II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2446 

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide 

for greater spousal protection under defined contribution plans, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2021 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. SMITH, Ms. WARREN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. BROWN, 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

of 1974 to provide for greater spousal protection under 

defined contribution plans, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Retirement 

5 Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Approximately 25 percent of non-retired 

4 adults have no defined benefit plan or retirement 

5 savings, according to 2020 data from the Board of 

6 Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

7 (2) In 2020, one-third of the private sector 

8 workforce did not have access to a retirement plan 

9 at the workplace, and only half of the workforce ac10 tually participated in a retirement plan. 

11 (3) Women’s retirement preparedness often lags 

12 significantly behind their male counterparts, result13 ing in the median income for women aged 65 and 

14 older in 2020 being just 83 percent of the median 

15 income of men aged 65 and older, including income 

16 from Social Security, pension plans, investments, 

17 and earnings. 

18 (4) Among people aged 75 and older, 13.2 per19 cent of women live in poverty, while 8.8 percent of 

20 men live in poverty. 

21 (5) Women make up two-thirds of low-wage 

22 workers, even though they comprise less than half of 

23 all workers, and low-wage workers are less likely 

24 than other workers to participate in a retirement 

25 plan at work. 


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1 (6) Because of the pay gap, women working 

2 full-time, year-round typically lose $406,280 over a 

3 40-year career thereby requiring the average woman 

4 to work almost a decade longer than her male coun5 terpart to make up that career wage gap. For Black 

6 and Latina women, the career wage gap is even larg7 er at $964,400 and $1,163,920, respectively. 

8 (7) Due to the lower lifetime wages stemming 

9 from unequal pay and caregiving duties, the average 

10 Social Security benefit in 2019 for a woman age 65 

11 or older was $13,505 a year, while for men such av12 erage benefit was $17,374 a year. 

13 (8) The COVID–19 pandemic has exacerbated 

14 the existing gender gap in retirement savings as 

15 women have been more likely to leave the workforce 

16 for caregiving. Women, especially women of color, 

17 have also been more likely to lose their jobs during 

18 the pandemic due to overrepresentation in industries 

19 severely hit by the pandemic. 

20 (9) Just 1 in 5 part-time workers who work a 

21 full year are eligible for a retirement plan, and 

22 women are almost twice as likely as men to work 

23 part-time. 

24 (10) While traditional defined benefit retire25 ment plans have spousal protections, defined conVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:41 Jul 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2446.IS S2446

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1 tribution retirement plans, which have become in2 creasingly common, currently provide no similar 

3 spousal protections. 

4 (11) Every year, more than 1,200,000 couples 

5 get divorced in the United States. After the family 

6 home, retirement savings tends to be the largest 

7 asset to be divided in a divorce. 

8 (12) While fees and expenses associated with 

9 retirement plans have been in decline, participants 

10 have seen direct charges for processing qualified do11 mestic relations orders increase significantly. 

12 SEC. 3. INCREASING SPOUSAL PROTECTION UNDER DE13 FINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS. 

14 (a) AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN15 COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part 2 of subtitle B of title 

17 I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

18 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.), is amended by in19 serting after section 205 the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 205A. ADDITIONAL SPOUSAL CONSENT REQUIRE21 MENTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each individual account plan to 

23 which section 205 does not apply shall provide that, except 

24 as provided in subsections (c) and (d), no distribution may 


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1 be made under the plan unless the spousal consent re2 quirements of subsection (e) are met. 

3 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH SECTION 205.—Nothing 

4 in this section shall be construed to exempt an individual 

5 account plan from the requirements of paragraph (1)(B), 

6 (1)(C), or (2) of section 205(b) with respect to any partici7 pant. 

8 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN DISTRIBUTIONS.— 

9 Subsection (a) shall not apply to— 

10 ‘‘(1) any distribution that is— 

11 ‘‘(A) a minimum required distribution de12 scribed in section 4974(b) of the Internal Rev13 enue Code of 1986; or 

14 ‘‘(B) permitted under section 203(e)(1) to 

15 be made without the consent of the participant; 

16 ‘‘(2) any distribution in the form of a qualified 

17 joint and survivor annuity (as defined in section 

18 205(d)(1)), a qualified optional survivor annuity (as 

19 defined in section 205(d)(2)), a qualified preretire20 ment survivor annuity (as defined in section 205(e)), 

21 or a series of substantially equal periodic payments 

22 (not less frequently than annually) made for the 

23 joint lives (or life expectancies) of the participant 

24 and the participant’s spouse; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) in the case of a participant who does not 

2 elect a form of benefit described in paragraph (2) 

3 under the plan or who is participating in a plan that 

4 does not provide such a form of benefit, any dis5 tribution of the participant’s entire nonforfeitable 

6 accrued benefit if 50 percent of such accrued benefit 

7 is transferred to an individual retirement plan (as 

8 defined in section 7701(a)(37) of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986) of the spouse of the participant. 

