II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5271 

To establish the American Worker Retirement Plan, improve the financial 

security of working Americans by facilitating the accumulation of wealth, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 15, 2022 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish the American Worker Retirement Plan, improve 

the financial security of working Americans by facilitating the accumulation of wealth, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Retirement Savings for Americans Act of 2022’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Relationship to Social Security. 


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Sec. 4. Government benefits. 

TITLE I—THE AMERICAN WORKER RETIREMENT PLAN 

Sec. 101. The American Worker Retirement Fund. 

Sec. 102. Investment of American Worker Retirement Fund. 

Sec. 103. Eligibility. 

Sec. 104. Enrollment. 

Sec. 105. Contributions. 

Sec. 106. Distributions. 

Sec. 107. Accounts. 

Sec. 108. Tax treatment. 

Sec. 109. Spousal protections; survivor rights. 

TITLE II—THE AMERICAN WORKER RETIREMENT PLAN 

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 

Sec. 201. The American Worker Retirement Investment Board. 

Sec. 202. The American Worker Retirement Plan Advisory Council. 

Sec. 203. Executive Director. 

Sec. 204. Investment policies and selection of asset managers. 

Sec. 205. Administrative provisions. 

Sec. 206. Fiduciary responsibilities; liability and penalties. 

Sec. 207. Bonding. 

Sec. 208. Investigative authority. 

Sec. 209. Exculpatory provisions; insurance. 

Sec. 210. Subpoena authority. 

TITLE III—GOVERNMENT MATCH TAX CREDIT 

Sec. 301. Government Match Tax Credit. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 As used in this Act, except as otherwise provided: 

3 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘account’’ means an 

4 account established and maintained under section 

5 107. 

6 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

7 American Worker Retirement Investment Board es8 tablished under section 201. 

9 (3) BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘business’’ means 

10 any entity, including any sole proprietor, partnerVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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1 ship, limited liability company, or corporation, that 

2 engages in interstate commerce. 

3 (4) EARNINGS.—The term ‘‘earnings’’, when 

4 used with respect to the Fund, means the amount 

5 of the gain realized or yield received from the invest6 ment of sums in such Fund. 

7 (5) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu8 tive Director’’ means the Executive Director ap9 pointed under section 203. 

10 (6) EXISTING RETIREMENT PLAN.—The term 

11 ‘‘existing retirement plan’’ means— 

12 (A) an eligible retirement plan, as defined 

13 in section 402(c)(8)(B) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986, including any defined benefit 

15 plan; 

16 (B) the Thrift Savings Plan established 

17 under subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, 

18 United States Code; and 

19 (C) any other tax deferred employee retire20 ment plan determined by the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury to be consistent with the purposes of 

22 this Act. 

23 (7) FORMER PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘former 

24 participant’’ means a participant who has an acVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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1 count with the Fund and is no longer a qualifying 

2 worker. 

3 (8) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

4 American Worker Retirement Fund established 

5 under section 101(a). 

6 (9) INVESTMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The 

7 term ‘‘Investment Advisory Council’’ means the 

8 council established under section 202. 

9 (10) LOSS.—The term ‘‘loss’’, as used with re10 spect to the Fund, includes the amount of any loss 

11 resulting from the investment of sums in such Fund, 

12 or from the breach of any responsibility, duty, or ob13 ligation under section 206. 

14 (11) NET EARNINGS.—The term ‘‘net earn15 ings’’ means the excess of earnings over losses. 

16 (12) NET LOSSES.—The term ‘‘net losses’’ 

17 means the excess of losses over earnings. 

18 (13) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ 

19 means any qualifying worker who is enrolled to par20 ticipate in the Fund under section 104(a) and has 

21 not opted out of participation under section 

22 104(b)(3). 

23 (14) PARTICIPATING EMPLOYER.—The term 

24 ‘‘participating employer’’ means any business that— 

25 (A) employs a qualifying worker; or 


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1 (B) contracts with an independent con2 tractor who is a qualifying worker and opts to 

3 enroll such independent contractor to partici4 pate in the Fund under section 104(a)(2). 

5 (15) QUALIFYING WORKER.—The term ‘‘quali6 fying worker’’ means— 

7 (A) an employee who— 

8 (i) is employed by a business that has 

9 not established an existing retirement plan 

10 and does not provide an individual retire11 ment plan (as defined in section 

12 7701(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986) with an automatic enrollment 

14 payroll deduction arrangement; or 

15 (ii) is not eligible to participate in any 

16 such plan or arrangement established by 

17 the business that employs the employee; or 

18 (B) an independent contractor who— 

19 (i) is self-employed; and 

20 (ii) has not established an existing re21 tirement plan, and does not have an indi22 vidual retirement plan (as defined in sec23 tion 7701(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986) with an automatic enroll25 ment payroll deduction arrangement. 


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1 SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO SOCIAL SECURITY. 

2 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the funds 

3 payable under the Fund to participants and former par4 ticipants are in addition to the benefits payable under the 

5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.). 

6 SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT BENEFITS. 

7 The funds owned by an individual in an account and 

8 any contribution made to such funds by a participant or 

9 the Secretary of the Treasury shall not be taken into con10 sideration when determining the individual’s eligibility for 

11 any Federal public assistance benefit. 

12 TITLE I—THE AMERICAN 

13 WORKER RETIREMENT PLAN 

14 SEC. 101. THE AMERICAN WORKER RETIREMENT FUND. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

16 Treasury of the United States the American Worker Re17 tirement Fund. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The Fund shall consist of the sum 

19 of all amounts contributed under sections 105 and 301, 

20 increased by the total net earnings from investments of 

21 the sums in the Fund or reduced by the total net losses 

22 from investments of the Fund, and reduced by the total 

23 amount of payments made from the Fund (including pay24 ments for administrative expenses under subsection (e)). 

25 (c) INVESTMENT.—The sums in the Fund shall re26 main available without fiscal year limitation— 


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1 (1) to invest pursuant section 102; 

2 (2) to pay the administrative expenses of the 

3 Fund under subsection (e); 

4 (3) to make distributions as provided in section 

5 106; 

6 (4) to make loans as authorized under section 

7 106(h); and 

8 (5) to purchase insurance as provided in section 

9 209. 

10 (d) ACCOUNTS.—Each participant shall have an ac11 count with the Fund. Amounts contributed by a partici12 pant under section 105 and by the Secretary of the Treas13 ury under section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986 shall be deposited in the Fund and credited to the 

15 participant’s account in accordance with such procedures 

16 as the Secretary of the Treasury may, in consultation with 

17 the Executive Director, prescribe in regulation. 

18 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Administrative 

19 expenses (including expenses related to financial literacy 

20 requirements under section 201(f)(5)) incurred to carry 

21 out this Act shall be paid out of the net earnings of the 

22 Fund, including earnings attributed to returned credit 

23 amounts under section 25F(h) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986. 

25 (f) EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

2 and (3) and subsection (e), sums in the Fund cred3 ited to the accounts of a participant or former par4 ticipant may not be used for, or diverted to, pur5 poses other than for the exclusive benefit of the par6 ticipant or former participant, or a beneficiary there7 of, except as otherwise provided by law. 

8 (2) ASSIGNMENT.—Except as provided in para9 graph (3), sums in the Fund may not be assigned 

10 or alienated and are not subject to execution, levy, 

11 attachment, garnishment, or other legal process. For 

12 purposes of this paragraph, a loan made from the 

13 Fund to a participant shall not be considered to be 

14 an assignment or alienation. 

15 (3) LEGAL OBLIGATIONS.—Moneys due or pay16 able from the Fund to any individual and, in the 

17 case of an individual who is a participant or former 

18 participant, the balance in the account of the partici19 pant or former participant shall be subject to— 

20 (A) legal process for the enforcement of 

21 the individual’s legal obligation to provide child 

22 support or make alimony payments as provided 

23 in section 459 of the Social Security Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 659); 


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1 (B) an obligation of the Executive Director 

2 to make a payment to another person under 

3 section 109; and 

4 (C) any Federal tax levy under section 

5 6331 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 For the purposes of this paragraph, an amount con7 tributed for the benefit of a participant or former 

8 participant under section 25F of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 (including any earnings attrib10 utable thereto) shall be considered part of the bal11 ance in such participant or former participant’s ac12 count. 

13 (g) NON-APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—The sums in the 

14 Fund shall not be appropriated for any purpose other than 

15 the purposes specified in this section and may not be used 

16 for any other purpose. 

17 (h) BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS.—All sums contrib18 uted to the Fund by a participant or the Secretary of the 

19 Treasury for the benefit of such participant and all net 

20 earnings in such Fund in trust for such participant shall 

21 be the exclusive property of the participant. 

22 (i) NONFORFEITABLE.—All the contributions made 

23 under section 105 and section 25F of the Internal Rev24 enue Code of 1986 shall be fully nonforfeitable when 

25 made, except as provided in section 25F(h) of such Code. 


