House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Bloomberg)
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., plans to reintroduce in the new Congress the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020, which would boost the required minimum distribution age from 72 to 75.
"Strengthening retirement policy continues to be a priority of mine, and improving Americans' long-term financial security has taken on even greater importance now that so many people have had to draw from their savings during the Covid crisis," Neal told Treasury & Risk sister publication ThinkAdvisor in a Tuesday email message. "I plan to reintroduce the Securing a Strong Retirement Act this Congress and expect it will pass with broad bipartisan support, just as the SECURE Act did in 2019."
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The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020, commonly called SECURE Act 2.0, builds on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019.
Other priorities for Neal in the new Congress, which he laid out in a 14-page framework, include:
- Strengthening and improving Social Security benefits, particularly for low-wage workers;
- Protecting Social Security disability benefits from harmful regulations and other attacks designed to reduce access to benefits; and
- Implementing automatic IRAs and 401(k)s; requiring automatic enrollment in 401(k)-type plans.
Neal was re-elected chairman of Ways and Means, the House's chief tax-writing committee, on December 3.
Neal and ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, introduced the SECURE Act 2.0 on October 27, 2020.
From: ThinkAdvisor
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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