10 A transfer described in paragraph (3) to an individual re11 tirement plan shall be treated in the same manner as a 

12 transfer under section 408(d)(6) of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986. 

14 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN ROLLOVER CON15 TRIBUTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to any dis16 tribution that is an eligible rollover distribution (as de17 fined in section 402(f)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 

18 of 1986) made in the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee 

19 transfer within the meaning of section 401(a)(31) of the 

20 Internal Revenue Code of 1986— 

21 ‘‘(1) to a plan to which this section or section 

22 205 applies; or 

23 ‘‘(2) to an individual retirement plan (as de24 fined in section 7701(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue 

25 Code of 1986) if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the beneficiary of such plan is the 

2 spouse of the participant, or the spousal con3 sent requirements of subsection (e) are met 

4 with respect to any designation of 1 or more 

5 other beneficiaries; and 

6 ‘‘(B) under the terms of the individual re7 tirement plan, the beneficiary of such plan 

8 (whether the spouse or other beneficiary des9 ignated under paragraph (1)) may not be 

10 changed unless— 

11 ‘‘(i) the spousal consent requirements 

12 of subsection (e) are met with respect to 

13 any such change, or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the spousal consent under sub15 paragraph (A) to the designation of a ben16 eficiary other than the spouse expressly 

17 permits such designation to be changed 

18 without the further consent of the spouse. 

19 ‘‘(e) SPOUSAL CONSENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec21 tion, except as provided in paragraph (2), the spous22 al consent requirements of this subsection are met 

23 with respect to any distribution or any designation 

24 or change of beneficiary if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the plan provides to each participant, 

2 within a reasonable period of time before such 

3 distribution or designation or change of bene4 ficiary is made and consistent with such regula5 tions as the Secretary of the Treasury may pre6 scribe, a written explanation of the rights of the 

7 participant and the participant’s spouse under 

8 this section; 

9 ‘‘(B) the spouse of the participant consents 

10 in writing to the distribution or designation or 

11 change of beneficiary; 

12 ‘‘(C) in the case of a distribution, the writ13 ten consent under subparagraph (B) is made 

14 during the consent period; and 

15 ‘‘(D) the written consent under subpara16 graph (B)— 

17 ‘‘(i) acknowledges the effect of such 

18 distribution or designation or change of 

19 beneficiary; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) is witnessed by a plan represent21 ative or a notary public. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirements of para23 graph (1) (other than subparagraph (A) thereof) 

24 shall not apply with respect to any distribution or 

25 designation or change of beneficiary if a participant 


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1 establishes to the satisfaction of the plan adminis2 trator that— 

3 ‘‘(A) there is no spouse; 

4 ‘‘(B) the participant and the participant’s 

5 spouse have not been married for at least 1 

6 year as of the date of the distribution or des7 ignation or change of beneficiary; or 

8 ‘‘(C) such consent cannot be obtained be9 cause— 

10 ‘‘(i) the spouse cannot be located; 

11 ‘‘(ii) due to exceptional circumstances, 

12 requiring the participant to seek the 

13 spouse’s consent would be inappropriate; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(iii) of such other circumstances as 

16 the Secretary of the Treasury, in consulta17 tion with the Secretary of Labor, may by 

18 regulations prescribe. 

19 ‘‘(3) CONSENT LIMITED TO SPOUSE AND

20 EVENT.—Any written consent by a spouse under 

21 paragraph (1), or the establishment by a participant 

22 that an exception under paragraph (2) applies with 

23 respect to a spouse, shall be effective only with re24 spect to that spouse and to the distribution or des25 ignation or change of beneficiary to which it relates. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONSENT PERIOD.—For purposes of this 

2 subsection, the term ‘consent period’ means, with re3 spect to any distribution— 

4 ‘‘(A) the 90-day period immediately pre5 ceding the date of such distribution; or 

6 ‘‘(B) such other period as the Secretary of 

7 the Treasury may provide. 