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1 SEC. 102. INVESTMENT OF AMERICAN WORKER RETIRE2 MENT FUND. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish the in4 vestment policies of the Fund and select the investment 

5 funds, indexes, and other investment products that the 

6 amounts in the Fund shall be invested in subject to the 

7 following conditions: 

8 (1) The Board shall provide for the following 

9 investment options for participants: 

10 (A) A Government Securities Investment 

11 Fund under which sums in the Fund are in12 vested in— 

13 (i) bonds issued or guaranteed by the 

14 United States Government; and 

15 (ii) bonds issued by Government-spon16 sored enterprises or Government corpora17 tions. 

18 (B) A Fixed-Income Investment Fund 

19 under which sums are in the Fund are invested 

20 in— 

21 (i) insurance contracts; 

22 (ii) certificates of deposit; and 

23 (iii) other instruments or obligations 

24 selected by qualified professional asset 

25 managers (as defined in section 8438(a)(8) 

26 of title 5, United States Code), 


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1 which return the amount invested and pay in2 terest, at a specific rate or rates, on that 

3 amount during a specific period of time. 

4 (C) A Common Stock Index Investment 

5 Fund, as described in section 8438(b)(2) of 

6 title 5, United States Code. 

7 (D) A Small Capitalization Stock Index In8 vestment Fund, as described in section 

9 8438(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (E) An International Stock Index Invest11 ment Fund, as described in section 8438(b)(4) 

12 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (F) A Life-Cycle Investment Fund con14 sisting of target date asset allocation portfolios. 

15 (2) The Board may, in its discretion, provide 

16 for other investment options for participants con17 sistent with the Board’s fiduciary duty set forth in 

18 sections 201 and 206. 

19 (3) The Board shall consult with the Invest20 ment Advisory Council before authorizing additional 

21 investment options for participants. 

22 (b) INVESTMENTS.— 

23 (1) INVESTMENT SELECTION.—The Executive 

24 Director shall invest the sums available in the Fund 


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1 for investment as provided in the selection made 

2 under subsection (c). 

3 (2) DEFAULT OPTION.—If a selection has not 

4 been made with respect to any sums available for in5 vestment in the Fund, the Executive Director shall 

6 invest such sums in an age-appropriate Life-Cycle 

7 Investment Fund, as determined by the Executive 

8 Director. 

9 (c) INVESTMENT SELECTION.—As often as is prac10 tical, but not less than twice per year, a participant may 

11 select the investment funds and options referred to in sub12 section (a) into which the amounts in the Fund credited 

13 to the participant’s accounts are to be invested or rein14 vested. A selection may be made under this subsection only 

15 in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Executive 

16 Director and within such period as the Executive Director 

17 shall provide in such regulations, but in no event less fre18 quently than twice a year. 

19 (d) VOTING RIGHTS.—Participants, former partici20 pants, the Board, and the Executive Director may not ex21 ercise voting rights associated with the ownership of secu22 rities by the Fund. 

23 (e) REPORTS.—The Board shall issue regular reports 

24 (not less frequently than quarterly) to participants and 

25 former participants on the performance of each investment 


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1 option selected under subsection (a), which shall include 

2 personalized estimates of assets and income at retirement, 

3 the additional assets and income at retirement a partici4 pant would have if the participant makes sufficient con5 tributions to receive the maximum amount of the Govern6 ment match tax credit under section 25F of the Internal 

7 Revenue Code of 1986, and any other information the 

8 Board determines may help participants make sound fi9 nancial decisions. The Board shall provide the reports re10 quired under this subsection by electronic delivery, except 

11 that upon the request of a participant or former partici12 pant, reports shall be provided by mail to such individual. 

13 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY. 

14 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—A qualifying worker shall be eligi15 ble to participate in the Fund upon completion of the en16 rollment process set forth in section 104. 

17 (b) CESSATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—A former partici18 pant shall not be eligible to contribute to the Fund under 

19 section 105(a) but shall remain the owner of the funds 

20 in the former participant’s account with the Fund (and 

21 any net earnings attributable to such funds) subject to the 

22 withdrawal conditions established under section 106, and 

23 may exercise investment decisions with respect to such ac24 count on the same basis as a participant. 


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1 SEC. 104. ENROLLMENT. 

2 (a) ENROLLMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas4 ury and the Executive Director shall jointly establish 

5 an enrollment process for participating employers to 

6 enroll qualifying workers to participate in the Fund 

7 that incorporates, to the extent practicable, such en8 rollment and participant contributions under section 

9 105(a) into Federal tax withholding forms and pay10 ments. 

11 (2) INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.—In the case 

12 of independent contractors who are qualifying work13 ers, the enrollment process shall allow businesses 

14 who have contracts with such qualifying workers to 

15 elect to enroll such qualifying workers to participate 

16 in the Fund. 

17 (b) AUTO-ENROLLMENT; OPT-OUT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each participating employer 

19 shall enroll each of its qualifying workers to partici20 pate in the Fund under subsection (a) unless such 

21 qualifying worker elects to opt out of participating 

22 pursuant to paragraph (3). A qualifying worker who 

23 is a sole proprietor or independent contractor shall 

24 enroll or elect to opt out of participating pursuant 

25 to paragraph (3). 


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1 (2) AUTOMATIC CONTRIBUTION RATES.—Each 

2 qualifying worker enrolled under paragraph (1) shall 

3 be automatically enrolled to make contributions 

4 under section 105(a) at the default percentage of 3 

5 percent of the qualifying worker’s compensation 

6 from the employer for such period as shall be estab7 lished by regulation under section 105(a)(3). 

8 (3) OPT-OUT.—A qualifying worker may elect 

9 to opt out of participating in the Fund pursuant to 

10 procedures established jointly by the Secretary of the 

11 Treasury and the Executive Director as part of the 

12 regulations governing the enrollment process set 

13 forth in subsection (a). If a qualifying worker elects 

14 to opt out of participating in the Fund, such quali15 fying worker shall not be enrolled in subsequent 

16 years unless the qualifying worker elects to partici17 pate in the Fund. The Secretary of the Treasury 

18 and the Executive Director shall determine proce19 dures to establish accounts for qualifying workers 

20 who elect to opt out of participating in the Fund 

21 who are determined to be eligible for automatic con22 tributions or who would make contributions other23 wise allowable by law outside the withholding proc24 ess. 

25 (c) PENALTIES.— 


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1 (1) PENALTY.—A participating employer who 

2 fails to enroll a qualifying worker pursuant to sub3 section (b) or fails to deposit in the Fund the 

4 amount of a participant’s contributions under sec5 tion 105(a) shall be subject to a penalty equal to the 

6 applicable penalty percentage of the amount of the 

7 contributions by the qualifying worker or partici8 pant, as the case may be, that the participating em9 ployer fails to deposit due to failure to enroll the 

10 qualifying worker or otherwise deposit such funds. 

11 The Secretary of the Treasury and the Executive 

12 Director shall jointly prescribe regulations under 

13 which a participating employer shall be required to 

14 pay to the Fund amounts representing lost earnings 

15 resulting from errors made by such participating 

16 employer in carrying out this section. 

17 (2) APPLICABLE PENALTY PERCENTAGE.—The 

18 term ‘‘applicable penalty percentage’’ means— 

19 (A) 2 percent if the failure is for not more 

20 than 5 days; 

21 (B) 5 percent if the failure is for more 

22 than 5 days but not more than 15 days; and 

23 (C) 10 percent if the failure is for more 

24 than 15 days. 


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1 (3) FUNDS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

2 shall credit to the Fund, out of any sums in the 

3 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the amount 

4 determined by the Executive Director to be nec5 essary to carry out this section and section 105(d). 

6 SEC. 105. CONTRIBUTIONS. 

7 (a) CONTRIBUTIONS BY PARTICIPANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the regulations 

9 established under subsection (d), a participant may 

10 make contributions to the participant’s account with 

11 the Fund in any pay period in an amount not to ex12 ceed the participant’s compensation for such period. 

13 (2) CATCH-UP CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwith14 standing the limitation under paragraph (1), a par15 ticipant may make such additional contributions to 

16 the participant’s account with the Fund as are per17 mitted by section 414(v) of the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986, and the regulations established under 

19 subsection (d) consistent therewith. 

20 (3) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary of the 

21 Treasury and the Executive Director shall jointly 

22 prescribe regulations that establish a program of 

23 regular contribution under which participants may— 

24 (A) make contributions to their accounts 

25 with the Fund under paragraph (1); 


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1 (B) modify the amount contributed under 

2 such paragraph; or 

3 (C) terminate such contributions. 

4 (4) ELECTION.—An election to make contribu5 tions under this subsection— 

6 (A) may be made at any time; 

7 (B) shall take effect on the earliest date 

8 after the election that is administratively fea9 sible; and 

10 (C) shall remain in effect until modified or 

11 terminated. 

