'Secure Act 2.0' to Move This Year: Rep. Neal

Neal first floated the Automatic Retirement Plan Act in 2017. Also known as the "auto-401(k)" retirement bill, it would require small employers with businesses of 11 or more employees to maintain automatic contribution retirement plans for employees. The bill has not been reintroduced yet.

The Retirement Plan Simplification and Enhancement Act, which also has not yet been reintroduced in this Congress, would, among other measures, set a new cap on automatic employee deferrals to 401(k) plans.

The Insured Retirement Institute said Tuesday that it wants lawmakers to make technical corrections to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or Secure Act, which was signed into law on Dec. 20.

One amendment would allow pooled employer plans for 403(b)s, while another correction would clarify that the three-year startup credit applies to small businesses for three years from the time the small business joins a multiple employer plan or a PEP and not from the time the MEP or PEP begins operations, the annuity trade group said on a Tuesday call to discuss its 2020 policy blueprint.

IRI plans to discuss the corrections in upcoming meetings scheduled with lawmakers, including on Thursday during the group's annual board of directors' Capitol Hill fly-in.

IRI also sees the Securities and Exchange Commission finalizing its variable annuity summary prospectus this year. "Our sense is that staff is making very good progress on the open issues that needed to be addressed" and is moving "expeditiously," said Jason Berkowitz, IRI chief legal and regulatory affairs officer.

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