EARN Act
Latest action · Sep 8, 2022 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 480.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 8, 2022
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Enhancing American Retirement Now Act or the EARN Act
This bill revises or establishes new tax provisions relating to retirement plans for individuals, retirees, public safety officers and military personnel, disaster relief, and employer plans.
The bill revises various provisions relating to individual retirement plans, including provisions to (1) establish a safe harbor for automatic enrollment plans; (2) allow a refundable income tax credit, up to $1,000, for retirement savings contributions; (3) allow penalty-free withdrawals from plans for emergency expenses; (4) modify age requirements for catch-up provisions; (5) allow penalty free withdrawals from plans in domestic abuse cases; (6) allow transfers of plans (portability); and (7) modify the age requirement for ABLE programs for disabled individuals.
The bill makes changes to plans for retirees, including by (1) increasing the age for the start of mandatory plan distributions, (2) reducing the excise tax on certain accumulations in qualified retirement plans, (3) recovering retirement plan overpayments, (4) modifying certain Roth IRA distribution requirements, and (5) allowing plan distributions for individuals with a terminal illness.
The bill modifies provisions relating to retirement plans of public safety offices and military personnel. It allows (1) small employers a tax credit for establishing military spouse retirement plans, (2) penalty-free distributions to firefighters, (3) a tax exclusion for certain disability-related payment for first responders, and (4) an exemption from the early withdrawal penalty for distributions to certain state and local corrections employees.
The bill establishes special tax rules for the use of retirement funds for federally declared disasters.
The bill also modifies or establishes requirements relating to employer plans, including (1) allowing a tax credit for small employers with respect to safe harbor requirements for retirement plans, (2) increasing the credit limitation for small employer pension plan startup costs, (3) reforming family attribution rules, (4) providing for starter 401(k) plans for employers with no retirement plan, (5) allowing a tax credit for small employers that adopt an automatic portability arrangement, (6) modifying Internal Revenue Service mortality tables, (7) extending the period for transferring excess pension assets to retiree health accounts, and (8) deferring the tax on certain sales of employer stock to employee stock ownership plans sponsored by S corporations.
The bill modifies provisions relating to the retirement of U.S. Tax Court judges, including participation in the Thrift Savings Plan.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Reported as an original measure Sep 8, 2022 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 8, 2022Introduced in Senate
- Sep 8, 2022Committee on Finance. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Wyden. With written report No. 117-142.
- Sep 8, 2022Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 480.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 23, 2022S. 4808, Enhancing American Retirement Now ActAs reported by the Senate Committee on Finance on September 8, 2022
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN12054 | The Tax Deduction for Conservation Easement Contributions Archived | Insight | Nov 29, 2022 |
Related bills 24
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
Titles 5
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- An original bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform retirement provisions, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- EARN Act
- Enhancing American Retirement Now Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- EARN Act
- Enhancing American Retirement Now Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.
- Bank accounts, deposits, capital
- Disaster relief and insurance
- Employee benefits and pensions
- First responders and emergency personnel
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Income tax credits
- Income tax deferral
- Life, casualty, property insurance
- Military personnel and dependents
- Sales and excise taxes
- Small business
- Taxation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 8, 2022Reported to Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
