II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1053 

To establish a universal personal savings program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2019 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish a universal personal savings program, 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 ‘‘Saving for the Future 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Three out of 10 private-sector workers lack 

9 access to any workplace retirement plan, according 

10 to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report in March 

11 2018. 


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1 (2) A retirement study conducted by the Gov2 ernment Accountability Office found that 52 percent 

3 of households age 55-and-older have no retirement 

4 savings in a defined contribution plan or individual 

5 retirement account, and nearly 30 percent of house6 holds age 55-and-older have no retirement savings 

7 and no defined benefit plan. 

8 (3) A 2015 report on the economic well-being of 

9 United States households conducted by the Federal 

10 Reserve found that 31 percent of non-retirees re11 portedly ‘‘have no retirement savings or pension 

12 whatsoever’’, and that nearly one-half of non-retirees 

13 with self-directed retirement accounts are either 

14 ‘‘not confident’’ or ‘‘slightly confident’’ in their abil15 ity to make the right investment decisions when in16 vesting in such accounts. 

17 SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL PERSONAL SAVINGS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Em19 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘PART 8—UNIVERSAL PERSONAL SAVINGS 

23 ‘‘SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS. 

24 ‘‘For purposes of this part: 


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1 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE EMPLOYER.—The term ‘ap2 plicable employer’ means an employer— 

3 ‘‘(A) with at least 10 full-time equivalent 

4 employees; and 

5 ‘‘(B) that has employed at least 10 full6 time equivalent employees for not less than 2 

7 years. 

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

9 Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment 

10 Board established under section 803. 

11 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’, unless 

12 specified otherwise, includes full-time and part-time 

13 employees of an applicable employer. 

14 ‘‘(4) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Execu15 tive Director’ means the Executive Director of the 

16 UP Account Board appointed under section 803. 

17 ‘‘(5) FULL TIME.—The term ‘full time’, with 

18 respect to employment, means 40 hours per week. 

19 ‘‘(6) FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEE.— 

20 The term ‘full-time equivalent employee’ means the 

21 sum of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the number of employees working full 

23 time; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the full-time equivalent of the num25 ber of employees working part-time, as defined 


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1 and calculated in the manner determined most 

2 appropriate by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 802. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the first full 

6 taxable year following the date of enactment of the 

7 Saving for the Future Act, each applicable employer 

8 shall contribute to a qualifying plan, on behalf of 

9 each employee that is not enrolled in an active, de10 fined benefit pension plan sponsored by such em11 ployer, the applicable minimum amount described in 

12 paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INITIAL AMOUNTS.—For the first 

15 year in which the requirements of paragraph 

16 (1) apply, and the 1 year immediately following 

17 such first year, the minimum amount an appli18 cable employer is required to contribute for 

19 each full-time employee is $0.50 per hour 

20 worked by the employee. 

21 ‘‘(B) THIRD AND FOURTH YEARS.—For 

22 the 2 years immediately following the period 

23 during which subparagraph (A) applies, the 

24 minimum amount an applicable employer is reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1053.IS S1053

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1 quired to contribute for each full-time employee 

2 is $.60 per hour worked by the employee. 

3 ‘‘(C) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—The Secretary 

4 shall increase the amounts described in sub5 paragraph (B) for the year immediately fol6 lowing the period during which subparagraph 

7 (B) applies, and every 3 years thereafter, by an 

8 amount proportional to growth in average base 

9 supervisory wages. 

10 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—In the case of an ap11 plicable employer that is found to be in violation of 

12 the requirement under paragraph (1), such employer 

13 shall be required to make the contributions required 

14 under paragraph (1), plus interest, at an interest 

15 rate set by the Secretary through rulemaking. 

16 ‘‘(b) QUALIFYING PLANS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each applicable employer 

18 shall provide a pension plan for all employees. 

