• FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • LOG IN
  • SIGN UP FOR FREE

Resourceful Finance Pro

  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Payroll
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Finance Technology
  • Sales & Use Tax
  • More
    • Employment Law
    • Strategy
    • Policy and Culture
    • Fraud
    • Budgeting and Forecasting
    • Banking
    • Staff Management
    • Cost Control
  • Benefits
  • Payroll
2 minute read

Retirement plans: Federal committee proposes changes you must know

legislators considering more updates to laws to help workers save
Jess White
by Jess White
July 19, 2021
  • SHARE ON

Lately, lawmakers have been focusing more on boosting participation in retirement plans. And many of their solutions involve your Payroll team. 

Legislators have already made several changes. More could be coming soon, according to a statement from the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC).

In the statement, the committee praised recent efforts to boost workers’ retirement savings in legislation such as the American Rescue Plan Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

But ERIC also said the government must do more to ensure that all Americans can retire comfortably. So it made some suggestions for additional changes to 401(k)s and other retirement plans. And some of them have already been proposed in Congress.

Here’s a preview of what would impact you and your people the most.

Measures under review for retirement plans

Many employees are in student loan debt, and that prevents them from putting adequate money toward their retirement. One of ERIC’s proposals is that Congress should allow for matching student debt payments from employers. This would be similar to the matching contributions they make for retirement plans.

While some private vendors have implemented similar programs for individual employers, nothing exists on a nationwide scale just yet.

Another change you might see will cut red tape for sponsors of retirement plans. ERIC wants Congress to reduce administrative burdens by streamlining certain plan notice requirements and expanding on the self-correction process for issues.

You could also see increased limits for catch-up contributions for older employees who are close to retirement.

When looking at highly compensated employees (HCEs), ERIC wants lawmakers to update the definition of who’s considered an HCE for plan purposes while making sure employers follow nondiscrimination rules.

ERIC is also encouraging Congress to promote emergency savings funds that allow employees to make limited pretax withdrawals or deferrals specifically for financial emergencies without having to pay a penalty.

These accounts may be necessary for employees. Many workers took advantage of flexibility established by the CARES Act to take loans from their retirement accounts to cover expenses during COVID-19. Emergency savings funds may eliminate that hassle and red tape for your Payroll team.

We’ll keep you posted.

Jess White
Jess White
Jess White covers business and finance topics such as payroll, cash flow, fraud, accounts payable, and sales and use tax. Jess also edits business software articles for BetterBuys.com. Throughout her career, Jess has worked for several different print and online publications, and she brings over 16 years of experience to the ResourcefulFinancePro team.

Get the

Resourceful Finance Pro Logo

Newsletter

With Resourceful Finance Pro arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on accounting, benefits, payroll & employment law strategies.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Resourceful Finance Pro Logo
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • WRITE FOR US
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Payroll
  • Policy and Culture
  • Employment Law
  • Fraud
  • Finance Technology
  • Sales & Use Tax
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Strategy
  • Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Banking
  • Staff Management
  • Cost Control

Resourceful Finance Pro, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest Finance and employment law news for Finance professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day's headlines, Resourceful Finance Pro delivers actionable insights, helping Finance execs understand what Finance trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
Copyright © 2022 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

preloader