The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has endorsed the provisions within the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, also known as the SECURE Act 2.0.
The bill is currently getting ready for a markup session in the House Ways and Means Committee. It was introduced by Reps. Richard Neal (D-MA) and Kevin Brady (R-TX), the chair and ranking member of the committee.
“NAIFA strongly supports this bipartisan legislation to help Americans better prepare for retirement, and we would like to thank Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady for their efforts to move it forward,” NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux said. “NAIFA members work directly in communities across the United States with business owners and families to encourage retirement planning. The SECURE Act was a great start, and the current legislation will build on that law to ensure that even more Americans have the ability to retire comfortably and provide their families with financial security.”
NAIFA has been an advocate for many of the provisions in SECURE 2.0, including increasing the age at which retirement plan owners must begin taking required minimum distributions from 72 to 75 and reducing the tax penalties for retirement plan owners who fail to take their minimum distributions. They also have endorsed the following provisions:
• Providing for autoenrollment of employees in new 401(k), 403(b), and SIMPLE plans, while giving employees the ability to opt-out,
• Increasing the small employer pension plan start-up cost tax credit to 100 percent of administrative costs for employers with 50 or fewer employees,
• Providing an additional tax credit for employer contributions on behalf of employees to employers of 100 employees or fewer, and
• Increasing the number of allowable catch-up contributions for IRA and SIMPLE plan owners over the age of 60.
At the upcoming NAIFA Congressional Conference on May 25-26, promoting passage of SECURE 2.0. The event includes a virtual fly-in, during which insurance and financial professionals from every state will meet with their Senators and congressional staff to discuss their role in providing financial security for consumers.