19 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF PLANS.—The pension plan re20 quired under paragraph (1)— 

21 ‘‘(A)(i) in the case of an applicable em22 ployer with 100 or more full-time equivalent 

23 employees, shall be an employer plan, which 

24 may be a plan described in section 401(k) of 

25 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, defined 


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1 benefit pension plan, or any other plan de2 scribed in section 219(g)(5) of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an applicable employer 

5 with fewer than 100 full-time equivalent em6 ployees, shall be a plan described in subpara7 graph (A), a simple retirement account under 

8 section 408(p) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986 or an automatic payroll deduction indi10 vidual retirement account or multiple employer 

11 plan, including any current or prospective 

12 State-established and -facilitated payroll deduc13 tion or automatic individual retirement account, 

14 or an UP Account described in section 804; or 

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of an applicable employer 

16 who does not provide an employer contribution 

17 but offers a State-established or -facilitated 

18 program described in subparagraph (A)(ii), 

19 such employer shall provide an UP Retirement 

20 Account to which the employer makes contribu21 tions, and any employee contributions shall be 

22 directed to the State plan. 

23 ‘‘(3) CLARIFICATION OF EMPLOYER OBLIGA24 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.—In 

25 the case of an applicable employer that offers an UP 


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1 Retirement Account plan and any other type of plan 

2 described in subparagraph (A)(i), (A)(ii), or (B), as 

3 applicable, of paragraph (2), to employees, with re4 spect to employees for whom the employer is not re5 quired under this Act to offer participation in such 

6 other type of plan, the requirements of this part may 

7 be met by allowing such employees to participate in 

8 such other plan. 

9 ‘‘(c) STANDARD NOTICE.—The board shall develop a 

10 standard notice that employers with fewer than 10 work11 ers electing not to make contributions are required to pro12 vide to each employee upon hire, and annually thereafter. 

13 Such notice shall provide instructions on how to set up 

14 an account, make contributions, and claim the individual 

15 credit under section 25BB of the Internal Revenue Code 

16 of 1986. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 803. UP ACCOUNT BOARD. 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—There is estab19 lished a Federal Universal Personal Savings Investment 

20 Board, an independent government agency for the purpose 

21 of overseeing UP Accounts. 

22 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Presi24 dent shall appoint, by and with the consent of the 

25 Senate, 5 members to serve on the Board. Such 


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1 members shall have substantial experience, training, 

2 and expertise in the management of financial invest3 ments and pension benefit plans. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Board shall 

5 hire an Executive Director of the Board. 

6 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—Each member shall serve a term 

7 of 5 years, except that, of the members first ap8 pointed, 1 shall serve a term of 1 year, one shall 

9 serve a term of 2 years, one shall serve a term of 

10 3 years, one shall serve a term of 4 years, and one 

11 shall serve a term of 5 years. Each member of the 

12 Board may serve up to 2 consecutive terms. 

13 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Administrative expenses incurred to 

14 carry out this part shall be paid first out net earnings 

15 in the UP Account Fund. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 804. UP ACCOUNT FUND. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

18 Treasury of the United States an UP Account Fund. 

19 ‘‘(b) FUNDS.—The UP Account Fund shall consist 

20 of all amounts contributed by participants, and employees 

21 on behalf of participants, into UP Retirement Accounts 

22 and UP Savings Accounts, increased by the total net earn23 ings from investments of sums in the UP Account Fund 

24 or reduced by the total net losses from investments of the 

25 UP Account Fund, and reduced by the total amount of 


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1 payments made from the UP Account Fund (including 

2 payments for administrative expenses). 

3 ‘‘(c) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—The sums in 

4 the UP Account Fund are appropriated and shall remain 

5 available without fiscal year limitation— 

6 ‘‘(1) to invest in accordance with section 

7 805(h); 

8 ‘‘(2) to pay benefits or purchase annuity con9 tracts under this subchapter; and 

10 ‘‘(3) to pay administrative expenses. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 805. UP RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish UP 

13 Retirement Accounts that are portable, defined contribu14 tion pension plans. 

15 ‘‘(b) ROLLOVERS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub17 section— 

18 ‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible rollover distribution’ 

19 has the meaning given such term by section 

20 402(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the term ‘qualified trust’ has the 

23 meaning given such term by section 402(c)(8) 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ROLLOVERS.—A participant may con2 tribute to the UP Retirement Account an eligible 

3 rollover that a qualified trust could accept under the 

4 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. A contribution 

5 made under this subsection shall be made in the 

6 form described in section 401(a)(31) of the Internal 

7 Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an eligible 

8 rollover distribution, the maximum amount trans9 ferred to the Up Account Fund shall not exceed the 

10 amount which would otherwise have been included in 

11 the participant’s gross income for Federal income 

12 tax purposes. 

