Senate Panel Introduces Retirement Bill as Part of Secure Act 2.0 Plan

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairwoman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, introduced Tuesday the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg, or Rise & Shine Act, legislation that she hopes will be included in the Senate’s version of Secure Act 2.0.

The bill, which she introduced with the committee’s top Republican, Richard Burr of North Carolina, will be marked up on June 14.

The Senators released a discussion draft of the bill on May 26, and sought feedback.

Murray’s Rise & Shine Act builds off the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, known as Secure 2.0, which passed the House on March 29, as well as the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement Act, or RISE Act, and the Retirement Security & Savings Act, introduced by Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

“The COVID pandemic upended our economy — and with it, the finances of millions of families in Washington state and across the country. We need to do everything we can to help people get on solid financial footing — which is why I’m working to lower families’ costs, and on bipartisan legislation to help people save for their futures,” Murray said Tuesday in a statement. “I look forward to marking this bill up in Committee next week, and working with our colleagues to pass it into law.”

“Financial planning has never been more important as Americans continue to face historic inflation on gas, groceries and other everyday essentials,” Burr added. “That’s why I’m proud to work with Senator Murray on this significant, bipartisan retirement package to ensure current and future retirees have the information and resources they need to optimize savings for their golden years.”

Besides provisions on automatic enrollment and contribution arrangements, the Rise & Shine Act introduced Tuesday updates the dollar limit for mandatory distributions from IRAs.

Under current law, employers may transfer former employees’ retirement accounts from a workplace retirement plan into an IRA if their balances are between $1,000 and $5,000. The bill increases the limit from $5,000 to $7,000.

The bill also provides employers the option to offer pension-linked emergency savings accounts, which may automatically opt employees in at no more than 3% of their salary, and the accounts are capped at $2,500 (or lower as set by the employer).