The House of Representatives on Dec. 17 approved the “minibus” government funding bill that contains the bipartisan Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, moving the bill one step closer to enactment. The bill passed by a 297-120 margin.
Contained in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865, as amended), the SECURE Act now heads to the Senate, where the chamber may begin consideration as soon as today. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Senate will approve the legislation prior to a Dec. 20 funding deadline to prevent a government shutdown.
At that point, the legislation would be cleared for President Trump’s anticipated signature and the SECURE Act would become law. A senior administration official told reporters Tuesday that President Trump does plan to sign the bill.
A top priority of the American Retirement Association, the SECURE Act improves upon the success of the private employer-based retirement system by making it easier for businesses to offer retirement plans and for individuals to save for retirement.
Visit our new SECURE Act resource center!
For an at-a-glance look at the provisions contained in the SECURE Act, along their the effective dates, see the latest addition to our SECURE Act resource page. The effective dates specified in the bill have not been changed, which means several provisions will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, two weeks from today. However, language was added to the bill providing for a remedial plan amendment period until the 2022 plan year (or the 2024 plan year for certain governmental plans), or a later date if the Treasury Department provides one, for any plan amendment required under the SECURE Act and its accompanying regulations.
In addition to the SECURE Act provisions, the appropriations act includes several other measures affecting retirement plans, including disaster-related plan withdrawals. For more on those provisions, click here.
