A set of new retirement measures commonly known as the Secure Act 2.0 was included in the omnibus appropriations measure before Congress, setting the stage for people to save more easily for retirement.
Secure 2.0, which is an update to the 2019 measure called the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or Secure Act, is part of an omnibus spending package that is expected to be voted on this week.
“Including Secure 2.0 retirement provisions in the last major legislation of the year means that Congress is poised to help millions more workers and retirees with significant improvements to the nation’s private retirement system,” said Paul Richman, chief government- and political-affairs officer at the Insured Retirement Institute, a trade association.
“We expect that the legislation will add billions to the retirement savings for small-business workers, part-time workers, employees with student loan debt, military spouses, low-income workers, and others. We are reviewing the approximately 100 retirement provisions in the measure with our members to understand the full implications,” Richman said.
Secure 2.0 was cobbled together from various legislative proposals. The overall omnibus spending package will need to be voted on by Congress by Friday and signed by President Joe Biden before becoming law.
“We are grateful to the many members of Congress and staff who worked tirelessly to get Secure 2.0 included in the omnibus legislation expected to be enacted this week,” said Brian Graff, CEO of the nonprofit American Retirement Association. “This important legislation will enhance the retirement security of tens of millions of American workers — and for many of them give them the opportunity for the first time to begin saving.”
The measure builds on the original Secure Act, which received broad support from consumer-advocacy as well as special-interest groups. AARP has said that provisions in that original bill would reduce the risk of poverty among retirees and improve the nation’s financial security.