Senate HELP Leaders Draft Retirement Savings Bill

Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) released a discussion draft yesterday of legislation to boost retirement savings.

The draft would allow employers to offer pension-linked emergency savings accounts and allow retirement plans used by nonprofit organizations to participate in multiple employer and pooled employer plans, among other provisions.

Murray and Burr asked for feedback on the discussion draft by June 2 and plan to introduce the bill in the coming weeks.

In March, the House overwhelmingly passed its own retirement savings legislation. The “Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022” or “SECURE Act 2.0,” builds on the 2019 SECURE Act by further incentivizing Americans to save for their retirements. Differences between the Senate and House bills would need to be worked out in conference committee but lawmakers are optimistic about getting a bill through Congress this year.

“The COVID-19 pandemic was exactly the kind of crisis millions of families simply could not afford,” Murray said this week. “And this crisis has been even harder on the countless people who have never had access to a retirement plan, and have never even been paid enough to make ends meet – let alone save for their futures.”