8 ‘‘(f) DISCHARGE OF PLAN FROM LIABILITY.—Rules 

9 similar to the rules of section 205(c)(6) shall apply for 

10 purposes of this section.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec12 tions of part 2 of subtitle B of title I of the Em13 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is 

14 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 205 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 205A. Additional spousal consent requirements.’’. 

16 (3) RIGHT OF ACTION.—Section 502(a) of the 

17 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

18 (29 U.S.C. 1132), is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para20 graph (10); 

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

22 paragraph (11) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(12) by an individual for appropriate relief in 

2 the case of a violation of the individual’s rights 

3 under section 205A.’’. 

4 (4) PARALLEL AMENDMENT TO SECTION 205.— 

5 Section 205(c)(2)(B) of the Employee Retirement 

6 Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

7 1055(c)(2)(B)), is amended by inserting ‘‘, because 

8 due to exceptional circumstances, requiring the par9 ticipant to seek the spouse’s consent would be inap10 propriate’’ after ‘‘located’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REV12 ENUE CODE OF 1986.—Section 401(a) of the Internal 

13 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after para14 graph (17) the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(18) ADDITIONAL SPOUSAL CONSENT RE16 QUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a de18 fined contribution plan to which paragraph (11) 

19 does not apply, except as provided in sub20 sections (c) and (d), a trust forming part of 

21 such plan shall not constitute a qualified trust 

22 under this section unless no distribution may be 

23 made under the plan unless the spousal consent 

24 requirements of subparagraph (E) are met. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH PARAGRAPH

2 (11).—Nothing in this paragraph shall be con3 strued to exempt a defined contribution plan 

4 from the requirements of subparagraph (B)(ii), 

5 (B)(iii), or (C) of paragraph (11) with respect 

6 to any participant. 

7 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN DISTRIBU8 TIONS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to— 

9 ‘‘(i) any distribution that is— 

10 ‘‘(I) a minimum required dis11 tribution described in section 4974(b), 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(II) permitted under section 

14 411(a)(11) to be made without the 

15 consent of the participant, 

16 ‘‘(ii) any distribution in the form of a 

17 qualified joint and survivor annuity (as de18 fined in section 417(b)), a qualified op19 tional survivor annuity (as defined in sec20 tion 417(g)), a qualified preretirement sur21 vivor annuity (as defined in section 

22 417(c)), or a series of substantially equal 

23 periodic payments (not less frequently than 

24 annually) made for the joint lives (or life 


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1 expectancies) of the participant and the 

2 participant’s spouse, or 

3 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a participant who 

4 does not elect a form of benefit described 

5 in clause (ii) under the plan or who is par6 ticipating in a plan that does not provide 

7 such a form of benefit, any distribution of 

8 the participant’s entire nonforfeitable ac9 crued benefit if 50 percent of such accrued 

10 benefit is transferred to an individual re11 tirement plan of the spouse of the partici12 pant. 

13 A transfer described in clause (iii) to an indi14 vidual retirement plan shall be treated in the 

15 same manner as a transfer under section 

16 408(d)(6). 

17 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN ROLL18 OVER CONTRIBUTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 

19 shall not apply to any distribution, involving a 

20 participant who has a spouse, that is an eligible 

21 rollover distribution (as defined in section 

22 402(f)(2)(A)) made in the form of a direct 

23 trustee-to-trustee transfer within the meaning 

24 of paragraph (31)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to a plan to which this paragraph 

2 or paragraph (11) applies; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) to an individual retirement plan 

4 if— 

5 ‘‘(I) the beneficiary of such plan 

6 is the spouse of the participant, or the 

7 spousal consent requirements of sub8 paragraph (E) are met with respect to 

9 any designation of 1 or more other 

10 beneficiaries; and 

11 ‘‘(II) under the terms of the indi12 vidual retirement plan, the beneficiary 

13 of such plan (whether the spouse or 

14 other beneficiary designated under 

15 clause (i)) may not be changed un16 less— 

17 ‘‘(aa) the spousal consent 

18 requirements of subparagraph 

19 (E) are met with respect to any 

20 such change, or 

21 ‘‘(bb) the spousal consent 

22 under subclause (I) to the des23 ignation of a beneficiary other 

24 than the spouse expressly permits 

25 such designation to be changed 


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1 without the further consent of 

2 the spouse. 

