How to read the money
Income and expense are whole-filing amounts associated with this lobbyist, not personal compensation or an allocated share.
No topic inference: each bill number appears in source LDA issue text assigned to this lobbyist.
SMART Savings Act of 2026
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Specific issues are shown only where the LDA source assigned them to this lobbyist. Targets apply to the associated filing.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2026 · third_quarter · Q3
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Source: Senate LDA
Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Workers’ Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting Workers’ Benefits Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting American Energy Production Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting American Energy Production Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting American Energy Production Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting American Energy Production Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
DOC Access Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Tanning Tax Repeal Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Tanning Tax Repeal Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Tanning Tax Repeal Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Tanning Tax Repeal Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Women's Retirement Protection Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Women's Retirement Protection Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Women's Retirement Protection Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Women's Retirement Protection Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Financial Freedom Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Financial Freedom Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Financial Freedom Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Financial Freedom Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Election Results Accountability Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Election Results Accountability Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Election Results Accountability Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Election Results Accountability Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Savings for Americans Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Savings for Americans Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Savings for Americans Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Savings for Americans Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Grizzly Bear State Management Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Grizzly Bear State Management Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Grizzly Bear State Management Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Grizzly Bear State Management Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
EBSA Investigations Transparency Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
EBSA Investigations Transparency Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
EBSA Investigations Transparency Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
EBSA Investigations Transparency Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Balance the Scales Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Balance the Scales Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Balance the Scales Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Balance the Scales Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
More Paid Leave for More Americans Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
I–PLAN Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Enhancement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Enhancement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Enhancement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Enhancement Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AWARE Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AWARE Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AWARE Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AWARE Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Impacts and Outcomes for Health Career Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Impacts and Outcomes for Health Career Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Impacts and Outcomes for Health Career Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 17.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324, S.5156 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362, S.4953 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.H.R.9813, S.5040 A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose limitations on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances: This legislation that would prohibit further contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA if the total of an individuals IRA and defined contribution plan vested account balances exceeds $10 million for the prior year. The limit on contributions would only apply to married single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $400,000 for the prior year ($425,000 for heads of households, $450,000 for joint filers). 40.H.R.10039, S.5204 SMART Savings Act of 2026: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the Department of Labors prohibited transaction rules. Although IRAs are generally not ERISA plans, they remain subject to DOL-administered prohibited transaction rules because Congress incorporated those rules into the Internal Revenue Code. 41.S.5507 Savers Match Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill makes the existing Savers Match more generous in the following ways. The bill doubles the matching rate from 50 percent to 100 percent, so that the government matches retirement plan contributions dollar for dollar up to $2,000 per year (now indexed to inflation). The bill also increases the amount of people eligible for the match with an income phase-out range beginning at $85,000 to $115,000 for a joint return ($42,500 to $57,500 for single and $63,750 to $86,250 for head of household). Savers Match contributions would now have after-tax Roth treatment, so the contributions and earnings would not be taxed upon distribution but also not be taxable to the saver in the year of contribution unlike normal Roth contributions. 42.S.5550 529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026: The bill eliminates the $35,000 lifetime cap on rollovers from 529 education savings accounts to Roth IRAs. 43.H.R.10641 Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to deem pre-dispute and post-dispute forced arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation waivers unenforceable. 44.H.R.10702 Workers Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026: The bill creates a new statutory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). 45.H.R.10703 Protecting Workers Benefits Act of 2026: The bill amends ERISA Section 502 to allow individuals to bring a legal action as assignees on behalf of their plan and get a cut of any settlement or award, similar to whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. 46.General Account Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. S. 5017 - More Paid Leave for Americans Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3089 - Paid Family Leave Public Partnerships Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 3090 - Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (I-PLAN Act). Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 1521 - Dentist and Optometric Care Access Act of 2025 or the DOC Access Act of 2025. Issue: dental and vision insurance H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Impacts and Outcomes for Health Career Training Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Retirement Investment Choice Act
Client: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS · Firm: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2026 · second_quarter · 2A
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2026 · second_quarter · Q2
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 15.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 16.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 17.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 18.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 19.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 20.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 21.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 22.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 23.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 24.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 25.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 26.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 27.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 28.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 29.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 30.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 31.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 32.H.R.8273, S.4291 Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026: This legislation allows full-time family caregivers to qualify for up to five additional years of retirement plan catch-up contributions. Catch-up contributions currently allow individuals over age 50 to contribute above the standard annual retirement plan contribution limit, with even higher limits available for those ages 60 to 63. 33.H.R.8274, S.4292 Improving Retirement for Family Caregivers Act of 2026: Current law limits Roth IRA contributions to the lesser of $7,000 or total annual income. This legislation eliminates the annual income requirement for family caregivers, thus allowing them to contribute to a Roth IRA even if they do not have any income. 