Automatic Retirement Plan Act of 2017
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Automatic Retirement Plan Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require certain employers to maintain automatic contribution retirement plans for employees. Governments, churches, small employers (10 or fewer employees), certain new businesses, and employers who already maintain certain retirement plans are exempt from the requirement.
Automatic contribution retirement plans are defined contribution plans, which must meet specified requirements regarding the eligibility of employees to enroll, automatic enrollment, investments, lifetime income, and fees.
The bill also:
imposes an excise tax on employers who fail to maintain an automatic contribution plan;
increases the dollar limitation for the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs;
allows a tax credit for small employers who adopt automatic contribution retirement plans;
modifies certain nondiscrimination rules that would otherwise apply to the automatic contribution plans;
modifies certain fiduciary, qualification, and administrative rules that apply to multiple employer plans;
allows states to continue certain programs that require automatic contribution plans;
allows a refundable tax credit for certain retirement savings contributions and requires the Department of the Treasury to pay the credit as a contribution to the applicable retirement account; and
provides for the portability of lifetime income investment options by permitting a rollover into another retirement plan if the investment is no longer authorized to be held as an investment option under an employer-sponsored plan.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 1, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 1, 2017: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RICHARD NEAL (D-MA) introduced it on December 1, 2017. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 1, 2017, 3205 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3205 days ago, on December 1, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers