WASHINGTON – Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today will help more Americans address the challenges they face planning for retirement. The bipartisan Securing a Strong Retirement Act builds on the SECURE Act that passed in 2019 and expanded worker access to employer-based retirement plans.

“The Securing a Strong Retirement Act could help even more people achieve a financially secure retirement by reducing barriers to long-term saving and workplace retirement plans, along with increasing lifetime income options for all Americans,” said American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO Susan Neely. “House passage of this bill comes at a critical time for all savers but especially minorities. Nearly two-thirds of Hispanic families and more than half of Black families don’t have any form of retirement savings. This important legislation will give them and, indeed, all workers, the tools and the time they need to build their savings.”

Key provisions of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act would:

• make auto-enrollment a key feature of private-sector retirement plans;
• encourage small businesses to start up retirement plans by increasing tax credits for costs associated with creating a plan;
• help people with student loans by allowing employers to match their workers’ student loan repayments with retirement account contributions;
• raise catch-up contribution limits for older retirement savers and delay required payouts so that older workers have more time to save;
• offer workers more options to create lifetime income through annuities.

“We applaud House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richie Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) for their leadership in support of retirement savers. We urge the Senate to act on this bill and move retirement security legislation to the president’s desk.”

A summary of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act is available here. Read Ms. Neely’s letter to the House Ways and Means Committee and House Education and Labor Committee in support of the bill.

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is the leading trade association driving public policy and advocacy on behalf of the life insurance industry. 90 million American families rely on the life insurance industry for financial protection and retirement security. ACLI’s member companies are dedicated to protecting consumers’ financial wellbeing through life insurance, annuities, retirement plans, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, reinsurance, and dental, vision and other supplemental benefits. ACLI’s 280 member companies represent 94 percent of industry assets in the United States.