12 (b) CONTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT MATCH TAX

13 CREDIT.—A participant’s account shall receive contribu14 tions in the form of the Government Match Tax Credit 

15 contributed by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 

16 25F of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

17 (c) CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.—Notwithstanding any 

18 other provision of this section, no contribution may be 

19 made under this section for any year to the extent that 

20 such contribution, when added to prior contributions for 

21 such year, exceeds any limitation under section 219(b)(5) 

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Any contribution 

23 made under section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986 shall not be taken into account for purposes of the 

25 preceding sentence. 


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1 (d) TREATMENT AS ROTH CONTRIBUTIONS.—Con2 tributions under subsection (a) shall not be excludable 

3 from gross income and no deduction shall be allowed with 

4 respect to such contributions under section 219 of the In5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 (e) REGULATIONS.—The amounts contributed to the 

7 Fund by a participant under section 105(a) and on behalf 

8 of a participant by the Secretary of the Treasury under 

9 section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall 

10 be deposited in the Fund and credited to the participant’s 

11 account with the Fund pursuant to regulations jointly pre12 scribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Execu13 tive Director. 

14 SEC. 106. DISTRIBUTIONS. 

15 (a) FORMER PARTICIPANTS.—A former participant is 

16 entitled to access the amounts in the former participant’s 

17 account as provided in this section. Amounts in the ac18 count of a former participant shall remain in the Fund 

19 until distributed in accordance with subsection (b). 

20 (b) FORMER PARTICIPANT WITHDRAWAL OP21 TIONS.—Subject to section 109, a former participant is 

22 entitled to and may elect to withdraw from the Fund the 

23 balance of the former participant’s account as— 

24 (1) an annuity; 

25 (2) a single payment; 


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1 (3) 2 or more substantially equal payments to 

2 be made not less frequently than annually; or 

3 (4) any combination of payments described in 

4 paragraphs (1) through (3) as the Executive Direc5 tor may prescribe by regulation. 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL FORMER PARTICIPANT WITH7 DRAWAL OPTIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the right pro9 vided under subsection (b) to withdraw the balance 

10 of the account, a former participant may make 1 or 

11 more withdrawals of any amount in the same man12 ner as a single payment is made in accordance with 

13 subsection (b)(2) from the former participant’s ac14 count. 

15 (2) TRANSFERS TO RETIREMENT PLANS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—A former participant 

17 may request that the amount withdrawn from 

18 the Fund under paragraph (1) be transferred to 

19 an existing retirement plan. 

20 (B) TRANSFERS.—The Executive Director 

21 shall make each transfer directly to an existing 

22 retirement plan identified by the former partici23 pant for whom the transfer is made. A transfer 

24 shall not be made under the preceding sentence 

25 until the Executive Director receives from the 


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1 former participant the information required by 

2 the Executive Director specifically to identify 

3 the existing retirement plan to which the trans4 fer is to be made. 

5 (3) LIMITATIONS.—Withdrawals under this 

6 subsection shall be subject to such other limitations 

7 or conditions as the Executive Director may pre8 scribe by regulation. 

9 (d) PAYMENT OF ANNUITIES.—The Board shall pre10 scribe methods of payment of annuities under this Act 

11 substantially similar to those provided for under section 

12 8434 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (e) FORMER PARTICIPANT CHANGES TO ELEC14 TIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 109, a 

16 former participant may change an election previously 

17 made under this section, except that in the case of 

18 an election to receive an annuity, a former partici19 pant may not change an election under this section 

20 on or after the date on which an annuity contract 

21 is purchased to provide for the annuity elected by 

22 the former participant. 

23 (2) DISTRIBUTIONS MADE.—A former partici24 pant may not return a distribution once made pur25 suant to an election under this section. 


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1 (f) SURVIVOR RIGHTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a participant or a former 

3 participant dies without having made an election 

4 under subsection (b) or after having elected an an5 nuity under subsection (b) but before making an 

6 election for payments to a survivor rights under sec7 tion 8434 of title 5, United States Code, an amount 

8 equal to the value of that individual’s account (as of 

9 death) shall, subject to any decree, order, or agree10 ment referred to in section 109, be paid in a manner 

11 consistent with the requirements of section 109. 

12 (2) MAINTENANCE OF ACCOUNT.—Notwith13 standing section 109, if a participant or former par14 ticipant dies and has designated as sole or partial 

15 beneficiary the spouse of the participant or former 

16 participant at the time of death, or, if a participant 

17 or former participant dies with no designated bene18 ficiary and is survived by a spouse, the spouse may 

19 maintain the portion of the participant or former 

20 participant’s account to which the spouse is entitled 

21 in accordance with the following terms: 

22 (A) Subject to the limitations of subpara23 graph (B), the spouse shall have the same with24 drawal options under subsection (b) as a former 

25 participant. 


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1 (B) The spouse may not make withdrawals 

2 under subsection (h) or (i). 

3 (C) The spouse may not make contribu4 tions or transfers to the account. 

5 (D) The account shall be disbursed upon 

6 the death of the surviving spouse of the partici7 pant or former participant and shall not be 

8 maintained by a beneficiary or surviving spouse 

9 of the surviving spouse who inherited the ac10 count. 

11 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Director 

12 shall prescribe regulations to carry out this sub13 section. 

14 (g) SMALL BALANCE ACCOUNTS.—Notwithstanding 

15 subsection (b), if a former participant’s account balance 

16 is less than an amount that the Executive Director pre17 scribes by regulation, the Executive Director shall pay the 

18 nonforfeitable account balance to the participant in a sin19 gle payment. The Executive Director may prescribe more 

20 than 1 balance amount for payment under this subsection 

21 based on age of the former participant. 

22 (h) LOANS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participant or former par24 ticipant may apply to the Board for permission to 

25 borrow from the participant or former participant’s 


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1 account an amount not exceeding the value of that 

2 portion of such account which is attributable to con3 tributions made by the participant or former partici4 pant. Before a loan is issued, the Executive Director 

5 shall provide to the participant or former participant 

6 in writing with appropriate information concerning 

7 the cost of the loan relative to other sources of fi8 nancing, as well as the lifetime cost of the loan, in9 cluding the difference in interest rates between the 

10 funds offered by the Fund and any other effect of 

11 such loan on the participant or former participant’s 

12 final account balance. 

13 (2) SPECIAL RULES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Loans under this sub15 section shall be available to all participant and 

16 former participants on a reasonably equivalent 

17 basis, and shall be subject to such other condi18 tions as the Board may prescribe by regulation, 

19 which shall be as equivalent as practically pos20 sible to those provided for under the Thrift 

21 Savings Plan. The restrictions of section 

22 206(c)(1) shall not apply to loans made under 

23 this subsection. 

24 (B) LIMITATION BASED ON TAX TREAT25 MENT.—A loan may not be made under this 


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•S 5271 IS

1 subsection to the extent that the loan would be 

2 treated as a taxable distribution under section 

3 72(p) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 (C) SPOUSAL PROTECTIONS.—A loan may 

5 not be made under this subsection unless the 

6 requirements of section 109 are satisfied. 

7 (i) VOLUNTARY DISTRIBUTIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participant may apply, be9 fore becoming a former participant, to the Board for 

10 permission to withdraw an amount from the partici11 pant’s account based upon— 

12 (A) the participant having attained age 

591 13 ⁄2; or 

14 (B) financial hardship. 

15 (2) LIMITATIONS.—A withdrawal under para16 graph (1)(B) shall be available only for an amount 

17 not exceeding the value of that portion of such ac18 count which is attributable to contributions made by 

19 the participant. Withdrawals under paragraph (1) 

20 shall be subject to such other limitations or condi21 tions as the Executive Director may prescribe by 

22 regulation, which shall be as equivalent as prac23 tically possible to those provided for under the 

24 Thrift Savings Plan. 


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1 (3) SPOUSAL PROTECTIONS.—A withdrawal 

2 may not be made under this subsection unless the 

3 requirements of section 109 are satisfied. 

4 (j) INVOLUNTARY DISTRIBUTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participant shall receive a 

6 distribution from the Fund if the participant’s gross 

7 income for a taxable year exceeds the dollar thresh8 old (as adjusted by the Secretary of the Treasury) 

9 established under section 414(q)(1)(B) of the Inter10 nal Revenue Code of 1986. 

11 (2) AMOUNT OF DISTRIBUTION.—The amount 

12 of a distribution under paragraph (1) shall be equal 

13 to the sum of such participant’s contributions to the 

14 Fund for the taxable year for which such distribu15 tion is required under paragraph (1), increased by 

16 any gains attributable to such contributions, and de17 creased by any losses attributable to such contribu18 tions, any early withdrawal penalties, and any ex19 penses associated with make such distribution. 

