From June 8–10, HR leaders from across Corporate America gathered at the InnerCircle conference to discuss key strategies for maximizing potential at their companies. During an informative session, Chris Gaston focused on proposals from Washington over the past few years that have added even more nuance to the employee-benefits landscape, especially from a retirement perspective.
Key Takeaways
- Retirement is one topic that has bipartisan support and has recently seen legislative accomplishments in Washington. The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (SECURE Act 2.0), passed by the House of Representatives in March, will expand retirement coverage, help individual savers, and simplify the process.
- Proposed changes include offering student loan matching where employees pay down their debt and employers can match these payments to increase catch-up conversions. The motivation behind this activity is that people are living and working longer—and increased flexibility makes sense.
- The proposed RISE & SHINE Act includes Emergency Savings Optional proposals. While the Senate is usually in favor of emergency savings legislation, this legislation faces a difficult road.
- The Department of Labor (DOL) is implementing a new cryptocurrency policy. CAR 2022-01 from March will cover cryptocurrencies and “other products whose value is tied to cryptocurrencies” as well as covering brokerage windows. Companies interested in offering cryptocurrency as part of their 401(k) need to carefully review the implications of this policy or risk action from the DOL.
Passing legislation is one way to maximize potential. Retirement legislation will likely see the most movement in the coming year according to Chris, due to its bipartisan support—likely with the passage of SECURE 2.0.