34.H.R.8313 Trump Accounts for All Generations Act: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last year created the Trump Account, which is a new individual tax-preferred savings vehicle for children, with a $1,000 government seed contribution for every child born in the United States from 2025 to 2029. This legislation makes the $1,000 government contribution for children permanent and indexes the $1,000 contribution amount to inflation beginning in 2029. 35.H.R.8314 OPTIONS Act: The legislation allows employees to allocate employer contributions among various pre-tax benefits, including retirement accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, and educational assistance programs. 36.S.4360 Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act: This legislation requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. And it also requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 37.H.R.8783, S.4511 Charity Parity Act: Current law allows retirement savers to exclude up to $111,000 in annual gross income to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), but only if the funds are donated directly from an IRA. This tax break excludes distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. So, under current law, individuals must first roll assets into an IRA to make a QCD. The Charity Parity Act would permit direct QCDs from employer-sponsored retirement plans. 38.H.R.8837, S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. The House version of the legislation allows the service provider to claim the tax credit as payment for services that would ordinarily be charged to the employer for starting the plan. 39.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2026 · first_quarter · Q1
Retirement Security, Q4 2025 1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.3526, S.2867 Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025: This legislation allows individuals to take an early distribution out of an IRA of up to $50,000 for a qualified first-time home purchase without the 10% additional income tax penalty. Current rules only allow up to a $10,000 early distribution without penalty. 13.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.H.R.5748 Retirement Investment Choice Act: This legislation codifies Executive Order 14330 relating to democratizing access to alternative assets for 401(k) investors. 21.S.3083 Providing Complete Information to Retirement Investors Act: This legislation adds a new notice requirement to participants investing through brokerage windows in 401(k) plans to explain that the investments in a brokerage window have not been prudently selected and are not monitored by a plan fiduciary. 22.S.3086 Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Duty Act: This legislation limits fiduciary consideration of nonpecuniary factors for investments. The bill further states that ERISA fiduciaries must also make decisions regarding the exercise of shareholder rights and proxy voting based on pecuniary factors. 23.H.R.5887 Saving for the Future Act: This legislation establishes a hybrid emergency savings and 401(k)-type government-run program called the Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment Program and creates UP Retirement Accounts for every full-time and part-time worker not covered by an active defined benefit pension plan. The legislation also requires employers to make a minimum employer contribution to the workers retirement account. 24.H.R.6084 ERISA Litigation Reform Act: This legislation amends the pleading standard under ERISA Section 502 for certain claims to put the burden on the plaintiff to plausibly allege and prove that an ERISA prohibitive transaction occurred that is not exempt under ERISA section 408(b)(2). 25.H.R.6324 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation would: (1) permit an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) include a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 26.H.R.6417, S.3333 Emergency Savings Enhancement Act of 2025: This legislation would double the maximum balance limit for Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs) from $2,500 to $5,000 and allows Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) to participate. 27.H.R.6450, S.3352 Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act: This legislation would permit rollover contributions from Roth IRAs to designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans, like 401(k)s. 28.H.R.6722 Automatic IRA Act of 2025: The legislation would require employers with more than 10 employees that do not sponsor a retirement plan to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs (automatic IRAs) or other automatic contribution plans or arrangements, like 401(k) plans. The legislation also requires 401(k) plans with over 100 participants plans must permit participants to elect to receive at least 50 percent of their vested account balance in the form of lifetime income. This requirement does not apply to participants with balances below $200,000. 29.H.R.6729, S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 30.H.R.7185 Home Savings Act: This legislation permits penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) account for up to five years when the funds are used for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. The legislation also allows an individual to make a penalty-free 401(k) withdrawal and gift those funds to a relative, exempt from gift tax, provided the relative uses the money for a down payment or closing costs on a primary residence. 31.H.R.7362 Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act: This legislation extends the Form 5500 filing deadline to October 15 (for calendar year retirement plans), thus eliminating the need for an extension. 32.H.R.7556, S.2335 Pensions for All Act: This legislation requires every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or to elect for their employees to participate in FERS. 33.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2025 · fourth_quarter · Q4
1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 13.S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2025 · third_quarter · Q3
1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 7.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 8.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 9.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 10.H.R.2958 Balance the Scales Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress about its use of common interest agreements. 11.H.R.2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 12.H.R.4718, S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 13.S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 14.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 15.S.2003 Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025: This legislation permits surplus assets in a retiree health account to be used for other benefits, like active employee health benefits. The legislation also permits surplus assets in a defined benefit plan to be used to provide contributions to the employers defined contribution plan without terminating the defined benefit plan. 16.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 17.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 18.H.R.4548, S.2365 Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2025: This legislation makes the credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and the retirement auto-enrollment credit available to tax-exempt eligible small employers. 19.H.R.5325 Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan: This legislation directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a regulation that would permit retirement plan fiduciaries to transfer unclaimed retirement distributions to State unclaimed property programs. 20.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2025 · second_quarter · Q2
Retirement Security H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 1.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 2.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 3.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 4.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 5.H.R.2544, S.1222 Financial Freedom Act of 2025: The legislation prohibits the Secretary of Labor from restricting the investments available in self-directed 401(k) brokerage windows. The bill also prohibits the DOL from preventing a fiduciary from selecting, any particular type of investment alternative, provided that a fiduciary provides the participant or beneficiary an opportunity to choose, from a broad range of investment alternatives, nor can the DOL require that any particular type of investment be either favored or disfavored, other than on the basis of the investments risk-return characteristics. 6.H.R.2696, S.1526 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 7.H.R.2748 First Time Homeowner Savings Plan Act: This legislation increases the amount first-time homebuyers could pull from their retirement savings from the $10,000 set in the 1990s to $25,000 (indexed to inflation) without the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions to use as a down payment on their home. 8.H.R.2869 EBSA Investigations Transparency Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of its open employee plan audits and to explain why any audits open for more than 36 months have not been closed. 9.H.R. 2958 Transparency for Secret Litigation Agreements Act: This legislation requires the Department of Labor to formalize and disclose situations in which it is providing adverse assistance which means assistance to plaintiffs lawyers suing ERISA benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries. 10.H.R. 2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act: This legislation amends ERISA to specify that a retirement plan fiduciary shall be considered acting solely in the interest of participants only if: 1) the investment does not subordinate the interest of participants in their retirement income or financial benefits under the plan to other objectives, including ESG objectives and 2) the fiduciary does not sacrifice investment returns or take on additional investment risks to promote goals unrelated to the plan. 11.S.1707 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: This legislation lowers the required minimum participation age in ERISA-covered retirement plans from age 21 to age 18. 