13 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Director 

14 shall prescribe regulations to carry out this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Board shall contract 

17 with one or more private investment firms to administer 

18 the UP Accounts. The Board shall contract with multiple 

19 private investment firms, as necessary to ensure that no 

20 single firm administers more than $500,000,000,000 in 

21 UP Account assets. 

22 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL ELIGIBILITY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee is eligible to 

24 participate in an UP Retirement Account if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the employee’s employer establishes 

2 an UP Retirement Account on the employee’s 

3 behalf; or 

4 ‘‘(B) the employee demonstrates to the 

5 Board that the employee works for a employer 

6 that is not an applicable employer. 

7 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF ACCOUNT.—An indi8 vidual who becomes a participant in an UP Retire9 ment Account as described in paragraph (1) may 

10 maintain such account and may continue to make 

11 individual contributions to such account, regardless 

12 of such individual’s subsequent employment status, 

13 provided that the individual is not a participant in 

14 another plan described in section 802(b)(2). 

15 ‘‘(e) QUARTERLY STATEMENTS.—The Board shall 

16 provide participants with a quarterly statement explaining 

17 each participant’s projected income in retirement under 

18 different distribution scenarios and identifying the total 

19 dollar amount paid in fees for the year. 

20 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Applicable employers 

23 making contributions required under section 

24 802 to an UP Retirement Account shall auto25 enroll all employees in such an account with an 


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1 employee contribution that is equal to 4 percent 

2 of the employee’s wages, with the option for any 

3 such employee to elect a different employee con4 tribution level or to opt out of such account at 

5 any time. 

6 ‘‘(B) AUTO-ESCALATION.—Employees 

7 making contributions to an UP Retirement Ac8 count shall have their contributions automati9 cally escalated by half a percentage point at the 

10 conclusion of each full year during which such 

11 employer is so enrolled, until reaching the level 

12 of a 10 percent employee contribution. Any em13 ployee may opt out of such automatic esca14 lation. 

15 ‘‘(C) DEFAULT ELECTIONS IN THE CASE

16 OF CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT.—In the case of 

17 an employee who was enrolled in an UP Retire18 ment Account through one employer and subse19 quently ceases to work for such employer, if the 

20 employee subsequently is employed by another 

21 applicable employer, the employee’s default con22 tribution level under this paragraph shall be the 

23 same level that it was on the last day of em24 ployment with the previous employer. 

25 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Applicable employers 

2 may contribute more to an employee’s UP Re3 tirement Account than is required under section 

802, but may not contribute more than 1 4 ⁄2 the 

5 amount in effect under section 402(g)(1)(B) of 

6 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for the tax7 able year. 

8 ‘‘(B) DEFAULT RULES.—Any employer 

9 matching requirements under this part shall 

10 apply to any employer contributions that are in 

11 addition to the minimum employer contribution. 

12 ‘‘(C) FIDUCIARY DUTIES.—An applicable 

13 employer’s fiduciary duties with respect to an 

14 employee’s UP Retirement Account extend only 

15 to the full and timely payment of contributions 

16 to their employees’ UP Retirement Accounts. 

