Nearly all U.S. House members last week said yes to a retirement plan improvement package. Cong. Darin LaHood of Peoria urged them to. The bill would put workers in retirement plans by default, let employers pay into 401k funds for employees who are paying down student loans, and let older workers pay more into their plans.
Employees who don’t want to be in retirement plans could opt out. Enrolling them unless they opt out is expected to get more of them to participate than by waiting for them to opt in. And the younger they are when they make retirement plan contributions, the better off they’ll be when retirement comes.
Older workers could pay up to $10,000 into retirement plans. The limit is $5,000 now for those age 50 and up. For younger workers, the limit is $4,000.
LaHood says student loan payments keep many workers from investing for retirement. He says letting the employer pay into the retirement fund while the student pays off a college loan is a better way.
All 16 House members from Illinois who voted on the bill last week voted yes. Cong. Cheri Bustos and Cong. Adam Kinzinger didn’t vote on it.
You can look up the bill at Congress.gov.