12.S.1831 Auto Reenroll Act of 2025: This legislation amends the qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) safe harbor in the tax code for 401(k) plans to allow for automatic periodic reenrollment into the plan. 13.S.1840 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: This legislation raises the floor for the existing $250 per-employee tax credit available to small businesses to create retirement plans, ensuring that all small businesses can receive a tax credit of at least $2,500. 14.S.2210 Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act: This legislation establishes a safe harbor under federal law for companies that would like to voluntarily provide independent workers with any benefit or protection commonly provided to full-time employees, such as retirement and health care benefits. 15.S.2217 Independent Retirement Fairness Act: This legislation relaxes the audit rules for pooled employer plans (PEPs) and allows companies to enroll their independent workers in PEPs and simplified employer pensions (SEPs) IRAs without triggering employee classification. 16.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: This proposed legislation clarifies fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2025 · first_quarter · Q1
1.H.R.1013, S.424 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025: Allows 403(b) retirement plans to invest in Collective Investment Trust or Separate Accounts Insurance Products to establish investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 2.H.R.2023, S.988 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): This legislation imposes spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 3.H.R.2067, S.928 Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA): This bill prohibits ERISA-covered retirement plans from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in countries considered to be foreign adversaries. Foreign adversaries include China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill also requires fiduciaries to disclose continuing investments in such entities and sanctioned firms. 4.H.R.2089 Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH): The legislation provides that reinvested mutual fund dividends are not subject to capital gains taxation until the investor sells his or her shares. 5.H.R.2163 No Penalties for Victims of Fraud Act: The bill ensures that victims of retirement account fraud are not subject to the 10% additional income tax on early retirement plan distributions. 6.H.R.2696 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA): This legislation establishes a federally run American Worker Retirement Plan for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. The bill also includes an enhanced federal matching contribution that only applies to lower income workers that participate in the federal plan. 7.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2024 · fourth_quarter · Q4
1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections Discussion Draft: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.H.R. 3063, S.4917 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act: Would allow 403(b) plans to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts that establishes investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 3.H.R. 3942 Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component that will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 4.H.R. 4237, S. 2282 Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 5.H.R. 4924, S. 2517 Auto Reenroll Act of 2023: The bill allows plan sponsors to re-enroll non-participants at least once every three years, unless the individual affirmatively opts-out again. The bill also permits plans to sweep all eligible employees as a group for re-enrollment and does not change the automatic enrollment safe harbors. 6.H.R. 5060, S. 2627 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): The legislation would impose spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and also offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 7.H.R. 5408, S. 2767 SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act: The legislation would increase the asset limit from $2,000 to $10,000 for an individual, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for a married couple. Increasing the limit empowers people to prepare themselves for a financial emergency and allows them to enter the workforce without worrying theyll save lose their eligibility for SSI by saving too much. 8.H.R. 6007, S. 4398 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: The legislation would create a new Micro Employer Pension Plan Startup Credit in IRC Section 45E for qualified micro employers. A qualified micro employer is defined as an employer with 10 or fewer employees. The credit amount is 100% of any retirement plan administrative costs up to $2,500 for the first three years after adoption of the retirement plan. 9.H.R. 6065, S.3102 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA) of 2023: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 10.S. 3305 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: The legislation would lower the minimum participation age in ERISA-covered defined contribution plans from age 21 to age 18. 11.H.R. 6757 Roth IRA Rollovers: This legislation will allow retirement savers to roll over their Roth IRA savings into a Roth account within a workplace retirement plan. 12.H.R. 6772 Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 13.H.R. 7162, S. 3716 401Kids Savings Account Act of 2024: This bill would create childrens savings accounts (CSAs) for every child in America that would be managed by State Treasurers. Funds from the accounts could be used for post-secondary education, starting a business, buying a house, or retirement security. 14.H.R. 7293 Automatic IRA Act of 2024: Mandates employers with 10 or more employees to implement an automatic enrollment retirement plan in the workplace. 15.H.J. Res 142, S.J. Res 79 Fiduciary Rule Congressional Review Act: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary" 16.H.R. 10467 Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act: This legislation: 1) permits an in-service plan distribution to an individual retirement annuity on or after attainment of age 50; and (2) includes a specific reference to an individual retirement annuity as a rollover option under a simplified 402(f) safe harbor notice. 17.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2024 · third_quarter · Q3
1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections Discussion Draft: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.H.R. 3063, S.4917 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act: Would allow 403(b) plans to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts that establishes investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 3.H.R. 3942 Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component that will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 4.H.R. 4237, S. 2282 Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 5.H.R. 4924, S. 2517 Auto Reenroll Act of 2023: The bill allows plan sponsors to re-enroll non-participants at least once every three years, unless the individual affirmatively opts-out again. The bill also permits plans to sweep all eligible employees as a group for re-enrollment and does not change the automatic enrollment safe harbors. 6.H.R. 5060, S. 2627 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): The legislation would impose spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and also offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 7.H.R. 5408, S. 2767 SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act: The legislation would increase the asset limit from $2,000 to $10,000 for an individual, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for a married couple. Increasing the limit empowers people to prepare themselves for a financial emergency and allows them to enter the workforce without worrying theyll save lose their eligibility for SSI by saving too much. 8.H.R. 6007, S. 4398 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: The legislation would create a new Micro Employer Pension Plan Startup Credit in IRC Section 45E for qualified micro employers. A qualified micro employer is defined as an employer with 10 or fewer employees. The credit amount is 100% of any retirement plan administrative costs up to $2,500 for the first three years after adoption of the retirement plan. 9.H.R. 6065, S.3102 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA) of 2023: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 10.S. 3305 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: The legislation would lower the minimum participation age in ERISA-covered defined contribution plans from age 21 to age 18. 11.H.R. 6757 Roth IRA Rollovers: This legislation will allow retirement savers to roll over their Roth IRA savings into a Roth account within a workplace retirement plan. 12.H.R. 6772 Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 13.H.R. 7162, S. 3716 401Kids Savings Account Act of 2024: This bill would create childrens savings accounts (CSAs) for every child in America that would be managed by State Treasurers. Funds from the accounts could be used for post-secondary education, starting a business, buying a house, or retirement security. 14.H.R. 7293 Automatic IRA Act of 2024: Mandates employers with 10 or more employees to implement an automatic enrollment retirement plan in the workplace. 15.H.J. Res 142, S.J. Res 79 Fiduciary Rule Congressional Review Act: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary" 16.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2024 · second_quarter · Q2