3 ‘‘(E) SPOUSAL CONSENT REQUIRE4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

6 this paragraph, except as provided in 

7 clause (ii), the spousal consent require8 ments of this subparagraph are met with 

9 respect to any distribution or any designa10 tion or change of beneficiary if— 

11 ‘‘(I) the plan provides to each 

12 participant, within a reasonable period 

13 of time before such distribution or 

14 designation or change of beneficiary is 

15 made and consistent with such regula16 tions as the Secretary may prescribe, 

17 a written explanation of the rights of 

18 the participant and the participant’s 

19 spouse under this paragraph, 

20 ‘‘(II) the spouse of the partici21 pant consents in writing to the dis22 tribution or designation or change of 

23 beneficiary, 

24 ‘‘(III) in the case of a distribu25 tion, the written consent under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:41 Jul 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2446.IS S2446

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1 clause (II) is made during the consent 

2 period, and 

3 ‘‘(IV) the written consent under 

4 subclause (ii)— 

5 ‘‘(aa) acknowledges the ef6 fect of such distribution or des7 ignation or change of beneficiary, 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(bb) is witnessed by a plan 

10 representative or a notary public. 

11 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS UNDER SECTION

12 417(A)(2)(B) TO APPLY.—The requirements 

13 of clause (i) (other than subclause (I) 

14 thereof) shall not apply with respect to any 

15 distribution or designation or change of 

16 beneficiary if a participant establishes to 

17 the satisfaction of the plan administrator 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(I) there is no spouse, 

20 ‘‘(II) the participant and the par21 ticipant’s spouse have not been mar22 ried for at least 1 year as of the date 

23 of the distribution or designation or 

24 change of beneficiary, or 


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1 ‘‘(III) such consent cannot be ob2 tained because— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the spouse cannot be 

4 located, or 

5 ‘‘(bb) of such other cir6 cumstances as the Secretary, in 

7 consultation with the Secretary 

8 of Labor, may by regulations pre9 scribe. 

10 ‘‘(iii) CONSENT LIMITED TO SPOUSE

11 AND EVENT.—Any written consent by a 

12 spouse under clause (i), or the establish13 ment by a participant that an exception 

14 under clause (ii) applies with respect to a 

15 spouse, shall be effective only with respect 

16 to that spouse and to the distribution or 

17 designation or change of beneficiary to 

18 which it relates. 

19 ‘‘(iv) CONSENT PERIOD.—For pur20 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘con21 sent period’ means, with respect to any 

22 distribution— 

23 ‘‘(I) the 90-day period imme24 diately preceding the date of such dis25 tribution, or 


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1 ‘‘(II) such other period as the 

2 Secretary may provide.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. IMPROVING COVERAGE FOR PART-TIME WORKERS. 

4 (a) AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN5 COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Employee 

7 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

8 1052) is amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PART-TIME EM11 PLOYEES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A pension plan that in13 cludes either a qualified cash or deferred arrange14 ment (as defined in section 401(k) of the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986) or a salary reduction agree16 ment (as described in section 403(b) of such Code) 

17 shall not require, as a condition of participation in 

18 the arrangement or agreement, that an employee 

19 complete a period of service with the employer (or 

20 employers) maintaining the plan extending beyond 

21 the close of the earlier of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the period permitted under subsection 

23 (a)(1) (determined without regard to subpara24 graph (B)(i) thereof); or 

25 ‘‘(B) the first 24-month period— 


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1 ‘‘(i) consisting of 2 consecutive 12- 

2 month periods during each of which the 

3 employee has at least 500 hours of service; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) by the close of which the em6 ployee has attained the age of 21. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1)(B) shall not 

8 apply to employees who are included in a unit of em9 ployees covered by an agreement which the Secretary 

10 finds to be a collective bargaining agreement be11 tween employee representatives and 1 or more em12 ployers, if there is evidence that retirement benefits 

13 were the subject of good faith bargaining between 

14 such employee representatives and such employer or 

15 employers. 

