Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass. (Photo via Neal)
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., introduced Friday new bipartisan legislation, The Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, which eases the ability to offer annuities in 401(k) and 403(b) plans and raises the age for taking required minimum distributions from 70 1/2 to 72.
The SECURE Act incorporates measures from the previous bill dubbed the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act, or RESA.
The bill, introduced along with Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Ways & Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., "expands opportunities for Americans to increase their retirement savings and improves the portability of lifetime income options from one plan to another," lawmakers said.
The new bill includes the core provisions of H.R. 1007, RESA, which the Insured Retirement Institute said it has long supported "plus additional provisions from previously introduced measures."
The Ways and Means Committee is expected to vote on the new measure next week, likely Tuesday.
With the bill, "we're taking bold, bipartisan action to address our nation's retirement crisis," Neal said. "Providing more, and easier, ways to save allows workers to actively plan for their futures and avoid falling into poverty later in life. Boosting Americans' financial security in retirement supports families and strengthens our economy."
Brady added that the bipartisan bill is intended to help American workers "make their own decisions about their finances and retirement. Our reforms will help families save more and earlier for the future, ensuring folks have the flexibility and control over their own savings they need for whatever life throws their way."
