Business Roundtable Statement on Retirement Security Legislation

Washington – Business Roundtable today issued the following statement on legislation to enhance retirement security:

“Business Roundtable urges Congress to pass as soon as possible bipartisan legislation that would expand opportunities for more Americans to save for retirement. Congress should act to provide access to retirement plans to more Americans, encourage increased retirement savings, reduce administrative burdens on plan sponsors and protect older, longer-serving participants of frozen defined benefit plans.” 

The House acted earlier this year to pass legislation that addressed these important issues, the SECURE Act, by an overwhelming margin. Business Roundtable supports provisions of the SECURE Act that would promote retirement security and increase access to retirement savings plans by:

• Creating pooled employer plans that would allow unrelated small employers to collectively offer a retirement plan to their employees;
• Increasing the small employer plan start-up tax credit and creating a new automatic enrollment tax credit to help encourage small employers to set up retirement plans;
• Increasing the limit on the automatic enrollment safe harbor from 10 percent to 15 percent;
• Expanding 401(k) plan eligibility for part-time employees by requiring plans to cover employees who have worked at least 500 hours in three consecutive 12-month periods;
• Increasing the required minimum distribution age from 70 1/2 to 72;
• Providing a fiduciary safe harbor for the selection of a lifetime income provider; and
• Preserving the benefits of older, longer-serving participants in frozen defined benefit plans.