Press Releases

Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020, bipartisan legislation to help a greater number of Americans successfully save for a secure retirement. The bill builds on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 to further improve workers’ long-term financial wellbeing.

“COVID-19 has only exacerbated our nation’s existing retirement crisis, further compromising Americans’ long-term financial security,” said Chairman Neal. “In addition to meeting workers’ and families’ most pressing, immediate needs, we must also take steps to ensure their wellbeing further down the road. With the Securing a Strong Retirement Act, Ranking Member Brady and I build on the landmark provisions in the SECURE Act and enable more workers to begin saving earlier – and saving more – for their futures. This bill will help Americans approach old age with the confidence and dignity they deserve after decades of hard work and sacrifice.”

“Ensuring Americans have the resources they need for a prosperous retirement is a bipartisan priority – and I’m glad that Chairman Neal and I were able to come together again to build on our work from the SECURE Act,” Rep. Brady said. “Our legislation 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 Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 will:

• Promote savings earlier for retirement by enrolling employees automatically in their company’s 401(k) plan, when a new plan is created;
• Create a new financial incentive for small businesses to offer retirement plans;
• Increase and modernize the existing federal tax credit for contributions to a retirement plan or IRA (the Saver’s Credit);
• Expand retirement savings options for non-profit employees by allowing groups of non-profits to join together to offer retirement plans to their employees;
• Offer individuals 60 and older more flexibility to set aside savings as they approach retirement;
• Allow individuals to save for retirement longer by increasing the required minimum distribution age to 75;
• Allow individuals to pay down a student loan instead of contributing to a 401(k) plan and still receive an employer match in their retirement plan;
• Make it easier for military spouses who change jobs frequently to save for retirement;
• Allow individuals more flexibility to make gifts to charity through their IRAs;
• Allow taxpayers to avoid harsh penalties for inadvertent errors managing an IRA that can lead to a loss of retirement savings;
• Protect retirees who unknowingly receive retirement plan overpayments; and
• Make it easier for employees to find lost retirement accounts by creating a national, online, database of lost accounts.

A section-by-section summary of the bill can be found HERE.

Full text of the legislation is available HERE.

###