Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. (Photo: AP)
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., reintroduced on Thursday S. 2526, the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018, which authorizes multi-employer pension plans as well as other savings mechanisms like allowing seniors older than 70 to make tax-free contributions to their IRA, and retirement incentives for graduate students.
A similar version of the bill was first introduced in 2016 and passed the Senate Finance Committee.
"Authorizing multiple-employer plans would let smaller employers join together to sponsor one retirement plan for their workers, making it more feasible for businesses of all sizes to offer retirement plans and increasing access for millions of Americans wishing to save for retirement," Hatch said in a statement.
"Working Americans are struggling to set money aside for retirement," Wyden added. "This bipartisan bill gives employers incentives to make it easier for their employees to save."
The bill makes multiple employer plans, or MEPs, more attractive by eliminating barriers to the use of MEPs and improving the quality of MEP service providers.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced in late February that Hatch will co-chair a bipartisan, bicameral Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans.