16 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RULES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of employ18 ees who are eligible to participate in the ar19 rangement or agreement solely by reason of 

20 paragraph (1)(B): 

21 ‘‘(i) EXCLUSIONS.—An employer may 

22 elect to exclude such employees from the 

23 application of subsections (a)(4), (k)(3), 

24 (k)(12), (k)(13), (k)(15)(B)(iv), 

25 (k)(15)(B)(i)(I), and (m)(2) of section 401 


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1 of such Code and section 410(b) of such 

2 Code. 

3 ‘‘(ii) TIME OF PARTICIPATION.—The 

4 rules of subsection (a)(4) shall apply to 

5 such employees. 

6 ‘‘(B) TOP-HEAVY RULES.—An employer 

7 may elect to exclude all employees who are eligi8 ble to participate in a plan maintained by the 

9 employer solely by reason of paragraph (1)(B) 

10 from the application of the vesting and benefit 

11 requirements under subsections (b) and (c) of 

12 section 416 of such Code. 

13 ‘‘(4) 12-MONTH PERIOD.—For purposes of this 

14 subsection, 12-month periods shall be determined in 

15 the same manner as under the last sentence of sub16 section (a)(3)(A), except that 12-month periods be17 ginning before January 1, 2021, shall not be taken 

18 into account.’’. 

19 (2) VESTING.—Section 203(b) of the Employee 

20 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

21 1053(a)) is amended by redesignating paragraph (4) 

22 as paragraph (5) and by inserting after paragraph 

23 (3) the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(4) PART-TIME EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of de25 termining whether an employee who is eligible to particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:41 Jul 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2446.IS S2446

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1 pate in a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a sal2 ary reduction agreement under a plan solely by reason of 

3 section 202(c)(1)(B) has a nonforfeitable right to em4 ployer contributions— 

5 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

6 each 12-month period for which the employee has at 

7 least 500 hours of service shall be treated as a year 

8 of service; 

9 ‘‘(B) paragraph (3) shall be applied by sub10 stituting ‘at least 500 hours of service’ for ‘more 

11 than 500 hours of service’ in subparagraph (A) 

12 thereof; and 

13 ‘‘(C) 12-month periods occurring before the 24- 

14 month period described in section 202(c)(1)(B) shall 

15 not be treated as years of service. 

16 For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods shall 

17 be determined in the same manner as under the last sen18 tence of section 202(a)(3)(A), except that 12-month peri19 ods beginning before January 1, 2021, shall not be taken 

20 into account.’’. 

21 (3) PENALTY.—Section 502 of the Employee 

22 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

23 1132), is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(n) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO PART-TIME EM2 PLOYEES.—In the case of a plan that fails to permit par3 ticipation as required by section 202(c), the Secretary may 

4 assess a civil penalty against the plan sponsor in an 

5 amount equal to $10,000 per year per employee to whom 

6 such failure relates. The Secretary may, in the Secretary’s 

7 sole discretion, waive or reduce the penalty under this sub8 section if the Secretary determines that the plan sponsor 

9 acted reasonably and in good faith.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REV11 ENUE CODE OF 1986.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 410(a) of the Inter13 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following new paragraphs: 

15 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PART-TIME

16 EMPLOYEES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a plan 

18 that includes either a qualified cash or deferred 

19 arrangement (as defined in section 401(k)) or a 

20 salary reduction agreement (as described in sec21 tion 403(b)), a trust of which such plan is a 

22 part shall not constitute a qualified trust under 

23 section 401(a) if the plan requires, as a condi24 tion of participation in the plan or arrange25 ment, that an employee complete a period of 


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1 service with the employer (or employers) main2 taining the plan extending beyond the close of 

3 the earlier of— 

4 ‘‘(i) the period permitted under para5 graph (1) (determined without regard to 

6 subparagraph (B)(i) thereof), or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the first 24-month period— 

8 ‘‘(I) consisting of 2 consecutive 

9 12-month periods during each of 

10 which the employee has at least 500 

11 hours of service, and 

12 ‘‘(II) by the close of which the 

13 employee has attained the age of 21. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A)(ii) 

15 shall not apply to employees who are included 

16 in a unit of employees covered by an agreement 

17 which the Secretary of Labor finds to be a col18 lective bargaining agreement between employee 

19 representatives and 1 or more employers, if 

20 there is evidence that retirement benefits were 

21 the subject of good faith bargaining between 

22 such employee representatives and such em23 ployer or employers. 