Retirement Security 1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections Discussion Draft: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.H.R. 3063 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2023: Would allow 403(b) plans to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts that establishes investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 3.H.R. 3942, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component that will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 4.H.R. 4237, S. 2282 Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 5.H.R. 4924, S. 2517 Auto Reenroll Act of 2023: The bill allows plan sponsors to re-enroll non-participants at least once every three years, unless the individual affirmatively opts-out again. The bill also permits plans to sweep all eligible employees as a group for re-enrollment and does not change the automatic enrollment safe harbors. 6.H.R. 5060, S. 2627 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): The legislation would impose spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and also offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 7.H.R. 5408, S. 2767 SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act: The legislation would increase the asset limit from $2,000 to $10,000 for an individual, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for a married couple. Increasing the limit empowers people to prepare themselves for a financial emergency and allows them to enter the workforce without worrying theyll save lose their eligibility for SSI by saving too much. 8.H.R. 6007, S. 4398 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: The legislation would create a new Micro Employer Pension Plan Startup Credit in IRC Section 45E for qualified micro employers. A qualified micro employer is defined as an employer with 10 or fewer employees. The credit amount is 100% of any retirement plan administrative costs up to $2,500 for the first three years after adoption of the retirement plan. 9.H.R. 6065, S.3102 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA) of 2023: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 10.S. 3305 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: The legislation would lower the minimum participation age in ERISA-covered defined contribution plans from age 21 to age 18. 11.H.R. 6757 Roth IRA Rollovers: This legislation will allow retirement savers to roll over their Roth IRA savings into a Roth account within a workplace retirement plan. 12.H.R. 6772 Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 13.H.R. 7162, S. 3716 401Kids Savings Account Act of 2024: This bill would create childrens savings accounts (CSAs) for every child in America that would be managed by State Treasurers. Funds from the accounts could be used for post-secondary education, starting a business, buying a house, or retirement security. 14.H.R. 7293 Automatic IRA Act of 2024: Mandates employers with 10 or more employees to implement an automatic enrollment retirement plan in the workplace. 15.H.J. Res 142, S.J. Res 79 Fiduciary Rule Congressional Review Act: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary" 16.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2024 · first_quarter · Q1
1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections Discussion Draft: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.H.R. 3063 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2023: Would allow 403(b) plans to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts that establishes investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 3.H.R. 3942, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component that will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 4.H.R. 4237, S. 2282 Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 5.H.R. 4924, S. 2517 Auto Reenroll Act of 2023: The bill allows plan sponsors to re-enroll non-participants at least once every three years, unless the individual affirmatively opts-out again. The bill also permits plans to sweep all eligible employees as a group for re-enrollment and does not change the automatic enrollment safe harbors. 6.H.R. 5060, S. 2627 Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): The legislation would impose spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and also offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 7.H.R. 5408, S. 2767 SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act: The legislation would increase the asset limit from $2,000 to $10,000 for an individual, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for a married couple. Increasing the limit empowers people to prepare themselves for a financial emergency and allows them to enter the workforce without worrying theyll save lose their eligibility for SSI by saving too much. 8.H.R. 6007 Retirement Investment in Small Employers (RISE) Act: The legislation would create a new Micro Employer Pension Plan Startup Credit in IRC Section 45E for qualified micro employers. A qualified micro employer is defined as an employer with 10 or fewer employees. The credit amount is 100% of any retirement plan administrative costs up to $2,500 for the first three years after adoption of the retirement plan. 9.H.R. 6065, S.3102 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA) of 2023: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 10.S. 3305 Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act: The legislation would lower the minimum participation age in ERISA-covered defined contribution plans from age 21 to age 18. 11.H.R. 6757 Roth IRA Rollovers: This legislation will allow retirement savers to roll over their Roth IRA savings into a Roth account within a workplace retirement plan. 12.H.R. 6772 Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 13.H.R. 7162, S. 3716 401Kids Savings Account Act of 2024: This bill would create childrens savings accounts (CSAs) for every child in America that would be managed by State Treasurers. Funds from the accounts could be used for post-secondary education, starting a business, buying a house, or retirement security. 14.H.R. 7293 Automatic IRA Act of 2024: Mandates employers with 10 or more employees to implement an automatic enrollment retirement plan in the workplace. 15.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. S.3680 - Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2023 · fourth_quarter · Q4
1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections Discussion Draft: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.H.R. 3063 Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2023: Would allow 403(b) plans to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts that establishes investment parity with other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s. 3.H.R. 3942, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component that will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 4.H.R. 4237, S. 2282 Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 5.H.R. 4924, S. 2517 Auto Reenroll Act of 2023: The bill allows plan sponsors to re-enroll non-participants at least once every three years, unless the individual affirmatively opts-out again. The bill also permits plans to sweep all eligible employees as a group for re-enrollment and does not change the automatic enrollment safe harbors. 6.H.R. 5060, S. 2627, Womens Retirement Protection Act (WRPA): The legislation would impose spousal consent requirements on nearly all distributions from defined contribution plans. The bill also seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and also offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. 7.H.R. 6065, S.3102 Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA) of 2023: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 8.H.R. 6757 Roth IRA Rollovers: This legislation will allow retirement savers to roll over their Roth IRA savings into a Roth account within a workplace retirement plan. 9.H.R. 6772 Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 10.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. 11.Automatic Retirement Plan Act (ARPA): Mandates employers with 10 or more employees to implement an automatic enrollment retirement plan in the workplace. 12. H.R.5894 - Making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. Income Security S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2023 · third_quarter · Q3
Retirement Security 1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.American Worker Savings & Wealth Creation Plan Act: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 3.Collective Investment Trusts/Separate Accounts Parity for 403b Accounts: Would ensure parity for 403b accounts to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts. 4.Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 5.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. 6.H.R. 4237, Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 7.H.R. 3942, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act of 2022: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 8.The Automatic Retirement Plan Act: Would mandate employers with 10 or more employees to implement a retirement plan in the workplace. 9.S. 2517, H.R. 4924, The Auto Reenroll Act of 2023: The bill allows plan sponsors to re-enroll non-participants at least once every three years, unless the individual affirmatively opts-out again. The bill also permits plans to sweep all eligible employees as a group for re-enrollment and does not change the automatic enrollment safe harbors. 10.S. 2627, H.R. 5060, the Womens Retirement Protection Act (S. 2627): the legislation removes the part-time worker provision that was passed in SECURE 2.0. The bill allows for a single distribution of up to 25% of an account balance without spousal consent. It seeks to enhance financial literacy through grants to community-based organizations and also offers grants to such organizations to help low-income women and survivors of domestic abuse obtain qualified domestic relations orders. Income Security The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act This bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Excepted Benefits on Supplemental Benefits-proposed tri-agency rule through HHS, Treasury and Labor. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2023 · second_quarter · Q2