17 For all other purposes, the members of the 

18 Board are the fiduciaries of such accounts. 

19 ‘‘(g) PARTICIPANT ACCOUNTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director 

21 shall establish and maintain an account for each in22 dividual who makes contributions or for whom con23 tributions are made under this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) BALANCES.—The balance in a partici25 pant’s account at any time is the excess of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the sum of— 

2 ‘‘(i) all contributions made to the UP 

3 Retirement Account by the participant; 

4 ‘‘(ii) all contributions made to such 

5 Account for the benefit of the participant; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the total amount of the alloca8 tions made to and reductions made in the 

9 account pursuant to paragraph (3), over 

10 ‘‘(B) the amounts paid out of the UP Re11 tirement Account with respect to such partici12 pant. 

13 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—Pursuant to regulations 

14 prescribed by the Executive Director, the Executive 

15 Director shall allocate to each account an amount 

16 equal to a pro rata share of the net earnings and net 

17 losses from each investment of sums in the UP Ac18 count Fund attributable to sums credited to such ac19 count, reduced by an appropriate share of the ad20 ministrative expenses paid out of the net earnings, 

21 as determined by the Executive Director. 

22 ‘‘(h) INVESTMENTS.—The following investment rules 

23 shall apply with respect to an UP Retirement Account: 

24 ‘‘(1) The Board shall make available a reason25 able menu of investment products, including low-fee 


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1 index funds, sufficient to provide participants with 

2 the opportunity to diversify their UP Retirement Ac3 counts in order to minimize the risk of large losses. 

4 ‘‘(2) The default investment option for partici5 pants shall minimize fees, be diversified, and auto6 matically reduce risk to the participant as the par7 ticipant approaches retirement age. 

8 ‘‘(3) UP Retirement Accounts shall allow par9 ticipants to change or customize investment alloca10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(4) The board shall select investments solely in 

12 the interests of participants and beneficiaries and 

13 for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and 

14 deferring reasonable expenses with the prevailing 

15 care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent 

16 individual acting in a like capacity and familiar with 

17 such matters would use. 

18 ‘‘(i) DISTRIBUTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall ensure 

20 that investors are offered forms of distribution that 

21 include— 

22 ‘‘(A) monthly income for life for the partic23 ipant or surviving spouse, if applicable; 

24 ‘‘(B) monthly income until the normal or 

25 maximum Social Security retirement age for the 


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1 participant or surviving spouse, if applicable; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) automatic, regular withdrawals, 

4 under which a set percentage of initial capital 

5 is withdrawn each year, on a monthly basis. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEATH OF PARTICIPANT.—In case of 

7 death of a participant, a lump sum shall be paid to 

8 designated beneficiary. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 806. UP SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to a standard UP 

11 Retirement Account under section 805, a participant may 

12 maintain an UP Savings Account, established by the 

13 Board, and designed as safe, short- to medium-term sav14 ings vehicles. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS; MAXIMUM BALANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Participants may make 

17 contributions to their UP Savings Account until the 

18 account reaches the maximum balance amount de19 scribed in paragraph (1). Any contributions a partic20 ipant wishes to make after the participant’s account 

21 reaches such maximum balance amount shall be 

22 credited to the participant’s UP Retirement Account 

23 established under section 805. An UP Savings Ac24 count may grow past the maximum balance amount 

25 due to accumulation without penalty. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INCREASED AMOUNTS.—The Board shall 

2 establish the maximum balance amount for purposes 

3 of paragraph (1) as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) For the first fiscal year that begins 

5 after the date of enactment of the Saving for 

6 the Future Act, the maximum balance amount 

7 shall be 2,500. 

8 ‘‘(B) For fiscal year immediately following 

9 the fiscal year described in subparagraph (A), 

10 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Board shall 

11 increase the maximum balance amount from the 

12 previous year, in increments of $100 that most 

13 closely reflects the average wage growth during 

14 the applicable 12-month period. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFAULT RULE.—Any contributions a 

16 participant makes pursuant to accounts established 

17 under this part shall be credited to the participant’s 

18 UP Savings Account, until such has reached the 

19 maximum balance amount, unless the participant 

20 specifies otherwise. Once the maximum balance is 

21 reached, additional contributions will go to a partici22 pant’s UP Retirement Account. 

23 ‘‘(c) INVESTMENT.—The Board may invest contribu24 tions to UP Savings Account only in cash, money market 

25 funds, certificates of deposit, or government bonds. 


