Five Things to Know About Proposed Tweaks to the Retirement Systems

The following article, by Anne Tergesen (WSJ), discusses possible revisions to the USA retirement system. These “proposed tweaks” may never happen or if they do, the changes will most likely be different than what follows. When I first began in taxes, an elderly tax practitioner told me to stop worrying about the future tax law changes and to make my decisions based upon the current law. For more often than not, I thought that was good advice. But that is not to say, we should bury our heads in the sand and not consider the provisions that Congress is working on.

-Mark Bradstreet

“In addition to giving annuities a greater role in 401(k) plans as part of its proposals to tweak the U.S. retirement system, Congress is considering provisions that could serve to expand workers’ access to retirement-savings plans and make it easier for savers to tap their accounts in case of emergencies. Here are five changes Americans could see in their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.

(1)     A New Item on 401(k) Disclosures
Currently, 401(k) plans are required to send participants quarterly and annual account statements with their balance. Under the proposed legislation, plan sponsors would have to show an estimate of the monthly income a participant’s balance could generate with an annuity, a detail akin to the payoff disclosures required on credit-card statements. The goal is to help workers better understand how prepared they are to maintain their income in retirement.

(2) A Repeal of the Age Limit on IRA Contributions
If you are 70 ½ or older, you can’t currently make deductible contributions to a traditional IRA. Congress is considering removing the age cap and allowing people above 70 ½ or older to deposit up to $6,500 a year in either a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. With a traditional IRA, account holder’s generally get to subtract their contributions from their income but they must pay ordinary income taxes on the money when they withdraw it – something they are required to do starting at age 70 ½ (the bill would do nothing to change that). With a Roth IRA, there is no upfront tax deduction but the money increases tax-free.

(3) More Types of Savings Accounts
Among the proposals under consideration is a new type of universal savings account that would offer more-flexible withdrawal rules than existing retirement accounts, according to Rep. Kenny Marchant (R, Texas) Employers could also be allowed to automatically enroll workers into emergency savings accounts. (Employees would be free to opt out.)

(4)  More Ways for Graduate Students to Fund IRAs
The bill would allow students to contribute taxable stipend or fellowship payments to an IRA, something that’s not currently possible.

(5)  Pooled 401(k) Plans
For years policy makers have tried to make retirement-savings plans more attractive and affordable to small businesses, many of which have no plan at all. About one-half of private-sector employees, many of whom work for small companies, lack access to a workplace retirement plan. Under one measure before Congress, small employers would be able to more easily band together to spread out the administrative costs of 401(k) plans. The proposal would eliminate a requirement that employers have a connection, such as being members of the same industry trade group, in order to join a so-called multiple-employer plan. Congress is also considering expanding a tax credit available to small companies to offset the costs of starting a new retirement plan. The annual credit amount would increase from $500 to as much as $5,000 for three years.”

Credit given to Anne Tergesen, WSJ
Saturday/Sunday July 21-22, 2018

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This week’s author – Mark Bradstreet, CPA
–until next week.