RISE & SHINE Act, EARN Act advance

Senate Committee — Image credit: © Wellesenterprises | Dreamstime.com

More progress on the retirement reform legislation front occurred on in mid-June when the Senate HELP Committee advanced the RISE & SHINE Act and the Senate Finance Committee advanced the Enhance Americans Retirement Now (EARN) Act on June 22.

The RISE & SHINE Act (S. 4353), introduced in early June by Senators Patty Murray, (D-WA), and Richard Burr, (R-NC), seeks to improve retirement security by creating additional protections for workers and retirement savers at all stages of their retirement timelines—from improving coverage for part-time workers to facilitating convenient and affordable access to workplace emergency savings accounts.

The EARN Act includes more than 70 proposals aimed at helping more Americans save for retirement, which Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said was the culmination of months of collaboration between just about every member of the committee, Democrat and Republican.

The EARN Act was combined with the RISE & SHINE Ac to form the Senate version of SECURE 2.0, which then needed to be reconciled with similar House-passed legislation before the final bill can be voted on by both chambers of Congress and sent to President Biden for signature.

• SECURE 2.0 Momentum Surges with EARN Act’s Unanimous Committee Approval

NEXT PAGE: Final Push for Passage