20 (3) PROCESS FOR DISTRIBUTION.— 

21 (A) NOTICE TO PARTICIPANT.—The Exec22 utive Director shall provide notice to a partici23 pant subject to a distribution under paragraph 

24 (1) not later than 7 days after the Executive 

25 Director determines that such participant is 


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1 subject to such distribution, based on informa2 tion regarding participants’ gross income pro3 vided by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

4 (B) METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION.—Not 

5 later than 30 days after receiving notice under 

6 subparagraph (A), a participant may elect to 

7 direct that a distribution under paragraph (1) 

8 be made— 

9 (i) in the case of an eligible rollover 

10 distribution (as defined in section 402(c) 

11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), to 

12 an eligible retirement plan (as defined in 

13 such section of such code); or 

14 (ii) directly to such participant. 

15 (C) DEFAULT ELECTION.—In the case of a 

16 participant who fails to make an election within 

17 the period described in subparagraph (B), the 

18 Executive Director shall make the distribution 

19 directly to such participant. 

20 (4) TAX TREATMENT OF INVOLUNTARY DIS21 TRIBUTION.—A distribution made under paragraph 

22 (1) directly to the participant under subparagraph 

23 (B)(ii) or (C) shall be treated as an early distribu24 tion from a qualified retirement plan pursuant to 

25 section 72(t) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 


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•S 5271 IS

1 to the extent such distribution does not consist of 

2 participant contributions to the Fund. 

3 (k) TREATMENT AS ROTH DISTRIBUTIONS.—The 

4 rules of sections 408(d) and 408A(d) of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 shall apply to distributions from the 

6 Fund in the same manner as if such Fund were a Roth 

7 IRA. For purposes of the preceding sentence, contribu8 tions made under section 25F of such Code shall be treat9 ed as employer contributions which were not includible in 

10 gross income. 

11 SEC. 107. ACCOUNTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director shall es13 tablish and maintain an account for each participant who 

14 makes contributions under section 105(a), or for whom 

15 contributions are made under section 25F of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986, to the Fund. 

17 (b) ACCOUNT BALANCES.—The balance in a partici18 pant’s account is the excess of— 

19 (1) the sum of— 

20 (A) all contributions made to the Fund by 

21 the participant under section 105(a); 

22 (B) all contributions made to the Fund for 

23 the benefit of the participant by the Secretary 

24 of the Treasury under section 25F of the Inter25 nal Revenue Code of 1986; and 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (C) the total amount of the allocations 

2 made to and reduction made in the account 

3 pursuant to subsection (c); over 

4 (2) the amounts paid out of the Fund with re5 spect to such participant under this title. 

6 (c) ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND LOSSES.—Pur7 suant to regulation prescribed by the Executive Director, 

8 the Executive Director shall allocate to each account an 

9 amount equal to a pro rata share of the net earnings and 

10 net losses from each investment of sums in the Fund at11 tributed to sums credited to such account, reduced by the 

12 appropriate share of the administrative expenses paid out 

13 of the net earnings under section 101(e) as determined 

14 by the Executive Director. 

15 SEC. 108. TAX TREATMENT. 

16 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, for purposes 

17 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, rules similar to 

18 the rules that apply with respect to the Thrift Savings 

19 Fund (including the rules of section 8440 of title 5, 

20 United States Code) shall apply with respect to the Amer21 ican Worker Retirement Fund. 

22 SEC. 109. SPOUSAL PROTECTIONS; SURVIVOR RIGHTS. 

23 The provisions for spousal protections and court or24 ders under section 8435 and 8467 of title 5, United States 

25 Code, respectively, shall apply in the same manner to govVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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1 ernance of the Fund and to accounts of participants and 

2 former participants as such sections are applied with re3 spect to the Thrift Savings Plan and its accounts. The 

4 Executive Director shall issue regulations that establish 

5 spousal protections and survivor rights with respect to 

6 participants and former participants that are as equiva7 lent as practically possible to those provided for under the 

8 Thrift Savings Plan pursuant to chapter 84 of title 5, 

9 United States Code. 

10 TITLE II—THE AMERICAN WORK11 ER RETIREMENT PLAN IN12 VESTMENT MANAGEMENT 

13 SYSTEM 

14 SEC. 201. THE AMERICAN WORKER RETIREMENT INVEST15 MENT BOARD. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex17 ecutive branch of the Government the American Worker 

18 Retirement Investment Board. 

19 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be composed 

20 of— 

21 (1) 3 members appointed by the President, of 

22 whom 1 shall be designated by the President as 

23 Chair; 

24 (2) 1 member appointed by the President after 

25 taking into consideration the recommendation made 


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1 by the majority leader of the Senate in consultation 

2 with the minority leader of the Senate; and 

3 (3) 1 member appointed by the President after 

4 taking into consideration the recommendation made 

5 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 

6 consultation with the minority leader of the House 

7 of Representatives. 

8 (c) SENATE CONFIRMATION.—Appointments under 

9 subsection (b) shall be made with the advice and consent 

10 of the Senate. 

11 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Board shall 

13 have substantial experience, training, and expertise 

14 in the management of financial investments and 

15 pension benefit plans. 

16 (2) DISQUALIFICATION.—No member of the 

17 Board may be an officer or employee of the Federal 

18 Government. 

19 (e) TERMS; VACANCIES.— 

20 (1) TERMS.—A member of the Board shall be 

21 appointed for a term of 4 years, except that of the 

22 members first appointed under subsection (b)— 

23 (A) the Chair shall be appointed for a term 

24 of 4 years; 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (B) the members appointed under para2 graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) shall be 

3 appointed for terms of 3 years; and 

4 (C) the remaining members shall be ap5 pointed for terms of 2 years. 

6 (2) VACANCIES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

8 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the 

9 original appointment was made and shall be 

10 subject to any conditions which applied with re11 spect to the original appointment. 

12 (B) TERM.—An individual chosen to fill a 

13 vacancy shall be appointed for the unexpired 

14 term of the member replaced. 

15 (C) EXPIRATION.—The term of any mem16 ber shall not expire before the date on which 

17 the member’s successor takes office. 

18 (f) BOARD DUTIES.—The Board shall— 

19 (1) establish policies for— 

20 (A) the investment and management of the 

21 Fund; and 

22 (B) the administration of title I of this 

23 Act; 

24 (2) hire and set the compensation for the Exec25 utive Director; 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (3) review the performance of investments made 

2 for the Fund; 

3 (4) review and approve the budget of the 

4 Board; and 

5 (5) develop evidence-based financial literacy re6 quirements for participants in the Fund, including 

7 requirements for financial literacy interventions to 

8 occur prior to a participant— 

9 (A) taking an early withdrawal from their 

10 account at the Fund pursuant to section 106(i); 

11 and 

12 (B) taking a loan from such account pur13 suant to section 106(h). 

14 (g) BOARD AUTHORITIES; INVESTMENT LIMITA15 TIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may— 

17 (A) adopt, alter, and use a seal; 

18 (B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

19 direct the Executive Director to take such ac20 tion as the Board considers appropriate to 

21 carry out the provisions of this Act and the 

22 policies of the Board; 

23 (C) upon the concurring votes of 4 mem24 bers, remove the Executive Director from office 

25 for good cause shown; and 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (D) take such other action as may be nec2 essary to carry out the functions of the Board. 

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—Except in the case of invest4 ments under section 102(b)(2), the Board may not 

5 direct the Executive Director to invest or to cause 

6 to be invested any sums in the Fund in a specific 

7 asset or to dispose of or cause to be disposed of any 

8 specific asset of such Fund. 

9 (h) BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES.—The members of the 

10 Board shall discharge their responsibilities under this Act 

11 solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries. 

12 (i) BUDGET.—The Board shall prepare and submit 

13 to the President, and, at the same time, to the appropriate 

14 committees of Congress, an annual budget of the expenses 

15 and other items relating to the Board which shall be in16 cluded as a separate item in the budget required to be 

17 transmitted to the Congress under section 1105 of title 

18 31, United States Code. 

19 (j) LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Board 

20 may submit to the President, and, at the same time, shall 

21 submit to each House of the Congress, any legislative rec22 ommendations of the Board relating to any of its functions 

23 under this title. 


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1 SEC. 202. THE AMERICAN WORKER RETIREMENT PLAN AD2 VISORY COUNCIL. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Board shall establish an 

4 American Worker Retirement Plan Advisory Council. The 

5 Council shall be composed of 7 members appointed by the 

6 Chair of the Board in accordance with subsection (b). 

7 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair shall appoint 7 mem8 bers of the Council, of whom— 

9 (1) 3 shall be appointed who have experience 

10 managing investment funds; 

11 (2) 2 shall be appointed who have experience 

12 operating small businesses; and 

13 (3) 2 shall be appointed who have experience 

14 providing investment advice to small businesses and 

15 low-income workers. 

16 (c) HEAD OF COUNCIL; TERMS; VACANCIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair of the Board 

18 shall designate 1 member of the Council to serve as 

19 head of the Council. 

20 (2) TERM.—A member of the Council shall be 

21 appointed for a term of 4 years. 

22 (3) VACANCIES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy in the Coun24 cil shall be filled in the manner in which the 

25 original appointment was made and shall be 


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•S 5271 IS

1 subject to any conditions which applied with re2 spect to the original appointment. 