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1 ‘‘(d) WITHDRAWALS.—Participants may withdraw 

2 amounts from their UP Savings Account when experi3 encing a specific financial situation that requires a non4 routine use of money, as determined by the Board (in 

5 rules similar to the rules governing hardship distributions 

6 from a trust described in section 401(a) of the Internal 

7 Revenue Code of 1986 which is exempt from taxation 

8 under section 501(a) of such Code). Such situations may 

9 include a major reduction in earnings, an on-the-job in10 jury, disability, family or medical leave, a large medical 

11 bill, the down payment for a home, and the beginning of 

12 a training or educational experience. The Board shall de13 termine the rules regarding such withdrawals, including 

14 allowable needs, and demonstration of the need, but shall 

15 not impose a withdrawal penalty or impose a repayment 

16 requirement. Loans to investors shall not be permitted. 

17 ‘‘(e) OTHER PENSION PLANS.—Any pension plan 

18 may offer a safe, short- to medium-term savings account 

19 with terms similar to the terms that apply to UP Savings 

20 Accounts described in this section. For purposes of this 

21 Act, any such account shall be considered part of the pen22 sion plan. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 807. TAX TREATMENT OF UP ACCOUNTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal 

25 Revenue Code of 1986— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the UP Account Fund shall be treated as 

2 a trust described in section 401(a) of such Code 

3 which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 

4 of such Code; 

5 ‘‘(2) any contribution to, or distribution from, 

6 the UP Account Fund shall be treated in the same 

7 manner as contributions to or distributions from 

8 such a trust; and 

9 ‘‘(3) subject to section 401(k)(4)(B) of such 

10 Code and any dollar limitation on the application of 

11 section 402(a)(8) of such Code, contributions to the 

12 UP Account Fund shall not be treated as distributed 

13 or made available to an employee or Member nor as 

14 a contribution made to the Fund by an employee or 

15 Member merely because the employee or Member 

16 has, under the provisions of this part, an election 

17 whether the contribution will be made to the UP Ac18 count Fund or received by the employee or Member 

19 in cash. 

20 ‘‘(b) NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS.—Not21 withstanding any other provision of law, the UP Account 

22 Fund is not subject to the nondiscrimination requirements 

23 applicable to arrangements described in section 401(k) of 

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1 tributions (as described in section 401(m) of such Code), 

2 so long as it meets the requirements of this section. 

3 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subsection (a) shall 

4 not be construed to provide that any amount of the em5 ployee’s or Member’s basic pay which is contributed to the 

6 UP Account Fund shall not be included in the term 

7 ‘wages’ for the purposes of section 209 of the Social Secu8 rity Act or section 3121(a) of the Internal Revenue Code 

9 of 1986. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 808. QUALIFIED ROTH CONTRIBUTION PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘qualified Roth contribution pro13 gram’ means a program described in paragraph (1) 

14 of section 402A(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986 which meets the requirements of paragraph (2) 

16 of such section; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the terms ‘designated Roth contribution’ 

18 and ‘elective deferral’ have the meanings given such 

19 terms in section 402A of the Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986. 

21 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH.—The Executive 

22 Director shall by regulation provide for the inclusion in 

23 the UP Accounts of a qualified Roth contribution pro24 gram, under such terms and conditions as the Board may 

25 prescribe. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—The regulations under 

2 subsection (b) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(1) provisions under which an election to make 

4 designated Roth contributions may be made by any 

5 individual who is eligible to make contributions to an 

6 UP Account under section 805(d); and 

7 ‘‘(2) any other provisions which may be nec8 essary to carry out this section. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 809. SURVIVOR ANNUITIES. 

10 ‘‘The rules on survivor annuities under subchapter IV 

11 of chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, that are ap12 plicable to the Thrift Savings Plan, shall apply to UP Ac13 counts. The Executive Director shall promulgate regula14 tions to provide for the application of such rules to UP 

15 Accounts, as appropriate.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 in section 1 of the Employee Retirement Income Security 

18 Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the item relat19 ing to section 734 the following new items: 

‘‘PART 8—UNIVERSAL PERSONAL SAVINGS

‘‘Sec. 801. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 802. Employer contribution requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 803. UP Account Board. 

