Bipartisan House bill would help workers keep track of retirement plans

Bipartisan House lawmakers introduced legislation Monday that would help workers keep track of their retirement plans as they change jobs and expand access to workplace plans, among other reforms.

The Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement Act establishes an online “Retirement Lost and Found” database at the Department of Labor so that workers can locate retirement savings they accumulated with former employers.

The bill also would create more opportunities for part-time workers to join retirement plans, allow 403(b) retirement plans to participate in multiple employer and pooled employers plans, and allow employers to offer certain incentives to employees to get them to join plans, among other provisions outlined in a bill summary.

Democrats and Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee came together to write the bill at a time when committee work on most other legislation has been characterized by partisan tension.

“Retirement security is a key bipartisan priority and a critical component of the Education and Labor Committee’s jurisdiction,” the committee stated in a fact sheet about the bill. “To that end, committee Democrats and Republicans are working together to create a stronger and more inclusive retirement system for all workers and employers.”

Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., said workers should be able to retire with dignity and security.

“Unfortunately, far too many older Americans are working later in their lives and still relying on their next paycheck to cover monthly expenses,” Scott said in a statement. “The RISE Act is a bipartisan proposal that will help Americans prepare for, and achieve, the secure retirement they deserve.”

The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, said in a statement that “Improving saving opportunities for workers is an important bipartisan priority. We all want to see Americans enter retirement more secure and more prepared. This bipartisan legislation will help empower both workers and employers to work in tandem towards a better and more secure future.”

The committee will vote on the bill on Wednesday. The panel almost certainly will approved the measure, and it will join SECURE 2.0, which the House Ways and Means Committee advanced earlier this year, as retirement-savings legislation awaiting a vote on the House floor. The RISE Act could be combined with SECURE 2.0 during the legislative process.