Senate HELP Committee Advances RISE & SHINE Act

Patty Murray

Senate HELP Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). Image credit: Senate HELP Committee

More progress on the retirement reform legislation front today as a key Senate committee advanced a bill expected to become part of the so-called “SECURE Act 2.0” package working its way up Capitol Hill.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg Act or the “RISE & SHINE Act (S. 4353). The bill will 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 Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) supports the bill and released a statement today urging Congress to continue taking steps forward to pass the comprehensive SECURE 2.0 retirement security measure this year.

Ranking Member Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)

“This is a critical milestone toward addressing the anxiety and insecurity that many of America’s workers and retirees have about achieving a financially secure retirement,” said Wayne Chopus, IRI President and CEO. “We appreciate the leadership and hard work of Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) to craft and pass this important bipartisan measure.”

The provision that would allow employers to automatically enroll their workers into an emergency savings account alongside a retirement account is a reform that aligns with a recommendation in the Bipartisan Policy Center’s 2016 Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings.

“Helping Americans save for a rainy day and their retirement at the same time is key to helping more Americans achieve financial security for the long term,” Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the BPC, said in a statement today. “Allowing for automatic enrollment into emergency savings accounts does just that, not only by creating a buffer against unexpected costs in the near term, but also by reducing the likelihood that a person will make early withdraws from retirement savings for those emergency costs.”

The House of Representatives passed a comprehensive retirement bill in March with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. The Senate Finance Committee is also anticipated to consider additional retirement legislation under its jurisdiction soon. The HELP Committee measure is expected to be combined with the Finance Committee measure into one Senate bill, which will then need to be reconciled with the House-passed legislation before a final bill can be voted on by both chambers of Congress and sent to President Biden for signature.

“We remain optimistic that Congress will send a retirement bill to President Biden this year,” Chopus said. “We are more than halfway through the process, and momentum is on our side. We look forward to working with Senate and House leaders and the White House to get this done.”

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, including steps to:

• 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;

• Improve communications to retirement plan participants and transparency around lump-sum buyout offers for pension plan participants; and more.

The package builds off legislation in the House—the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, and the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement Act (RISE Act)—as well as the Retirement Security & Savings Act.

SEE ALSO:

• Senate Introduces SECURE 2.0-Like Retirement Bill

• Reconciling SECURE 2.0: Similarities and Differences Between House and Senate Bills

• 401k Auto Portability Featured in Senate HELP Committee Hearing

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