Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, H.R. 1994, otherwise known as the SECURE Act.

This bill will make it easier for all hardworking Americans to have access to retirement savings plans to create a brighter financial future for themselves and their families.

In today's economy, far too many Americans do not have adequate access to traditional retirement savings vehicles such as an employer- sponsored 401(k) plans and pensions.

In fact, as of 2016, only 30 percent of American households had access to a defined-benefit plan and only 52 percent participated in a defined-contribution plan.

These statistics are even starker for minority families.

According to recent studies, while African-Americans participating in employer-based retirement plans were on par with White families, participation rates have dropped to 41 percent in 2013, compared to 65 percent for White families.

This bill would expand access to employer-sponsored retirement savings plans for all Americans and incentivize increased contributions to employee retirement accounts by employers.

It would also provide a tax credit for small businesses to defray the costs of providing their employees certain 401(k) retirement options that include automatic enrollment, which has proven to increase employee participation and result in higher retirement savings.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source