1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provisions. 2.American Worker Savings & Wealth Creation Plan Act: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 3.Collective Investment Trusts/Separate Accounts Parity for 403b Accounts: Would ensure parity for 403b accounts to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts. 4.Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 5.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. 6.H.R. 4237, Ensuring Sound Guidance Act: Would require investment advisers and ERISA retirement plan sponsors to prioritize financial returns over non-pecuniary factors when making investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 7.H.R. 3942, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act of 2022: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 8.The Automatic Retirement Plan Act: Would mandate employers with 10 or more employees to implement a retirement plan in the workplace. Income Security The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2023 · first_quarter · Q1
Retirement Security, Q4 2022 1.SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections: Legislative language that will amend SECURE 2.0 to make technical changes to a variety of provision. 2.American Worker Savings & Wealth Creation Plan Act: Would create a federally run retirement plan, similar to the TSP, that would be available to all private sector workers whose employer signs up for the plan. 3.Collective Investment Trusts/Separate Accounts Parity for 403b Accounts: Would ensure parity for 403b accounts to invest in Collective Investment Trusts or Separate Accounts. 4.Expanding Access to Retirement Savings for Caregivers Act: The bill would allow individuals that took at least one year out of the workforce without receiving an earned income, for the purposes of caring for a family member, to make catch-up contributions in years prior to age 50 to their 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other eligible retirement accounts. 5.General Accounts Product Corrections Act: Would clarify fiduciary responsibilities for life insurance companies as it relates to investments in their general accounts. Income Security The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2022 · fourth_quarter · Q4
1.S. 1870/H.R. 7146, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs. 2.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish lifelong savings/retirement accounts. 3.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 4.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 5.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 6.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 7.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k)-retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. 8. S. 975 / H.R. 2005, the Womens Retirement Security Act of 2021: Addresses the retirement gap and bolsters womens financial security through amending ERISA and increasing financial literacy. 9.S. 2452, the Encouraging Americans to Save Act: Reforms the savers credit, makes the credit refundable, establishes an R-bond program, and amends the deadline to fund an IRA with a tax refund, among other provisions. 10.H.R. 5891, The Retirement Improvement and Saving Enhancement (RISE) Act: Contains several retirement security provisions, also included within H.R. 2459 (SSRA). Also requires DOL, the Department of the Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to review reporting and disclosure requirements for pension plans and make recommendations to Congress to consolidate, simplify, standardize, and improve such requirements. 11. Audit Consolidation Act and the Simplifying Retirement Act: Allows group plans to file a single Form 5500 for the entire retirement plan, ensures small employers are not burdened with administrative complexities. Allows pooled employer providers who manage PEPs to utilize Discretionary or Directed Trustees to manage assets and collect contributions would help to contain costs and make plan easier to manage for the small employers who choose to participate. 12.H.R. 6746, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act of 2022: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 13.The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. 14.The Rise and Shine Act: Senate HELP provisions covered by ERISA to be included with a Senate retirement package (SECURE 2.0). 15. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. 16. S.4103, Helping Parents Save for College Act of 2022: Would make two important changes to the way 529 college savings accounts are designed to increase utilization. 17. S.4087, INFORM Act: would require plan sponsors to provide participants and beneficiaries with the critical information that would allow them to make an informed decision when presented with such a lump-sum offer. The INFORM Act also would require a notice to affected participants and beneficiaries 90 days before the period in which they must make a decision. The INFORM Act would further require disclosure to the Department of Labor, so information can be collected on these practices. 18. S.3993, the Savings Access for Escaping and Rebuilding Act (SAFER) Act: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for domestic abuse victims. 19. S.1273, the Military Spouses Retirement Security Act: Would allow military spouses to vest earlier and provide incentives for employers. 20.American Worker Savings and Wealth Creation Plan Act: Would create a TSP type government-run retirement program. 21.Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023: Combines numerous retirement security bills, including the EARN act, Rise and Shine and SSRA into a comprehensive package. Would expand retirement savings for Americans. Income Security The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2022 · third_quarter · Q3
1.S. 1870/H.R. 7146, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs. 2.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish lifelong savings/retirement accounts. 3.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 4.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 5.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 6.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 7.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k)-retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. 8. S. 975 / H.R. 2005, the Womens Retirement Security Act of 2021: Addresses the retirement gap and bolsters womens financial security through amending ERISA and increasing financial literacy. 9.S. 2452, the Encouraging Americans to Save Act: Reforms the savers credit, makes the credit refundable, establishes an R-bond program, and amends the deadline to fund an IRA with a tax refund, among other provisions. 10. H.R. 5891, The Retirement Improvement and Saving Enhancement (RISE) Act: Contains several retirement security provisions, also included within H.R. 2459 (SSRA). Also requires DOL, the Department of the Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to review reporting and disclosure requirements for pension plans and make recommendations to Congress to consolidate, simplify, standardize, and improve such requirements. 11. Audit Consolidation Act and the Simplifying Retirement Act: Allows group plans to file a single Form 5500 for the entire retirement plan, ensures small employers are not burdened with administrative complexities. Allows pooled employer providers who manage PEPs to utilize Discretionary or Directed Trustees to manage assets and collect contributions would help to contain costs and make plan easier to manage for the small employers who choose to participate. 12.H.R. 6746, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act of 2022: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 13.The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. 14.The Rise and Shine Act: SENATE HELP provisions covered by ERISA to be included with a Senate retirement package (SECURE 2.0). 15. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. 16. S.4103, Helping Parents Save for College Act of 2022: Would make two important changes to the way 529 college savings accounts are designed to increase utilization. 17. S.4087, INFORM Act: would require plan sponsors to provide participants and beneficiaries with the critical information that would allow them to make an informed decision when presented with such a lump-sum offer. The INFORM Act also would require a notice to affected participants and beneficiaries 90 days before the period in which they must make a decision. The INFORM Act would further require disclosure to the Department of Labor, so information can be collected on these practices. 18. S.3993, the Savings Access for Escaping and Rebuilding Act (SAFER) Act: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for domestic abuse victims. 19. S.1273, the Military Spouses Retirement Security Act: Would allow military spouses to vest earlier and provide incentives for employers. 20.American Worker Savings and Wealth Creation Plan Act: Would create a TSP type government-run retirement program. Income Security The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2022 · second_quarter · Q2
