The flurry of retirement and savings-related legislation continued Thursday with the release of a draft bill designed to “strengthen people’s emergency savings and retirement security.”
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., released the draft of the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg (RISE & SHINE) Act.
The Senators said the RISE & SHINE Act includes a wide range of policies to create additional protections for workers and retirement savers at all stages of their retirement timelines.
“The COVID-19 pandemic was exactly the kind of crisis millions of families simply could not afford,’ Murray said in a statement. “We need to put families back on solid financial footing and use the tools we know work to help people put more money in their savings and retirement accounts—which is why this bipartisan package is so important. I look forward to continuing to work with Senator Burr and our colleagues to pass this package and improve the financial security of workers, retirees, and families across the country.”
Section-by-section of the RISE & SHINE Act Discussion Draft is found HERE.
The Senators said they worked with their colleagues to develop the broad, bipartisan retirement package following the HELP Committee hearing earlier this year focused on improving retirement security and enhancing emergency savings.
“The recent historic inflation for everyday essentials, like groceries and gas, reinforces the importance of financial planning and saving,” Burr added. “That’s why I’m proud to work with my colleagues on this retirement package, which builds off of many bipartisan proposals to enhance Americans’ access to retirement plans, strengthen the ability of small businesses to offer plans to their employees, and improve overall savings for retirees’ golden years.”
Provisions
Among other steps, the act would:
- bolster savings by allowing employers to offer emergency savings accounts;
- expand access to employer-provided retirement plans through multiple employer plans, and through increased access to plans for part-time workers; and
- improve communications to retirement plan participants and transparency around lump-sum buyout offers for pension plan participants.
The package builds off legislation in the House—the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (SECURE 2.0), and the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement Act (RISE Act)—as well as the Retirement Security & Savings Act introduced by Senators Cardin, D-Md. and Portman, R-Ohio.
Murray and Burr plan to introduce and mark up final legislation in the coming weeks.
The full text of RISE & SHINE Act Discussion Draft is found HERE.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
