S-972 : Still Just a Bill

Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2019

This bill modifies requirements for tax-favored retirement savings accounts, employer-provided retirement plans, and retirement benefits for federal judges.

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

• multiple employer plans,
• automatic enrollment and nonelective contributions,
• loans,
• terminating or transferring plans,
• reporting and disclosure rules,
• nondiscrimination rules,
• selecting lifetime income providers, and
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums.

The bill also increases the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and allows a tax credit for small employers that establish retirement plans that include automatic enrollment.

With respect to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), the bill

• treats taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation,
• repeals the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, and
• permits any IRA to be a shareholder of any S corporation that is a bank.

The bill makes several modifications to retirement benefits for magistrate judges of the U.S. Tax Court and other federal judges.

The bill also modifies various tax provisions to

• reinstate and increase the tax exclusion for benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders,
• revise the required distribution rules for pension plans,
• increase penalties for failing to file tax or retirement plan returns, and
• require the Internal Revenue Service to share returns and return information with U.S. Customs Border Protection to administer the heavy vehicle use tax.