Lankford, Grassley, Hassan Introduce Retirement Bill to Give Small Businesses More Flexibility

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) along with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NN) to introduce the Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act. This bill will build off the successful implementation of the SECURE Act and make improvements so that more organizations and small businesses can participate in multiple employer plans (MEPs).

“Everyone knows that saving for retirement is important. These policies will make it easier for employers to offer retirement plans, improve accessibility, and encourage retirement saving for employees,” Lankford said. “By allowing more employers to join together to offer retirement plans and ensure employers have the resources and flexibility to begin and operate retirement plans, this proposal helps Oklahomans save more, sooner.” 

“This legislation will help more Americans save for their retirement while also giving our small businesses and nonprofits another avenue to invest in their employees’ future financial security. Government should be doing everything it can to help Americans save more of their own hard-earned money so they can retire with peace of mind and independence,” Grassley said. 

“Every Granite Stater and American deserves to retire with dignity. This bipartisan effort builds on a law we passed last year to make it easier to save for retirement,” said Hassan. “This commonsense bill will help expand retirement plan options for small businesses, nonprofits, and employees – and I will keep working across the aisle to strengthen retirement security.”  

The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act will allow more groups to participate in MEPs by allowing 403(b) plans, which are prevalent among tax-exempt organizations, to participate. It also clarifies that small employers that join an MEP may take the small employer pension plan start-up credit for their first three years in an MEP, regardless of how long the MEP has been in existence.

Additionally, this legislation allows for a grace period to correct reasonable errors in administering automatic enrollment and escalation features when groups are enrolling in an MEP, provided they are corrected within nine and a half months of the end of the year in which the mistakes were made.

This legislation has support from the American Benefits Council, American Retirement Association, Insured Retirement Institute, American Council of Life Insurers, and the ERISA Industry Committee.

Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

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