HR-1994 : Still Just a Bill

Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019

This bill modifies the requirements for employer-provided retirement plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other tax-favored savings accounts.

With respect to employer-provided retirement plans, the bill modifies requirements regarding

• automatic enrollment and nonelective contributions;
• tax credits for small employers that establish certain plans;
• loans;
• lifetime income options;
• the treatment of custodial accounts upon termination of section 403(b) plans;
• retirement income accounts for church-controlled organizations;
• the eligibility rules for certain long-term, part-time employees;
• required minimum distributions;
• nondiscrimination rules; and
• minimum funding standards for community newspaper plans.

The bill also includes provisions that

• treat taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation for the purpose of an IRA,
• repeal the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions,
• treat difficulty of care payments as compensation for determining contribution limits for retirement accounts,
• allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans if a child is born or adopted,
• expand the purposes for which qualified tuition programs (commonly known as 529 plans) may be used,
• reinstate and increase the tax exclusion for certain benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders,
• increase penalties for failing to file tax returns, and
• require the Internal Revenue Service to share tax information with U.S. Customs Border Protection to administer the heavy vehicle use tax.