3 (B) TERM.—An individual chosen to fill a 

4 vacancy shall be appointed for the unexpired 

5 term of the member replaced. 

6 (C) EXPIRATION.—The term of any mem7 ber shall not expire before the date on which 

8 the member’s successor takes office. 

9 (d) MAJORITY APPROVAL.—The Council shall act by 

10 resolution of a majority of the members. 

11 (e) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

12 (1) advise the Board and the Executive Direc13 tor on matters relating to— 

14 (A) investment policies for the Fund; and 

15 (B) the administration of title I of this 

16 Act; and 

17 (2) perform such other duties as the Board may 

18 direct with respect to investment funds established 

19 in accordance with title I. 

20 SEC. 203. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Board shall appoint, 

23 without regard to the provisions of law governing 

24 appointments in the competitive service, an ExecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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•S 5271 IS

1 tive Director by action agreed to by a majority of 

2 the members of the Board. 

3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Executive Director 

4 shall have substantial experience, training, and ex5 pertise in the management of financial investments 

6 and pension benefit plans. 

7 (b) DUTIES.—The Executive Director shall— 

8 (1) carry out the policies established by the 

9 Board; 

10 (2) invest and manage the Fund in accordance 

11 with investment policies and other policies estab12 lished by the Board; 

13 (3) administer the provisions of this Act; 

14 (4) prescribe such regulations (other than regu15 lations relating to fiduciary responsibilities) as may 

16 be necessary for the administration of this Act; 

17 (5) meet from time to time with the Council 

18 upon the request of the Council; and 

19 (6) enforce the financial literary requirements 

20 established by the Board pursuant to 201(f)(5). 

21 (c) AUTHORITIES.—The Executive Director may— 

22 (1) prescribe such regulations as may be nec23 essary to carry out the responsibilities of the Execu24 tive Director under this section, other than regula25 tions relating to fiduciary responsibilities; 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (2) appoint such personnel as may be necessary 

2 to carry out the provisions of this Act; 

3 (3) subject to approval by the Board, procure 

4 the services of experts and consultants under section 

5 3109 of title 5, United States Code; 

6 (4) make such payments out of sums in the 

7 Fund as the Executive Director determines are nec8 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act and the 

9 policies of the Board; 

10 (5) pay the compensation, per diem, and travel 

11 expenses of individuals appointed under paragraphs 

12 (2), (3), and (7) of this subsection from the Fund; 

13 (6) except as otherwise expressly prohibited by 

14 law or the policies of the Board, delegate any of the 

15 Executive Director’s functions to such employees 

16 under the Board as the Executive Director may des17 ignate and authorize such successive redelegations of 

18 such functions to such employees under the Board 

19 as the Executive Director may consider to be nec20 essary or appropriate; and 

21 (7) take such other actions as are appropriate 

22 to carry out the functions of the Executive Director. 


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1 SEC. 204. INVESTMENT POLICIES AND SELECTION OF 

2 ASSET MANAGERS. 

3 (a) INVESTMENT POLICIES.—The Board shall de4 velop investment policies under section 201(f)(1) which 

5 provide for— 

6 (1) prudent investments suitable for accumu7 lating funds for payment of retirement income; and 

8 (2) low administrative costs. 

9 (b) ASSET MANAGERS.—The Board shall select asset 

10 managers to manage the Fund, subject to the following 

11 conditions: 

12 (1) The Board shall select a number of asset 

13 managers necessary to ensure that no asset manager 

14 shall be responsible for managing the greater of— 

15 (A) $500,000,000,000; or 

16 (B) 10 percent of the Fund’s assets. 

17 (2) The Board shall limit any contract with an 

18 asset manager to a maximum of 5 years. 

19 SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

20 (a) BOARD MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet— 

21 (1) not less than once during each month; and 

22 (2) at additional times at the call of the Chair. 

23 (b) BOARD GOVERNANCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sec25 tion 201(g)(1)(C), the Board shall perform the funcVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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•S 5271 IS

1 tions and exercise the powers of the Board on a ma2 jority vote of a quorum of the Board. 

3 (2) QUORUM.—3 members of the Board shall 

4 constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 

5 (3) EFFECT OF VACANCY.—A vacancy on the 

6 Board shall not impair the authority of a quorum of 

7 the Board to perform the functions and exercise the 

8 power of the Board. 

9 (c) BOARD COMPENSATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Board 

11 shall be compensated at the daily rate of basic pay 

12 for level IV of the Executive Schedule for each day 

13 during which such member is engaged in performing 

14 a function of the Board. 

15 (2) PER DIEM, ETC.—A member of the Board 

16 shall be paid travel, per diem, and other necessary 

17 expenses while traveling away from such member’s 

18 home or regular place of business in the perform19 ance of the duties of the Board. 

20 (3) PAYMENT FROM FUND.—Payments author21 ized under this subsection shall be paid from the 

22 Fund as administrative expenses permitted under 

23 section 101(e). 


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1 SEC. 206. FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES; LIABILITY AND 

2 PENALTIES. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

4 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘account’’ is not lim5 ited by the definition provided in section 2. 

6 (2) ADEQUATE CONSIDERATION.—The term 

7 ‘‘adequate consideration’’ means— 

8 (A) in the case of a security for which 

9 there is a generally recognized market— 

10 (i) the price of the security prevailing 

11 on a national securities exchange which is 

12 registered under section 6 of the Securities 

13 Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78f); or 

14 (ii) if the security is not traded on 

15 such a national securities exchange, a price 

16 not less favorable to the Fund than the of17 fering price for the security as established 

18 by the current bid and asked prices quoted 

19 by persons independent of the issuer and 

20 of any party in interest; and 

21 (B) in the case of an asset other than a se22 curity for which there is a generally recognized 

23 market, the fair market value of the asset as 

24 determined in good faith by a fiduciary or fidu25 ciaries in accordance with regulations pre26 scribed by the Secretary of Labor. 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (3) FIDUCIARY.—The term ‘‘fiduciary’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) a member of the Board; 

4 (B) the Executive Director; 

5 (C) any person who has or exercises discre6 tionary authority or discretionary control over 

7 the management or disposition of the assets of 

8 the Fund; and 

9 (D) any person who, with respect to the 

10 Fund, is described in section 3(21)(A) of the 

11 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

12 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(21)(A)). 

13 (4) PARTY IN INTEREST.—The term ‘‘party in 

14 interest’’ includes— 

15 (A) any fiduciary; 

16 (B) any counsel to a person who is a fidu17 ciary, with respect to the actions of such person 

18 as a fiduciary; 

19 (C) any participant; 

20 (D) any person providing services to the 

21 Board and, with respect to the actions of the 

22 Executive Director as a fiduciary, any person 

23 providing services to the Executive Director; 

24 (E) a labor organization, the members of 

25 which are participants; 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (F) a spouse, sibling, ancestor, lineal de2 scendant, or spouse of a lineal descendant of a 

3 person described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

4 (D); 

5 (G) a corporation, partnership, or trust or 

6 estate of which, or in which, at least 50 percent 

7 of— 

8 (i) the combined voting power of all 

9 classes of stock entitled to vote or the total 

10 value of shares of all classes of stock of 

11 such corporation, 

12 (ii) the capital interest or profits in13 terest of such partnership, or 

14 (iii) the beneficial interest of such 

15 trust or estate, 

16 is owned directly or indirectly or held by a per17 son described in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), or 

18 (E); 

19 (H) an official (including a director) of, or 

20 an individual employed by, a person described 

21 in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), (E), or (G), or 

22 an individual having powers or responsibilities 

23 similar to those of such an official; 

24 (I) a holder (directly or indirectly) of at 

25 least 10 percent of the shares in a person deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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1 scribed in any subparagraph referred to in sub2 paragraph (H); and 

3 (J) a person who, directly or indirectly, is 

4 at least a 10 percent partner or joint venturer 

5 (measured in capital or profits) in a person de6 scribed in any subparagraph referred to in sub7 paragraph (H). 

8 (b) DUTIES.—To the extent not inconsistent with the 

9 provisions of this Act and the policies prescribed by the 

10 Board, a fiduciary shall discharge the fiduciary’s respon11 sibilities with respect to the Fund or applicable portion 

12 thereof solely in the interest of the participants and bene13 ficiaries and— 

14 (1) for the exclusive purpose of— 

15 (A) providing benefits to participants and 

16 their beneficiaries; and 

17 (B) defraying reasonable expenses of ad18 ministering the Fund or applicable portions 

19 thereof; 

20 (2) with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence 

21 under the circumstances then prevailing that a pru22 dent individual acting in a like capacity and familiar 

23 with such matters would use in the conduct of an 

24 enterprise of a like character and with like objec25 tives; and 


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1 (3) to the extent permitted by section 102, by 

2 diversifying the investments of the Fund or applica3 ble portions thereof so as to minimize the risk of 

4 large losses, unless under the circumstances it is 

5 clearly prudent not to do so. 

