It’s beginning to feel like it’s a matter of when—not if—Congress will pass another major retirement reform legislation package to build on the improvements made in the 2019 SECURE Act.
Key senators involved in crafting the so-called SECURE 2.0 package were quick to praise the positive changes they say will strengthen Americans’ emergency savings and retirement security, and retirement industry leaders have also been eager to voice their support for the bipartisan reforms.
The effort took another big step forward on Capitol Hill today when the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act during a markup session. The EARN Act, along with the Senate HELP Committee’s RISE & SHINE Act (approved by that committee last week) and the companion bill (Securing a Strong Retirement Act) passed in March by the House of Representatives—are expected to be reconciled by both chambers to form the basis for the comprehensive SECURE 2.0 legislation.
Hopes appear high from all sides that a final bill will be ready for President Joe Biden’s signature before the end of the year. In light of Wednesday’s progress from the Senate Finance Committee, many retirement industry leaders are voicing support through speeches, statements and letters. Here’s a sampling.
HELP Committee Chair Murray applauds EARN Act
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement Wednesday on the Senate Finance Committee’s markup of its retirement security package, the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act.
“Families are struggling with inflation and still recovering from the financial hits from this pandemic. We need to help people get back on solid financial footing. Last week, I led the HELP Committee in passing broad, bipartisan legislation to strengthen families’ retirement security and help them save for a rainy day—and I’m glad to see the Finance Committee is moving ahead with its own set of proposals to bolster Americans’ retirement security.
“Everyone should be able to retire with dignity and to weather a tough financial stretch and the unexpected expenses and hurdles life inevitably throws our way—like this pandemic. I look forward to working with Ranking Member Burr and my colleagues on both the HELP and Finance Committees and my House colleagues to finalize a comprehensive package that will bolster emergency savings and retirement security for families in Washington state and all across our country.”
Portman anxious to see bill passed before retiring
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), long a highly respected champion of retirement reform, received wide praise himself from a variety of his colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee during Wednesday’s markup meeting. Portman has announced his retirement from the Senate, and on Wednesday spoke of his desire to see one final bill with his fingerprints all over it cross the finish line before his term ends later this year.
Portman and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) worked together to create the Retirement Security and Savings Act, which includes many provisions that are included in both the RISE & SHINE Act and the EARN Act. It is the senators’ fourth and final retirement savings legislation introduced together over a number of years.
“We spent four years working on this one,” Portman said during his remarks Wednesday. “We have talked to a lot of people on the outside—think tanks, providers, other stakeholders. We have focused on what are the impediments to expanding retirement savings, so working with people who tell us what the problems are and give us the data.
“This bill is not just bipartisan, by the way, it is bicameral, which is a rare experience around here. In fact, 26 of the Cardin-Portman provisions were included in H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act, legislation introduced by the Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, Richard Neal, and the Ranking Member, Kevin Brady. This bill has passed the House with a lot of momentum. It passed unanimously out of the House committee and then the full House approved it with a vote of 414-to-5. So, this is very bicameral and my hope is we can quickly work together to finalize a product.”
A full video of Senator Portman’s opening statement can be found here.
Senator Ben Cardin
In a joint statement with Portman, Senator Cardin had this to say about yesterday’s progress:
“Helping more Americans save for retirement is a bipartisan effort. I’m proud of the unanimous vote today for this important legislation that builds on the Retirement Security and Savings Act authored by Senator Rob Portman and I. By working together and engaging our colleagues and a wide range of stakeholders, we have a stronger bill today that we hope will be on a fastrack to the president’s desk for signature into law. For 30 years, I have worked across the aisle with Rob Portman on retirement security issues. We’ve made real progress over the years, but we have a long way to go to increase the pension and savings rate for Americans and increase opportunities for more Americans to access the retirement system, particularly for lower-wage workers, workers at small businesses and women. We want more Americans engaged in saving for their future and this legislation strengthens and expands the tools available to reach that goal.”
State Street Global Advisors
Melissa Kahn, MD of Retirement Policy at State Street Global Advisors, provided the following statement to 401k Specialist in response to Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing:
“We applaud the Senate Finance Committee for its unanimous action to advance the EARN Act [Wednesday]. This step, following passage by the House of their version of SECURE 2.0 in March and the Senate HELP Committee’s advancement of the RISE & SHINE Act a few weeks ago, is critical in ensuring that workers can not only have access to retirement savings opportunities but can save sufficiently for retirement and emergencies and can manage their retirement assets so that they last throughout their retirement. We look forward to working with Members and their staffs in the months ahead in order to get SECURE 2.0 enacted this year.”
Coalition letter to Senate Finance Committee
A coalition of major organizations with ties to the retirement industry sent the following letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee regarding the EARN Act:
Dear Chair Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
The undersigned organizations thank you for your leadership and for crafting the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, which would enhance retirement security for many Americans. We also thank all of the Members of the Committee for their work on this bill. In particular, we would like to recognize the longstanding contributions of Senators Cardin and Portman on retirement security over the years, and most recently on the Retirement Security and Savings Act. We are glad many provisions of RSSA aimed at encouraging employers to establish and maintain retirement plans for their workers are included in the EARN Act. The Committee’s dedication to retirement security is a crucial step to finalizing retirement legislation during this Congress. We look forward to working with the Committee on the EARN Act and integrating it into a holistic, bipartisan retirement security package.
Sincerely,
American Bankers Association
American Benefits Council
American Council of Life Insurers
American Retirement Association
Financial Services Institute
Finseca
HR Policy Association
Insured Retirement Institute
Investment Adviser Association
Investment Company Institute
National Association for Fixed Annuities
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
Retirement Industry Trust Association
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
Stable Value Investment Association
The ERISA Industry Committee
The SPARK Institute
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
SEE ALSO:
• SECURE 2.0 Momentum Surges with EARN Act’s Unanimous Committee Approval Today
• Senate HELP Committee Advances RISE & SHINE Act