1.S. 1870/H.R. 7146, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs. 2.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish lifelong savings/retirement accounts. 3.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 4.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 5.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 6.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 7.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. 8. S. 975 / H.R. 2005, the Womens Retirement Security Act of 2021: Addresses the retirement gap and bolsters womens financial security through amending ERISA and increasing financial literacy. 9.S. 2452, the Encouraging Americans to Save Act: Reforms the savers credit, makes the credit refundable, establishes an R-bond program, and amends the deadline to fund an IRA with a tax refund, among other provisions. 10. H.R. 5891, The Retirement Improvement and Saving Enhancement (RISE) Act: Contains several retirement security provisions, also included within H.R. 2459 (SSRA). Also requires DOL, the Department of the Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to review reporting and disclosure requirements for pension plans and make recommendations to Congress to consolidate, simplify, standardize, and improve such requirements. 11. Audit Consolidation Act and the Simplifying Retirement Act: Allows group plans to file a single Form 5500 for the entire retirement plan, ensures small employers are not burdened with administrative complexities. Allows pooled employer providers who manage PEPs to utilize Discretionary or Directed Trustees to manage assets and collect contributions would help to contain costs and make plan easier to manage for the small employers who choose to participate. 12.H.R. 6746, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act of 2022: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. 13.The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. 14.The Rise and Shine Act: SENATE HELP provisions covered by ERISA to be included with a Senate retirement package (SECURE 2.0). 15. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. 16. S.4103, Helping Parents Save for College Act of 2022: Would make two important changes to the way 529 college savings accounts are designed to increase utilization. 17. S.4087, INFORM Act: would require plan sponsors to provide participants and beneficiaries with the critical information that would allow them to make an informed decision when presented with such a lump-sum offer. The INFORM Act also would require a notice to affected participants and beneficiaries 90 days before the period in which they must make a decision. The INFORM Act would further require disclosure to the Department of Labor, so information can be collected on these practices. 18. S.3993, the Savings Access for Escaping and Rebuilding Act (SAFER) Act: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for domestic abuse victims. 19. S.1273, the Military Spouses Retirement Security Act: Would allow military spouses to vest earlier and provide incentives for employers. Income Security The Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act: Builds upon S. 1770 with additional retirement provisions. Considered the Senate version of SECURE 2.0. S. 2415 and H.R. 7107, the Long-Term Care Affordability Act: Would allow for tax free distributions from retirement accounts to fund LTC contracts. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2022 · first_quarter · Q1
1.S. 1870, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs. 2.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish lifelong savings/retirement accounts. 3.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 4.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 5.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 6.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 7.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. 8. S. 975 / H.R. 2005, the Womens Retirement Security Act of 2021: Addresses the retirement gap and bolsters womens financial security through amending ERISA and increasing financial literacy. 9.S. 2452, the Encouraging Americans to Save Act: Reforms the savers credit, makes the credit refundable, establishes an R-bond program, and amends the deadline to fund an IRA with a tax refund, among other provisions. 10.H.R. 5891, The Retirement Improvement and Saving Enhancement (RISE) Act: Contains several retirement security provisions, also included within H.R. 2459 (SSRA). Also requires DOL, the Department of the Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to review reporting and disclosure requirements for pension plans and make recommendations to Congress to consolidate, simplify, standardize, and improve such requirements. 11. Audit Consolidation Act and the Simplifying Retirement Act: Allows group plans to file a single Form 5500 for the entire retirement plan, ensures small employers are not burdened with administrative complexities. Allows pooled employer providers who manage PEPs to utilize Discretionary or Directed Trustees to manage assets and collect contributions would help to contain costs and make plan easier to manage for the small employers who choose to participate. 12.H.R. 6746, Lifetime Income for Employees (LIFE) Act of 2022: Amends the current rules for qualified default investment alternatives to facilitate the use of an annuity component will expand the availability of guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income that help savers secure their retirement futures. Income Security H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2021 · fourth_quarter · Q4
1.Build Back Better Act (Budget Reconciliation): Automatic Retirement Plan inclusion that would mandate retirement plans in the workplace for employers with 5 or more employees. 2.S. 1870, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs. 3.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish lifelong savings/retirement accounts. 4.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 5.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 6.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 7.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 8.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. 9. S. 975 / H.R. 2005, the Womens Retirement Security Act of 2021: Addresses the retirement gap and bolsters womens financial security through amending ERISA and increasing financial literacy. 10.S. 2452, the Encouraging Americans to Save Act: Reforms the savers credit, makes the credit refundable, establishes an R-bond program, and amends the deadline to fund an IRA with a tax refund, among other provisions. 11.H.R. 5891, The Retirement Improvement and Saving Enhancement (RISE) Act: Contains several retirement security provisions, also included within H.R. 2459 (SSRA). Also requires DOL, the Department of the Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to review reporting and disclosure requirements for pension plans and make recommendations to Congress to consolidate, simplify, standardize, and improve such requirements. Income Security H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. Group Insurance Products. The Continuing Paycheck Protection Program includes ACLIs suggested language to clarify that the loan money can be used and will be forgiven for other group insurance products including: life, disability, vision, and dental. The amendment applies to loans already made. Extension of Paid Leave Credits. Extension of credits for paid sick and family leave which extended the provisions of FFCRA until March 31, 2021 and replaced the mandate to provide paid sick leave related to the pandemic with a payroll tax subsidy to employers who provide the leave. H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child-care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2021 · third_quarter · Q3
1.Build Back Better Act (Budget Reconciliation): Automatic Retirement Plan inclusion that would mandate retirement plans in the workplace for employers with 5 or more employees. 2.American Rescue Plan of 2021: Budget reconciliation legislation that included a pay-for that impacts retirement savers. Section 9709 would have implemented a cost-of-living adjustment freeze for the year 2030 and beyond. 3.S. 1870, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs. 4.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish lifelong savings/retirement accounts. 5.S. 222, The American Opportunity Accounts Act: Establishes tax-exempt American Opportunity Accounts to provide children at birth with a $1,000 savings account with annual contributions up to $2,000 depending on family income. 6.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 7.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 8.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 9.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 10.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. 11. S. 975 / H.R. 2005, the Womens Retirement Security Act of 2021: Addresses the retirement gap and bolsters womens financial security through amending ERISA and increasing financial literacy. S. 2452, the Encouraging Americans to Save Act: Reforms the savers credit, makes the credit refundable, establishes an R-bond program, and amends the deadline to fund an IRA with a tax refund, among other provision H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. Group Insurance Products. The Continuing Paycheck Protection Program includes ACLIs suggested language to clarify that the loan money can be used and will be forgiven for other group insurance products including: life, disability, vision, and dental. The amendment applies to loans already made. Extension of Paid Leave Credits. Extension of credits for paid sick and family leave which extended the provisions of FFCRA until March 31, 2021 and replaced the mandate to provide paid sick leave related to the pandemic with a payroll tax subsidy to employers who provide the leave. H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, FY2022, S.Con.Res.14. The budget resolution calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms. Issue: Medicare/Dental (Expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, hearing benefits and lowering the eligibility age). Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2021 · second_quarter · Q2