6 (c) OWNERSHIP JURISDICTIONS.—No fiduciary may 

7 maintain the indicia of ownership of any assets of the 

8 Fund outside the jurisdiction of the district courts of the 

9 United States. 

10 (d) TRANSACTIONS.— 

11 (1) PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS.—A fiduciary 

12 shall not permit the Fund to engage in any of the 

13 following transactions, except in exchange for ade14 quate consideration: 

15 (A) A transfer of any assets of the Fund 

16 to any person the fiduciary knows or should 

17 know to be a party in interest or the use of 

18 such assets by any such persons. 

19 (B) An acquisition of any property from or 

20 sale of any property to the Fund by any person 

21 the fiduciary knows or should know to be a 

22 party in interest. 

23 (C) A transfer or exchange of services be24 tween the Fund and any person the fiduciary 

25 knows or should know to be a party in interest. 


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1 (2) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

2 paragraph (1), a fiduciary with respect to the Fund 

3 shall not— 

4 (A) deal with any assets of the Fund in 

5 the fiduciary’s own interest or for the fidu6 ciary’s own account; 

7 (B) act, in an individual capacity or any 

8 other capacity, in any transaction involving the 

9 Fund on behalf of a party, or representing a 

10 party, whose interests are adverse to the inter11 ests of the Fund or the interests of its partici12 pants or beneficiaries; or 

13 (C) receive any consideration of the fidu14 ciary’s own personal account from any party 

15 dealing with sums credited to the Fund in con16 nection with a transaction involving assets of 

17 the Fund. 

18 (3) SECRETARY OF LABOR.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 

20 may, in accordance with procedures which the 

21 Secretary of Labor shall by regulation pre22 scribe, grant a conditional or unconditional ex23 emption of any fiduciary or transaction, or class 

24 of fiduciaries or transactions, from all or any of 

25 the restrictions imposed by paragraph (2). An 


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•S 5271 IS

1 exemption granted under this subparagraph 

2 shall not relieve a fiduciary from any other ap3 plicable provision of this Act. 

4 (B) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Labor 

5 may not grant an exemption under subpara6 graph (A) unless the Secretary of Labor finds 

7 that such exemption is— 

8 (i) administratively feasible; 

9 (ii) in the interests of the Fund and 

10 its participants; and 

11 (iii) protective of the rights of partici12 pants and beneficiaries of such Fund. 

13 (C) NOTICE.—An exemption under sub14 paragraph (A) may not be granted unless— 

15 (i) notice of the proposed exemption is 

16 published in the Federal Register; 

17 (ii) interested persons are given an 

18 opportunity to present views; and 

19 (iii) the Secretary of Labor affords an 

20 opportunity for a hearing and makes a de21 termination on the record with respect to 

22 the respective requirements of clauses (i), 

23 (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (B). 

24 (D) APPLICATION OF ERISA FIDUCIARY

25 EXEMPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (C), the Secretary of Labor may determine that 

2 an exemption granted for any class of fidu3 ciaries or transactions under section 408(a) of 

4 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

5 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1108(a)) shall, upon publi6 cation of notice in the Federal Register under 

7 this subparagraph, constitute an exemption 

8 from the application of paragraph (2). 

9 (e) NONAPPLICATION.—This section does not pro10 hibit any fiduciary from— 

11 (1) receiving any benefit which the fiduciary is 

12 entitled to receive under this Act as a participant, 

13 former participant, or beneficiary; 

14 (2) receiving any reasonable compensation au15 thorized by this Act for services rendered, or for re16 imbursement of expenses properly and actually in17 curred, in the performance of the fiduciary’s duties 

18 under this Act; or 

19 (3) serving as a fiduciary in addition to being 

20 an officer, employee, agent, or other representative 

21 of a party in interest. 

22 (f) LIABILITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any fiduciary that breaches 

24 the responsibilities, duties, and obligations set out in 

25 subsection (b) or violates subsection (c) shall be perVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 23, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5271.IS S5271

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•S 5271 IS

1 sonally liable to the Fund for any losses to such 

2 Fund resulting from each such breach or violation 

3 and to restore to such Fund any profits made by the 

4 fiduciary through use of assets of such Fund by the 

5 fiduciary, and, except as provided in paragraphs (3) 

6 and (4), shall be subject to such other equitable or 

7 remedial relief as a court considers appropriate. A 

8 fiduciary may be removed for a breach referred to 

9 in the preceding sentence. 

10 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Secretary of Labor 

11 may assess a civil penalty against a party in interest 

12 with respect to each transaction prohibited by sub13 section (d) which is engaged in by the party in inter14 est. The amount of such penalty shall be equal to 5 

15 percent of the amount involved in each such trans16 action (as defined in section 4975(f)(4) of the Inter17 nal Revenue Code of 1986) for each year or part 

18 thereof during which the prohibited transaction con19 tinues, except that, if the transaction is not cor20 rected (in such manner as the Secretary of Labor 

21 shall prescribe by regulation consistent with section 

22 4975(f)(5) of such Code) within 90 days after the 

23 date the Secretary of Labor transmits notice to the 

24 party in interest (or such longer period as the Sec25 retary of Labor may permit), such penalty may be 


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•S 5271 IS

1 in the amount of not more than 100 percent of the 

2 amount involved. 

3 (3) SPECIAL RULES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A fiduciary shall not be 

5 liable under paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) with respect to a breach of fidu7 ciary duty under subsection (b) committed 

8 before becoming a fiduciary or after ceas9 ing to be a fiduciary; 

10 (ii) for providing for the automatic 

11 enrollment of a participant in accordance 

12 with section 104; 

13 (iii) for enrolling a participant or ben14 eficiary in a default investment fund or op15 tion in accordance with section 104; or 

16 (iv) for allowing a participant or bene17 ficiary to invest through the mutual fund 

18 window or for establishing restrictions ap19 plicable to participants’ or beneficiaries’ 

20 ability to invest through the mutual fund 

21 window. 

22 (B) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.—A fi23 duciary shall be jointly and severally liable 

24 under paragraph (1) for a breach of fiduciary 


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•S 5271 IS

1 duty under subsection (b) by another fiduciary 

2 only if— 

3 (i) the fiduciary participates know4 ingly in, or knowingly undertakes to con5 ceal, an act or omission of such other fidu6 ciary, knowing such act or omission is such 

7 a breach; 

8 (ii) by the fiduciary’s failure to com9 ply with subsection (b) in the administra10 tion of the fiduciary’s specific responsibil11 ities which give rise to the fiduciary status, 

12 the fiduciary has enabled such other fidu13 ciary to commit such a breach; or 

14 (iii) the fiduciary has knowledge of a 

15 breach by such other fiduciary, unless the 

16 fiduciary makes reasonable efforts under 

17 the circumstances to remedy the breach. 

18 (4) ALLOCATION OF DUTIES.—The Secretary of 

19 Labor shall prescribe, in regulations, procedures for 

20 allocating fiduciary responsibilities among fidu21 ciaries, including asset managers. Any fiduciary who, 

22 pursuant to such procedures, allocates to any person 

23 any fiduciary responsibility shall not be liable for an 

24 act or omission of such person unless such fiduciary 

25 violated subsection (b) with respect to the allocation, 


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•S 5271 IS

1 with respect to the implementation of the procedures 

2 prescribed by the Secretary of Labor. 

3 (5) OTHER CIVIL ACTIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—No civil action may be 

5 maintained against any fiduciary with respect 

6 to the responsibilities, liabilities, and penalties 

7 authorized or provided for in this section except 

8 in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

9 (B) ACTIONS PERMITTED.—A civil action 

10 may be brought in the district courts of the 

11 United States— 

12 (i) by the Secretary of Labor against 

13 any fiduciary other than a member of the 

14 Board or the Executive Director of the 

15 Board— 

16 (I) to determine and enforce a li17 ability under paragraph (1); 

18 (II) to collect any civil penalty 

19 under paragraph (2); 

20 (III) to enjoin any act or practice 

21 which violates any provision of sub22 section (b) or (c); 

23 (IV) to obtain any appropriate 

24 equitable relief to redress a violation 

25 of any such provision; or 


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•S 5271 IS

1 (V) to enjoin any act or practice 

2 which violates subsection (g)(2) or (h) 

3 of section 201; 

4 (ii) by any participant, beneficiary, or 

5 fiduciary— 

6 (I) to enjoin any act or practice 

7 which violates any provision of sub8 section (b) or (c); 

9 (II) to obtain any other appro10 priate equitable relief to redress a vio11 lation of any such provision; or 

12 (III) to enjoin any act or practice 

13 which violates subsection (g)(2) or (h) 

14 of section 201; or 

15 (iii) by any participant or bene16 ficiary— 

17 (I) to recover benefits of such 

18 participant or beneficiary under the 

19 provisions of title I, to enforce any 

20 right of such participant or bene21 ficiary under such provisions, or to 

22 clarify any such right to future bene23 fits under such provisions; or 

24 (II) to enforce a claim otherwise 

25 cognizable under sections 1346(b) and 


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•S 5271 IS

1 2671 through 2680 of title 28, United 

2 States Code, except that the remedy 

3 against the United States provided by 

4 section 1346(b) and 2672 of such title 

5 28 for damages for injury or loss of 

6 property caused by the negligent or 

7 wrongful act or omission of any fidu8 ciary while acting within the scope of 

9 the fiduciary’s duties or employment 

10 shall be exclusive of any other civil ac11 tion or proceeding by the participant 

12 or beneficiary for recovery of money 

13 by reason of the same subject matter 

14 against the fiduciary (or the estate of 

15 such fiduciary) whose act or omission 

16 gave rise to such action or proceeding, 

17 whether or not such action or pro18 ceeding is based on an alleged viola19 tion of subsection (b) or (c). 

