Committee Leaders Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Workers Save for Retirement
WASHINGTON – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Committee Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (NC-05), Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chair Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Rick Allen (GA-12) introduced legislation—the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement (RISE) Act (H.R. 5891)—to expand American workers’ access to secure retirement.
“We have a responsibility to create an economy where American workers can retire with dignity and security,”said Chairman Scott. “Unfortunately, far too many older Americans are working later in their lives and still relying on their next paycheck to cover monthly expenses. The RISE Act is a bipartisan proposal that will help Americans prepare for, and achieve, the secure retirement they deserve. This legislation makes meaningful improvements to our retirement system, including making it easier for workers to track their retirement savings when they switch jobs, providing employers more tools to encourage their workers to participate in retirement plans, and expanding access to retirement plans for part-time workers. 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.”
“It is crucial to help Americans better prepare for retirement, and this is exactly what the RISE Act does,” said Ranking Member Foxx. “Improving saving opportunities for workers is an important bipartisan priority. We all want to see Americans enter retirement more secure and more prepared. This bipartisan legislation will help empower both workers and employers to work in tandem towards a better and more secure future.”
“A secure retirement should be the right of every worker. It is unacceptable that millions of Americans are losing out on their hard-earned savings due to roadblocks and red tape,” said Rep. DeSaulnier. “I am proud to come together with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to honor hardworking Americans by modernizing our retirement system to ensure every working American is able to access their savings and retire with dignity.”
“During a time of so much division in Congress, it is refreshing to join our colleagues across the aisle on such important bipartisan legislation,” said Rep. Allen. “The RISE Act will put our nation’s retirement system on a stronger footing. The bill provides workers and employers with more options and incentives to increaseretirement savings. We must do all we can to ensure that workers are entering into retirement with enough savings to provide for their future and this bipartisan legislation is an important step toward achieving this goal.”
The RISE Act makes an array of improvements to America’s retirement system to better help workers and retirees plan and save for secure retirement. The legislation:
- Establishes an online, searchable “Retirement Lost and Found” database at the Department of Labor to help workers locate their hard-earned retirement savings as they move from job to job.
- Allows 403(b) retirement plans to participate in multiple employer plans and pooled employer plans.
- Ensures more part-time workers are offered opportunities to join retirement savings plans.
- Clarifies rules regarding the recovery of inadvertent overpayments to retirees, minimizing hardships.
- Enables employers to provide small financial incentives, such as low-dollar gift cards, to incentivize workers’ participation in retirement plans.
- Simplifies and clarifies reporting and disclosure requirements related to retirement plans.
For a fact sheet on the RISE Act, click here.
For a section-by-section of the RISE Act, click here.
For the bill text of the RISE Act, click here.
###
Press Contact
Contact: Democratic Press Office, 202-226-0853
Next Article Previous Article