1.American Rescue Plan of 2021: Budget reconciliation legislation that included a pay-for that impacts retirement savers. Section 9709 would have implement a cost-of-living adjustment freeze for the year 2030 and beyond. 2.S. 1870, the Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The legislation would provide a penalty-free emergency distribution option from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and IRAs.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish life long savings/retirement accounts. 3.S. 222, The American Opportunity Accounts Act: Establishes tax-exempt American Opportunity Accounts to provide children at birth with a $1,000 savings account with annual contributions up to $2,000 depending on family income. 4.H.R. 2954, Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) / Retirement Security and Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 5.S. 1272, The SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act: The bill would raise the contribution limit for SIMPLE plans from $13,500 to $16,500 with a corresponding increase in the catch-up limit from $3,000 to $4,750. 6.S. 1770, The Retirement Security & Savings Act: Comprehensive retirement savings legislation. 7.S. 1703, The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021: The bill would expand Open Multiple Employer Plans to include 403(b) accounts, create a safe harbor for correcting employee deferrals and make clarifications for small businesses who wish to utilize a credit to offer a retirement plan to their employees. 8.S. 1443, The Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act: Allows employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan while their employees make student loan repayments. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. Group Insurance Products. The Continuing Paycheck Protection Program includes ACLIs suggested language to clarify that the loan money can be used and will be forgiven for other group insurance products including: life, disability, vision, and dental. The amendment applies to loans already made. Extension of Paid Leave Credits. Extension of credits for paid sick and family leave which extended the provisions of FFCRA until March 31, 2021 and replaced the mandate to provide paid sick leave related to the pandemic with a payroll tax subsidy to employers who provide the leave. H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2021 · first_quarter · Q1
1.American Rescue Plan of 2021: Budget reconciliation legislation that included a pay-for that impacts retirement savers. Section 9709 would have implement a cost-of-living adjustment freeze for the year 2030 and beyond. 2.Short-terms Savings: Proposal that would expand hardship distribution rules in order to incentivize and increase short-term savings. 3.Portable Retirement and Investment Account Act (PRIA): Creates retirement accounts at birth to help establish life long savings/retirement accounts. 4.S. 222, The American Opportunity Accounts Act: Establishes tax-exempt American Opportunity Accounts to provide children at birth with a $1,000 savings account with annual contributions up to $2,000 depending on family income. H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. Group Insurance Products. The Continuing Paycheck Protection Program includes ACLIs suggested language to clarify that the loan money can be used and will be forgiven for other group insurance products including: life, disability, vision, and dental. The amendment applies to loans already made. Extension of Paid Leave Credits. Extension of credits for paid sick and family leave which extended the provisions of FFCRA until March 31, 2021 and replaced the mandate to provide paid sick leave related to the pandemic with a payroll tax subsidy to employers who provide the leave. H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2020 · fourth_quarter · Q4
Retirement Security 1.H.R. 8990, the Lifetime Income for Employees Act. Expands QDIA regulations. 2.H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Provides for expanded hardship withdrawals and removal of tax penalty. Includes RMD relief. 3.H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Includes RMD relief and single employer pension plan relief. 4.H.R. 2120, the Saving for the Future Act. Issue: Mandated retirement account employer match. 5.H.R. 6562, the Securing Additional Value for Every Retirement Saver (SAVERS) Act. Temporarily raises contribution limits on tax-preferred retirement savings plans and individual retirement accounts. 6.Securing a Strong Retirement (SSRA) Act of 2020. Proposal would be next House iteration of retirement security policy. 7.S. 1431, Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019. Retirement Security. 8.S. 5064, Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act, includes provisions that were in SSRA, but not included in S. 1431. 9.S. 1428, Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act, Student Loan Retirement Match. 10. H.R. 4849, the Upward Mobility Enhancement Act of 2019, Employer Provided Student Loan Repayment. 11.S.1020, The Retirement Flexibility Act, Retirement Security, automatic enrollment/escalation. 12.S.1019, The Strengthening Financial Security Through Short-Term Savings Act, Retirement Security. Addresses retirement plan leakage. 13.S.1018,The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, Retirement Savings. Utilizes tax return for retirement savings. 14. S. 2370, Automatic IRA Act of 2019. The legislation would mandate that most employers that do not offer their employees another type of retirement plan, establish an automatic enrollment, payroll deduction program with contributions withheld from employee pay and contributed to an IRA or retirement bond. 15.Electronic Delivery Advocacy. (no bill number) Proposal would make electronic delivery the default distribution method for plan documents. Opt-out available. Income Security H.R. 133, Both provisions are in the larger bill. Group Insurance Products. The Continuing Paycheck Protection Program includes ACLIs suggested language to clarify that the loan money can be used and will be forgiven for other group insurance products including: life, disability, vision, and dental. The amendment applies to loans already made. Extension of Paid Leave Credits. Extension of credits for paid sick and family leave which extended the provisions of FFCRA until March 31, 2021 and replaced the mandate to provide paid sick leave related to the pandemic with a payroll tax subsidy to employers who provide the leave. H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Diversity and Inclusion H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2020 · second_quarter · 2A
1.H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Provides for expanded hardship withdrawals and removal of tax penalty. Includes RMD relief. 2.H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Includes RMD relief and single employer pension plan relief. 3.H.R. 2120, the Saving for the Future Act. Issue: Mandated retirement account employer match. 4.H.R. 6562, the Securing Additional Value for Every Retirement Saver (SAVERS) Act. Temporarily raises contribution limits on tax-preferred retirement savings plans and individual retirement accounts. 5.SECURE 2.0. (no bill number) Proposal would be next iteration of retirement security policy. S. 1431, Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019. Retirement Security. 6.S. 1428, Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act, Student Loan Retirement Match. 7. H.R. 4849, the Upward Mobility Enhancement Act of 2019, Employer Provided Student Loan Repayment. 8.S.1020, The Retirement Flexibility Act, Retirement Security, automatic enrollment/escalation. 9.S.1019, The Strengthening Financial Security Through Short-Term Savings Act, Retirement Security. Addresses retirement plan leakage. 10.S.1018,The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, Retirement Savings. Utilizes tax return for retirement savings. 11. S. 2370, Automatic IRA Act of 2019. The legislation would mandate that most employers that do not offer their employees another type of retirement plan, establish an automatic enrollment, payroll deduction program with contributions withheld from employee pay and contributed to an IRA or retirement bond. 12.Electronic Delivery Advocacy. (no bill number) Proposal would make electronic delivery the default distribution method for plan documents. Opt-out available. 13.H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. 14.H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave 15.H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave 16.S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member 17.S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave 18.Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. 19.Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2020 · first_quarter · 1A