24 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH OTHER

25 RULES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of em2 ployees who are eligible to participate in 

3 the arrangement or agreement solely by 

4 reason of subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

5 ‘‘(I) EXCLUSIONS.—An employer 

6 may elect to exclude such employees 

7 from the application of subsection (b) 

8 and of subsections (a)(4), (k)(3), 

9 (k)(12), (k)(13), (k)(15)(B)(iv), 

10 (k)(15)(B)(i)(I), and (m)(2) of section 

11 401. 

12 ‘‘(II) TIME OF PARTICIPATION.— 

13 The rules of paragraph (4) shall apply 

14 to such employees. 

15 ‘‘(ii) TOP-HEAVY RULES.—An em16 ployer may elect to exclude all employees 

17 who are eligible to participate in a plan 

18 maintained by the employer solely by rea19 son of subparagraph (A)(ii) from the appli20 cation of the vesting and benefit require21 ments under subsections (b) and (c) of sec22 tion 416. 

23 ‘‘(D) 12-MONTH PERIOD.—For purposes of 

24 this paragraph, 12-month periods shall be de25 termined in the same manner as under the last 


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1 sentence of paragraph (3)(A), except that 12- 

2 month periods beginning before January 1, 

3 2021, shall not be taken into account. 

4 ‘‘(7) PART-TIME EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of 

5 determining whether an employee who is eligible to 

6 participate in a qualified cash or deferred arrange7 ment or a salary reduction agreement under a plan 

8 solely by reason of paragraph (6)(A)(ii) has a non9 forfeitable right to employer contributions— 

10 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

11 (B), each 12-month period for which the em12 ployee has at least 500 hours of service shall be 

13 treated as a year of service, 

14 ‘‘(B) section 411(a)(6) shall be applied by 

15 substituting ‘at least 500 hours of service’ for 

16 ‘more than 500 hours of service’ in subpara17 graph (A) thereof, and 

18 ‘‘(C) 12-month periods occurring before 

19 the 24-month period described in paragraph 

20 (6)(A)(ii) shall not be treated as years of serv21 ice. 

22 For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods 

23 shall be determined in the same manner as under 

24 paragraph (6)(D).’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

2 (a) INCREASING SPOUSAL PROTECTION UNDER DE3 FINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS.—Except as provided in 

4 subsections (c) and (d), the amendments made by section 

5 3 shall apply to distributions and rollover contributions 

6 made in plan years beginning after the date that is 1 year 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (b) ENSURING COVERAGE FOR LONG-TERM PART9 TIME WORKERS.—Except as provided in subsections (c) 

10 and (d), the amendments made by section 4 shall apply 

11 to plan years beginning after December 31, 2021. 

12 (c) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—In the 

13 case of a plan maintained pursuant to one or more collec14 tive bargaining agreements between employee representa15 tives and one or more employers ratified before the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, the amendments made by 

17 sections 3 and 4 shall not apply to distributions or rollover 

18 contributions on behalf of employees covered by any such 

19 agreement for plan years beginning before the earlier of— 

20 (1) the later of— 

21 (A) the date on which the last of such col22 lective bargaining agreements terminates (de23 termined without regard to any extension there24 of on or after such date of the enactment); or 

25 (B) the day after the date specified in sub26 section (a) or (b), whichever is applicable; or 


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1 (2) the date that is 3 years after the applicable 

2 day described in paragraph (1)(B). 

3 (d) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLAN AMEND4 MENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—If this paragraph applies to 

6 any plan or contract amendment, such plan or con7 tract shall be treated as being operated in accord8 ance with the terms of the plan during the period 

9 described in paragraph (2)(C). 

10 (2) AMENDMENTS TO WHICH PARAGRAPH (1)

11 APPLIES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

13 apply to any amendment to any plan or annuity 

14 contract which is made— 

15 (i) pursuant to the amendments made 

16 by section 3 or 4 or pursuant to any regu17 lation issued under either such section; and 

18 (ii) on or before the last day of the 

19 first plan year beginning on or after the 

20 date that is 3 years after the applicable 

21 day described in subsection (c)(1)(B). 

22 In the case of a governmental plan (as defined 

23 in section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986), this subparagraph shall be applied by 


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1 substituting ‘‘5 years’’ for ‘‘3 years’’ in clause 

2 (ii). 