20 (C) REPRESENTATION.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—In all civil actions 

22 under subparagraph (B)(i), attorneys ap23 pointed by the Secretary may represent the 

24 Secretary (except as provided in section 

25 518(a) of title 28, United States Code), 


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•S 5271 IS

1 however, all such litigation shall be subject 

2 to the direction and control of the Attorney 

3 General. 

4 (ii) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attor5 ney General shall defend any civil action or 

6 proceeding brought in any court against 

7 any fiduciary referred to in subparagraph 

8 (B)(iii)(II) (or the estate of such fiduciary) 

9 for any such injury. Any fiduciary against 

10 whom such a civil action or proceeding is 

11 brought shall deliver, within such time 

12 after date of service or knowledge of serv13 ice as determined by the Attorney General, 

14 all process served upon such fiduciary (or 

15 an attested copy thereof) to the Executive 

16 Director, who shall promptly furnish copies 

17 of the pleading and process to the Attorney 

18 General and the United States Attorney 

19 for the district wherein the action or pro20 ceeding is brought. 

21 (iii) CERTIFICATION OF SCOPE OF

22 DUTY.—Upon certification by the Attorney 

23 General that a fiduciary described in sub24 paragraph (B)(iii)(II) was acting in the 

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•S 5271 IS

1 ment as a fiduciary at the time of the oc2 currence or omission out of which the ac3 tion arose, any such civil action or pro4 ceeding commenced in the State court shall 

5 be— 

6 (I) removed without bond at any 

7 time before trial by the Attorney Gen8 eral to the district court of the United 

9 States for the district and division in 

10 which it is pending; and 

11 (II) deemed a tort action brought 

12 against the United States under the 

13 provisions of title 28, United States 

14 Code, and all references thereto. 

15 (iv) COMPROMISE OR SETTLEMENT.— 

16 The Attorney General may compromise or 

17 settle any claim asserted in such civil ac18 tion or proceeding in the manner provided 

19 in section 2677 of title 28, United States 

20 Code, and with the same effect. To the ex21 tent section 2672 of title 28, United States 

22 Code, provides that persons other than the 

23 Attorney General or the Attorney General’s 

24 designee may compromise and settle 

25 claims, and that payments of such claims 


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•S 5271 IS

1 may be made from agency appropriations, 

2 such provisions shall not apply to claims 

3 based upon an alleged violation of sub4 section (b) or (c). 

5 (v) CERTAIN CLAIMS.—For the pur6 poses of subparagraph (B)(iii)(II), the pro7 visions of section 2680(h) of title 28, 

8 United States Code, shall not apply to any 

9 claim based upon an alleged violation of 

10 subsection (b) or (c). 

11 (vi) PAYMENT OF AWARDS.—Notwith12 standing sections 1346(b) and 2671 

13 through 2680 of title 28, United States 

14 Code, whenever an award, compromise, or 

15 settlement is made under such section 

16 upon any claim based upon an alleged vio17 lation of subsection (b) or (c), payment of 

18 such award, compromise, or settlement 

19 shall be made to the appropriate account 

20 with in the Fund, or where there is no 

21 such appropriate account, to the partici22 pant or beneficiary bringing the claim. 

23 (vii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 

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•S 5271 IS

1 ciary’’ includes only the members of the 

2 Board and the Board’s Executive Director. 

3 (D) LIMITATION ON MONETARY RELIEF.— 

4 Any relief awarded against a member of the 

5 Board or the Board’s Executive Director in a 

6 civil action authorized by subparagraph (B) 

7 may not include any monetary damages or any 

8 other recovery of money. 

9 (E) TIME FOR COMMENCEMENT OF AC10 TION.—An action may not be commenced under 

11 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B) with re12 spect to a fiduciary’s breach of any responsi13 bility, duty, or obligation under subsection (b) 

14 or a violation of subsection (c) after the earlier 

15 of— 

16 (i) 6 years after— 

17 (I) the date of the last action 

18 which constituted a part of the breach 

19 or violation; or 

20 (II) in the case of an omission, 

21 the latest date on which the fiduciary 

22 could have cured the breach or viola23 tion; or 

24 (ii) 3 years after the earliest date on 

25 which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of 


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1 the breach or violation, except that, in the 

2 case of fraud or concealment, such action 

3 may be commenced not later than 6 years 

4 after the date of discovery of such breach 

5 or violation. 

6 (F) JURISDICTION.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The district courts 

8 of the United States shall have exclusive 

9 jurisdiction of civil actions under this sub10 section. 

11 (ii) VENUE.—An action under this 

12 subsection may be brought in the District 

13 Court of the United States for the District 

14 of Columbia or a district court of the 

15 United States in the district where the 

16 breach alleged in the complaint or petition 

17 filed in the action took place or in the dis18 trict where a defendant resides or may be 

19 found. Process may be served in any other 

20 district where a defendant resides or may 

21 be found. 

22 (G) OTHER RULES.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—A copy of the com24 plaint or petition filed in any action 

25 brought under this subsection (other than 


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•S 5271 IS

1 by the Secretary of Labor) shall be served 

2 on the Executive Director, the Secretary of 

3 Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury 

4 by certified mail. 

5 (ii) INTERVENTION.—Any officer re6 ferred to in clause (i) shall have the right 

7 in the officer’s discretion to intervene in 

8 any action. If the Secretary of Labor 

9 brings an action under subparagraph 

10 (B)(i) on behalf of a participant or bene11 ficiary, the Secretary of Labor shall notify 

12 the Executive Director and the Secretary 

13 of the Treasury. 

14 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor may 

15 prescribe regulations to carry out this section. 

16 (h) AUDITS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

18 establish a program to carry out audits to determine 

19 the level of compliance with the requirements of this 

20 section relating to fiduciary responsibilities and pro21 hibited activities of fiduciaries. 

22 (2) DELEGATION.—An audit under this sub23 section may be conducted by the Secretary of Labor, 

24 by contract with a qualified non-governmental orga25 nization, or in cooperation with the Comptroller 


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•S 5271 IS

1 General of the United States, as the Secretary of 

2 Labor considers appropriate. 

3 SEC. 207. BONDING. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), each fiduciary and each person who han7 dles funds or property of the Fund shall be bonded 

8 as provided in this section. 

9 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Bond shall not be re11 quired of a fiduciary (or of any officer or em12 ployee of such fiduciary) if such fiduciary— 

13 (i) is a corporation organized and 

14 doing business under the laws of the 

15 United States or of any State; 

16 (ii) is authorized under such laws to 

17 exercise trust powers or to conduct an in18 surance business; 

19 (iii) is subject to supervision or exam20 ination by Federal or State authority; and 

21 (iv) has at all times a combined cap22 ital and surplus in excess of such minimum 

23 amount (not less than $1,000,000) as the 

24 Secretary of Labor prescribes in regula25 tions. 


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1 (B) LIMITATION.—If— 

2 (i) a bank or other financial institu3 tion would, but for this subparagraph, not 

4 be required to be bonded under this section 

5 by reason of the application of the excep6 tion provided in subparagraph (A), 

7 (ii) the bank or financial institution is 

8 authorized to exercise trust powers, and 

9 (iii) the deposits of the bank or finan10 cial institution are not insured by the Fed11 eral Deposit Insurance Corporation, 

12 such exception shall apply to such bank or fi13 nancial institution only if the bank or institu14 tion meets bonding requirements under State 

15 law which the Secretary of Labor determines 

16 are at least equivalent to those imposed on 

17 banks by Federal law. 

18 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

20 prescribe the amount of a bond under this section at 

21 the beginning of each fiscal year. Such amount shall 

22 not be less than 10 percent of the amount of funds 

23 handled, except that in no case shall such bond be 

24 less than $1,000 or more than $500,000, or such 

25 higher amount as the Secretary of Labor, after due 


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1 notice and opportunity for hearing to all interested 

2 parties, and other consideration of the record, may 

3 prescribe. 

4 (2) AMOUNT OF FUNDS HANDLED.—For the 

5 purpose of prescribing the amount of a bond under 

6 paragraph (1), the amount of funds handled shall be 

7 determined by reference to the amount of the funds 

8 handled by the person, group, or class to be covered 

9 by such bond or by their predecessor or prede10 cessors, if any, during the preceding fiscal year, or 

11 to the amount of funds to be handled during the 

12 current fiscal year by such person, group, or class, 

13 estimated as provided in regulations prescribed by 

14 the Secretary of Labor. 