Public Law 111-203, H.R. 4173 - Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Issue: Implementation and Regulatory reform. Captive Reinsurance Transactions, Insurance Capital Standards and Global Capital Standards. Roles of federal and state agencies at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the Financial Stability Board. Implementation of S. 2270 - Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014. The bill would give the Federal Reserve the authority to tailor capital standards for insurance companies subject to Fed supervision. Issue: Capital Standards, Basel III Implementation of S. 2155 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Issue: Implementation and regulatory reform of the financial services industry. Implementation of H.R. 748 - the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses. Issue: CECL, TDR, Remote Online Notarization, SBA loans. H.R. 1815 - SEC Disclosure Effectiveness Test Act. Issue: SEC investor testing. H.R. 1862/S. 1586 - Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act of 2019. Issue: FIO reform. H.R. 3561/S. 603 - Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2019. Issue: FSOC reform. H.R. 1595/S.___ - Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act. Issue: Insurance companies working with legitimate marijuana businesses. H.R. 3351- Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2020. Issue: Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020. H.R. 3614 - Restricting Use of Credit Checks for Employment Decisions Act. Issue: ban the use of credit information for most employment decisions. H.R. 2474/S.664 - Protecting Workers Freedom to Organize Act. To amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. Issue: independent contractor status. H.R. 4592 - International Insurance Standards Act of 2019. To preserve the state-based system of insurance regulation and provide greater oversight of and transparency on international insurance standards setting process. Issue: insurance capital standards. H.R.__ - Clarity in Credit Score Formation Act. Issue: Establishing clear federal oversight of the development of credit scoring models. S.__ Clarifying that the CFPB does not regulate the business of insurance. Issue: Making Diversity and Inclusion Efforts more Intentional. No bill number assigned. Issue: Unclaimed life insurance products. No bill number assigned. Issue: Covered agreement on prudential measures with respect to the business of insurance and reinsurance. No bill number assigned. Issue: Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) reform. No bill number assigned.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2020 · third_quarter · Q3
Retirement Security 1.H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Provides for expanded hardship withdrawals and removal of tax penalty. Includes RMD relief. 2.H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Includes RMD relief and single employer pension plan relief. 3.H.R. 2120, the Saving for the Future Act. Issue: Mandated retirement account employer match. 4.H.R. 6562, the Securing Additional Value for Every Retirement Saver (SAVERS) Act. Temporarily raises contribution limits on tax-preferred retirement savings plans and individual retirement accounts. 5.SECURE 2.0. (no bill number) Proposal would be next iteration of retirement security policy. S. 1431, Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019. Retirement Security. 6.S. 1428, Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act, Student Loan Retirement Match. 7. H.R. 4849, the Upward Mobility Enhancement Act of 2019, Employer Provided Student Loan Repayment. 8.S.1020, The Retirement Flexibility Act, Retirement Security, automatic enrollment/escalation. 9.S.1019, The Strengthening Financial Security Through Short-Term Savings Act, Retirement Security. Addresses retirement plan leakage. 10.S.1018,The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, Retirement Savings. Utilizes tax return for retirement savings. 11. S. 2370, Automatic IRA Act of 2019. The legislation would mandate that most employers that do not offer their employees another type of retirement plan, establish an automatic enrollment, payroll deduction program with contributions withheld from employee pay and contributed to an IRA or retirement bond. 12.Electronic Delivery Advocacy. (no bill number) Proposal would make electronic delivery the default distribution method for plan documents. Opt-out available. Income Security 13. H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. 14. H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Issue Paycheck protection program and paid family medical leave. 15.H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. 16.H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave 17.H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave 18.S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member 19.S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave 20.Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. 21.Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave 22. H.R. 2694 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave. Diversity and Inclusion 23. H.R. 5084 - Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. 24. H.R. 5360 - Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. 25. H.R. 281 - Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion. 26. H.R. 7946 and S. 4464 - Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act. Issue: diversity and inclusion.
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2020 · second_quarter · Q2
1.H.R. 748, The CARES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Provides for expanded hardship withdrawals and removal of tax penalty. Includes RMD relief. 2.H.R. 6800, The HEROES Act. Large, comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill. Includes RMD relief and single employer pension plan relief. 3.H.R. 2120, the Saving for the Future Act. Issue: Mandated retirement account employer match. 4.H.R. 6562, the Securing Additional Value for Every Retirement Saver (SAVERS) Act. Temporarily raises contribution limits on tax-preferred retirement savings plans and individual retirement accounts. 5.SECURE 2.0. (no bill number) Proposal would be next iteration of retirement security policy. S. 1431, Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019. Retirement Security. 6.S. 1428, Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act, Student Loan Retirement Match. 7. H.R. 4849, the Upward Mobility Enhancement Act of 2019, Employer Provided Student Loan Repayment. 8.S.1020, The Retirement Flexibility Act, Retirement Security, automatic enrollment/escalation. 9.S.1019, The Strengthening Financial Security Through Short-Term Savings Act, Retirement Security. Addresses retirement plan leakage. 10.S.1018,The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, Retirement Savings. Utilizes tax return for retirement savings. 11. S. 2370, Automatic IRA Act of 2019. The legislation would mandate that most employers that do not offer their employees another type of retirement plan, establish an automatic enrollment, payroll deduction program with contributions withheld from employee pay and contributed to an IRA or retirement bond. 12.Electronic Delivery Advocacy. (no bill number) Proposal would make electronic delivery the default distribution method for plan documents. Opt-out available. 13.H.R.1185 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member. 14.H.R.1940 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave 15.H.R.2163 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax-advantaged distributions from health savings accounts during family or medical leave, and for other purposes. Issue: paid family and medical leave 16.S.463 - FAMILY Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave- paid family and medical leave proposal would offer paid leave benefits via a payroll tax for birth or adoption of a child or caring for a sick family member 17.S.920 - New Parents Act of 2019. Issue: paid family and medical leave 18.Discussion draft - CRADLE Act. Issue: paid family and medical leave - allows for a deferment of retirement benefits for paid leave benefits. 19.Proposed FY 2020 Budget proposal on paid family and medical leave. Issue: paid family and medical leave
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS via AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS
2020 · first_quarter · Q1
Public Law 111-203, H.R. 4173 - Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Issue: Implementation and Regulatory reform. Captive Reinsurance Transactions, Insurance Capital Standards and Global Capital Standards. Roles of federal and state agencies at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the Financial Stability Board. Implementation of S. 2270 - Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014. The bill would give the Federal Reserve the authority to tailor capital standards for insurance companies subject to Fed supervision. Issue: Capital Standards, Basel III Implementation of S. 2155 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Issue: Implementation and regulatory reform of the financial services industry. Implementation of H.R. 748 - the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses. Issue: CECL, TDR, Remote Online Notarization, SBA loans. H.R. 1815 - SEC Disclosure Effectiveness Test Act. Issue: SEC investor testing. H.R. 1862/S. 1586 - Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act of 2019. Issue: FIO reform. H.R. 3561/S. 603 - Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2019. Issue: FSOC reform. H.R. 1595/S.___ - Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act. Issue: Insurance companies working with legitimate marijuana businesses. H.R. 3351- Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2020. Issue: Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020. H.R. 3614 - Restricting Use of Credit Checks for Employment Decisions Act. Issue: ban the use of credit information for most employment decisions. H.R. 2474/S.664 - Protecting Workers Freedom to Organize Act. To amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. Issue: independent contractor status. H.R. 4592 - International Insurance Standards Act of 2019. To preserve the state-based system of insurance regulation and provide greater oversight of and transparency on international insurance standards setting process. Issue: insurance capital standards. H.R.__ - Clarity in Credit Score Formation Act. Issue: Establishing clear federal oversight of the development of credit scoring models. S.__ Clarifying that the CFPB does not regulate the business of insurance. Issue: Making Diversity and Inclusion Efforts more Intentional. No bill number assigned. Issue: Unclaimed life insurance products. No bill number assigned. Issue: Covered agreement on prudential measures with respect to the business of insurance and reinsurance. No bill number assigned. Issue: Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) reform. No bill number assigned.
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Filing targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE