for the future.”

The measure includes a number of provisions aimed at helping Americans save for retirement. One key provision would require new 401(k) plans established in 2022 or later to automatically enroll participants, with employees having the ability to opt out.

Other provisions would expand an existing tax credit for contributions to retirement plans, raise the age when people are required to take distributions from retirement plans from 72 to 75, allow groups of nonprofits to join together to offer retirement plans to their workers, and allow employers to make matching contributions to retirement plans when employees make student-loan payments.

The bill comes after Neal and Brady put forth a retirement savings bill last year, known as the SECURE Act, that was enacted in December as part of an appropriations package. The two lawmakers have long expressed interest in pursuing additional retirement legislation beyond the SECURE Act.