3 (B) CONDITIONS.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

4 not apply to any amendment unless— 

5 (i) the plan or contract is operated as 

6 if such plan or contract amendment were 

7 in effect for the period described in sub8 paragraph (C); and 

9 (ii) such plan or contract amendment 

10 applies retroactively for such period. 

11 (C) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period de12 scribed in this subparagraph is the period— 

13 (i) beginning on the effective date 

14 specified by the plan; and 

15 (ii) ending on the date described in 

16 subparagraph (A)(ii) (or, if earlier, the 

17 date the plan or contract amendment is 

18 adopted). 

19 SEC. 6. ACCESS TO INDEPENDENT CONSUMER INFORMA20 TION AND UNDERSTANDING. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 (1) the term ‘‘consumer’’ means any person 

23 who purchases or acquires any goods, products, serv24 ices, or credit related to the retirement or later life 

25 economic security of the consumer; and 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘financial product or service pro2 vider’’ means any person who engages in the busi3 ness of providing any retirement financial product or 

4 service to any consumer. 

5 (b) REQUIRED LINK TO CONSUMER AWARENESS IN6 FORMATION.—In any offer for the sale, exchange, or other 

7 transfer of a retirement financial product or service to a 

8 consumer carried out by a financial product or service pro9 vider, such provider shall provide, in a manner consistent 

10 with subsection (c), an easily accessible link to the website 

11 of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (referred 

12 to in this section as the ‘‘CFPB’’) at which the consumer 

13 may access information, literature, guides, programs, 

14 tools, strategies, or any other resource produced by the 

15 CFPB or other Federal agency relating to retirement 

16 planning or later life economic security. 

17 (c) DETERMINATION.—In order to ensure that the re18 quirement under subsection (b) is effectively carried out, 

19 the Financial Literacy and Education Commission shall 

20 determine and publish on its website the appropriate link 

21 to the CFPB’s website for access to the CFPB’s and other 

22 Federal agencies’ consumer education materials, the pre23 ferred format of such link, and any accompanying descrip24 tion of the CFPB and the consumer education materials 

25 associated with such link. 


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1 SEC. 7. GRANTS TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR 

2 WOMEN. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT AWARDS.—The Sec4 retary of Labor, acting through the Director of the Wom5 en’s Bureau, shall award grants on a competitive basis to 

6 eligible entities to enable such entities to improve the fi7 nancial literacy of women who are working age or in re8 tirement, to increase the likelihood of the women realizing 

9 a secure and stable retirement. 

10 (b) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec11 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a community-based 

12 organization with proven experience and expertise in serv13 ing working-age or retired women. 

14 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 

15 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica16 tion to the Secretary of Labor at such time, in such man17 ner, and accompanied by such information as such Sec18 retary may require. 

19 (d) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary of 

20 Labor shall award grants under this section in amounts 

21 of not less than $250,000. 

22 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

23 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 

24 develop and implement financial literacy education, and 

25 related activities including outreach, awareness building, 

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1 ment planning and consumer, economic, and personal fi2 nancial concepts. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and each succeeding 

6 fiscal year. 

7 SEC. 8. GRANTS TO ASSIST LOW-INCOME WOMEN AND SUR8 VIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN OBTAIN9 ING QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS OR10 DERS. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT AWARDS.—The Sec12 retary of Labor, acting through the Director of the Wom13 en’s Bureau and in conjunction with the Assistant Sec14 retary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, 

15 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible enti16 ties to enable such entities to assist low-income women 

17 and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining qualified 

18 domestic relations orders (as defined in section 

19 206(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu20 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)(B)(i))), and en21 suring that those women actually obtain the benefits to 

22 which they are entitled through those orders. 

23 (b) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec24 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a community-based 

25 organization with proven experience and expertise in servVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jul 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2446.IS S2446

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1 ing women and the financial and retirement needs of 

2 women. 

3 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 

4 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica5 tion to the Secretary of Labor at such time, in such man6 ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec7 retary of Labor may require. 

8 (d) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary of 

9 Labor shall award grants under this section in amounts 

10 of not less than $250,000. 

11 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

12 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 

13 develop programs to offer help to low-income women or 

14 survivors of domestic violence who need assistance in pre15 paring, obtaining, and effectuating a qualified domestic re16 lations order. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and each succeeding 

20 fiscal year. 

Æ 


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