15 (c) TERMS.—A bond required by subsection (a)— 

16 (1) shall include such terms and conditions as 

17 the Secretary of Labor considers necessary to pro18 tect the Fund against loss by reason of acts of fraud 

19 or dishonesty on the part of the bonded person di20 rectly or through connivance with others; 

21 (2) shall have as surety thereon a corporate 

22 surety company which is an acceptable surety on 

23 Federal bonds under authority granted by the Sec24 retary of the Treasury pursuant to sections 9304 

25 through 9308 of title 31, United States Code; and 


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1 (3) shall be in a form or of a type approved by 

2 the Secretary of Labor, including individual bonds or 

3 schedule or blanket forms of bonds which cover a 

4 group or class. 

5 (d) CUSTODY OF FUNDS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

7 person to whom subsection (a) applies, to receive, 

8 handle, disburse, or otherwise exercise custody or 

9 control of any of the funds or other property of the 

10 Fund without being bonded as required by this sec11 tion. 

12 (2) FIDUCIARIES.—It shall be unlawful for any 

13 fiduciary, or any other person having authority to 

14 direct the performance of functions described in 

15 paragraph (1), to permit any such function to be 

16 performed by any person to whom subsection (a) ap17 plies unless such person has met the requirements of 

18 such subsection. 

19 (e) EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, any person who is required to be bonded as 

21 provided in subsection (a) shall be exempt from any other 

22 provision of law which would, but for this subsection, re23 quire such person to be bonded for the handling of the 

24 funds or other property of the Fund. 


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1 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

2 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

3 out the provisions of this section, including exempting a 

4 person or class of persons from the requirements of this 

5 section. 

6 SEC. 208. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY. 

7 Any authority available to the Secretary of Labor 

8 under section 504 of the Employee Retirement Income Se9 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1134) is hereby made avail10 able to the Secretary of Labor, and any officer designated 

11 by the Secretary of Labor, to determine whether any per12 son has violated, or is about to violate, any provision of 

13 sections 206 or 207. 

14 SEC. 209. EXCULPATORY PROVISIONS; INSURANCE. 

15 (a) EXCULPATORY PROVISIONS VOID.—Any provi16 sion in an agreement or instrument which purports to re17 lieve a fiduciary from responsibility or liability for any re18 sponsibility, obligation, or duty under this title shall be 

19 void. 

20 (b) INSURANCE.—In accordance with section 101(e), 

21 the sums credited to the Fund shall be available to pay 

22 administrative expenses which may include, at the discre23 tion of the Executive Director, the purchase of insurance 

24 to cover potential liability of persons who serve in a fidu25 ciary capacity with respect to the Fund, without regard 


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1 to whether a policy of insurance permits recourse by the 

2 insurer against the fiduciary in the case of a breach of 

3 a fiduciary obligation. 

4 SEC. 210. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY. 

5 (a) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—In order to carry out 

6 the responsibilities specified in this Act, the Executive Di7 rector may issue subpoenas commanding each person to 

8 whom the subpoena is directed to produce designated 

9 books, documents, records, electronically stored informa10 tion, or tangible materials in the possession or control of 

11 that individual. 

12 (b) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any Federal, State, 

13 or local law, any person, including officers, agents, and 

14 employees, receiving a subpoena under this section, who 

15 complies in good faith with the subpoena and thus pro16 duces the materials sought, shall not be liable in any court 

17 of any State or the United States to any individual, do18 mestic or foreign corporation or upon a partnership or 

19 other unincorporated association for such production. 

20 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—When a person fails to obey a 

21 subpoena issued under this section, the district court of 

22 the United States for the district in which the investiga23 tion is conducted or in which the person failing to obey 

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1 ing that person to comply with the subpoena. The court 

2 may punish as contempt any disobedience of its order. 

3 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Director shall 

4 prescribe regulations to carry out subsection (a). 

5 TITLE III—GOVERNMENT MATCH 

6 TAX CREDIT 

7 SEC. 301. GOVERNMENT MATCH TAX CREDIT. 

8 (a) CREDIT.—Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A 

9 of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

10 amended by inserting after section 25E the following new 

11 section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 25F. GOVERNMENT MATCH TAX CREDIT. 

13 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli14 gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit for the 

15 taxable year an amount equal to the sum of— 

16 ‘‘(1) 1 percent of the eligible individual’s gross 

17 income, plus 

18 ‘‘(2) the applicable percentage of the partici19 pant’s contributions to the American Worker Retire20 ment Fund during the taxable year. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes of 

22 this section, the applicable percentage is— 

23 ‘‘(1) 100 percent of so much of the contribu24 tions to the American Worker Retirement Fund as 

25 do not exceed 3 percent of gross income, 


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1 ‘‘(2) 50 percent of so much of such contribu2 tions as exceeds 3 percent but does not exceed 5 per3 cent of gross income, and 

4 ‘‘(3) 0 percent for such contributions that ex5 ceed 5 percent of so much of such contributions as 

6 exceeds 5 percent of gross income. 

7 ‘‘(c) PHASEOUT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The credit determined 

9 under subsection (a) shall be reduced by $75 for 

10 each $1,000 or portion thereof by which the eligible 

11 individual’s gross income exceeds the phaseout 

12 amount. 

13 ‘‘(2) PHASEOUT AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

14 paragraph (1), the phaseout amount is— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a joint return, an 

16 amount equal to 200 percent of the United 

17 States median income for the preceding taxable 

18 year, as determined by the Secretary, 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a head of household (as 

defined in section 2(b)), 3 20 ⁄4 of the amount de21 termined under subparagraph (A), and 

‘‘(C) in any other case, 1 22 ⁄2 of the amount 

23 determined under subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

25 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ has the meaning 


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1 given the term ‘participant’ by section 2(13) of the Retire2 ment Savings for Americans Act of 2022. 

3 ‘‘(e) AMERICAN WORKER RETIREMENT FUND.—For 

4 purposes of this section, the American Worker Retirement 

5 Fund is the Fund created under section 101(a) of the Re6 tirement Savings for Americans Act of 2022. 

7 ‘‘(f) DEPOSIT INTO PARTICIPANT’S ACCOUNT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount allowed as a 

9 credit under subsection (a)— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall not be allowed as a credit 

11 against any tax imposed by this subtitle, and 

12 ‘‘(B) shall be treated as an overpayment 

13 under section 6401(b). 

14 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall contribute 

15 the amount treated as an overpayment under para16 graph (1) to the eligible individual’s account with 

17 the American Worker Retirement Fund. 

18 ‘‘(g) ADVANCE PAYMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre20 scribe regulations to provide that the payments 

21 made under subsection (f) are made as concurrently 

22 as is reasonably possible with contributions by a tax23 payer to the American Worker Retirement Fund. 

24 Such regulations shall provide that, for purposes of 

25 such payments, the credit under subsection (a) may 


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1 be determined on the basis of the eligible individual’s 

2 gross income for the preceding taxable year. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCESS PAYMENTS.—If the aggregate 

4 amount of payments under subsection (f) with re5 spect to an eligible individual for any taxable year 

6 exceeds the amount of the credit allowed under sub7 section (a) to such individual for such taxable year, 

8 the tax imposed by this chapter for such taxable 

9 year shall be increased by the amount of such ex10 cess. Any failure to so increase the tax shall be 

11 treated as arising out of a mathematical or clerical 

12 error and assessed according to section 6213(b)(1). 

13 ‘‘(h) FORFEIT OF AMOUNTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any contribution de15 scribed in subsection (a) does not remain in the 

16 American Worker Retirement Fund for at least 6 

17 months after such contribution is made, the amount 

18 of the credit under this section attributable to such 

19 contribution shall be forfeited as provided in para20 graph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF FORFEITED AMOUNTS.— 

22 In the case of any contribution to which paragraph 

23 (1) applies— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Executive Director of the Amer25 ican Worker Retirement Fund, as appointed 


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1 under section 203 of the Retirement Savings 

2 for Americans Act of 2022, shall make a dis3 tribution from the individual’s account in an 

4 amount equal to such contribution to the Sec5 retary for deposit into the general fund of the 

6 Treasury, and 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of any earnings on such 

8 contribution, such earnings shall be distributed 

9 by such Executive Director from the individ10 ual’s account and shall be available to the Exec11 utive Director, without need of further appro12 priation, for administrative expenses described 

13 in section 101(e) of such Act. 

14 ‘‘(3) FORFEITED AMOUNTS NOT INCLUDIBLE IN

15 GROSS INCOME.—Any distribution made under para16 graph (2) shall not be includible in the gross income 

17 of the individual.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

19 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

20 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in21 serting after the item relating to section 26E the following 

22 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25F. Government Match Tax Credit.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 December 31, 2022. 

Æ 


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