Nearly three months after passage of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SSRA) by the U.S. House of Representatives, two key Senate Committees – the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Finance Committee – are moving forward with markups of retirement security legislation.
This important momentum comes after months of work by Senate staff to expand upon the base Senate product, the Retirement Security and Savings Act (RSSA), championed by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH). Each Committee is seeking to offer additional provisions, within their policy jurisdictions, in order to complement RSSA.
The Senate HELP Committee reported its bill, the Rise and Shine Act, championed by Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC), out of committee this week by voice vote, indicating strong bipartisan support. The bill includes a wide range of policies to enhance financial security for workers and savers at all stages of their retirement savings journey.
The bill would improve retirement outcomes for Americans by broadening access to multiple employer retirement plans, increasing access for part-time workers to save for retirement and improving communications to retirement plan participants. It would also allow employers to offer emergency savings accounts to help employees build rainy day funds.
The Senate Finance Committee will move next with an expected markup next week. The Committee is committed to evaluating numerous bipartisan provisions for possible inclusion.
Supporters of SECURE 2.0 have mobilized to continue to educate congressional staff on the benefits of the many provisions under consideration. The bipartisanship is palpable with motivation from both Democrats and Republicans to pass retirement legislation this Congress.
With a solid package expected to emerge from the two Senate markups, negotiations can then begin on a final package. What this means for millions of Americans is that by year end, Congress may make it easier to save for a secure retirement.
Kathleen Coulombe serves as the Senior Vice President, Federal Relations, for the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). In this capacity, she is actively involved in a multitude of public policy issues on Capitol Hill that impact the life insurance industry.