‘‘Sec. 804. UP Account Fund. 

‘‘Sec. 805. UP Retirement Accounts. 

‘‘Sec. 806. UP Savings Accounts. 

‘‘Sec. 807. Tax treatment of UP Accounts. 

‘‘Sec. 808. Qualified Roth contribution program. 

‘‘Sec. 809. Survivor annuities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. INCREASE IN CREDIT FOR SMALL EMPLOYER PEN2 SION PLAN STARTUP COSTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 45E(b) 

4 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik5 ing ‘‘$500’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’. 

6 (b) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYERS.—Paragraph (1) of sec7 tion 45E(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

8 amended by inserting ‘‘, applied by substituting ‘250’ for 

9 ‘100’ ’’ after ‘‘408(p)(2)(C)(i)’’. 

10 (c) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANT EMPLOYERS.— 

11 Subsection (c) of section 45E of the Internal Revenue 

12 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYERS FAILING TO MAKE REQUIRED

15 CONTRIBUTIONS.—Such term shall not include an 

16 employer subject to the requirement of section 

17 802(a)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu18 rity Act of 1974 that fails, within the time pre19 scribed by the Secretary, to make any required con20 tribution under such section 802 for the taxable year 

21 or any of the 4 taxable years preceding such year.’’. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. CREDIT FOR MINIMUM EMPLOYER CONTRIBU2 TIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 45T. CREDIT FOR MINIMUM EMPLOYER CONTRIBU8 TIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of section 38, 

10 the minimum employer contribution credit determined 

11 under this section for any taxable year is an amount equal 

12 to the applicable percentage of the qualified retirement 

13 contributions paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the 

14 taxable year. 

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

16 subsection (a), the applicable percentage is— 

17 ‘‘(1) 50 percent, in the case of contributions 

18 made with respect to not more than 15 employees of 

19 the employer (or the number of employees of the em20 ployer which is the equivalent of 15 full-time em21 ployees), and 

22 ‘‘(2) 25 percent, in the case of contributions 

23 made with respect to so many of the employees of 

24 the employer (or the equivalent of so many full-time 

25 employees) as exceeds 15 but does not exceed 30. 


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1 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

2 For purposes of this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified retire4 ment contributions’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) contributions made by an employer as 

6 required under section 802 of the Employee Re7 tirement Income Security Act of 1974, and 

8 ‘‘(B) contributions to a plan described in 

9 section 802(b)(2) of such Act made by an em10 ployer which is not subject to the requirement 

11 of section 802(a)(1) of such Act. 

12 ‘‘(2) ONLY REQUIRED CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT

13 TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The term ‘qualified retire14 ment contributions’ does not include any amount in 

15 excess of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the amount determined under section 

17 802(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income 

18 Security Act with respect to each employee of 

19 the employer, or 

20 ‘‘(B) the amount which would be so deter21 mined if the employer were subject to the re22 quirement of section 802(a)(1) of such Act. 

23 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYERS EXCLUDED FOR FAILURE TO

24 MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 

25 to any employer which fails, within the time prescribed 


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•S 1053 IS

1 by the Secretary, to make any contribution required to be 

2 made by such employer under section 802 of the Employee 

3 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 for the taxable 

4 year or any of the 4 taxable years preceding such year. 

5 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec6 tion— 

7 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATION RULES, ETC.—Rules similar 

8 to the rules of section 45E(e) shall apply. 

9 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No credit 

10 shall be allowed under this section for any taxable 

11 year in which the credit under section 45E is al12 lowed with respect to the taxpayer. 

13 ‘‘(f) CREDIT MADE AVAILABLE TO TAX-EXEMPT EL14 IGIBLE EMPLOYERS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a tax-exempt 

16 eligible employer, there shall be treated as a credit 

17 allowable under subpart C (and not allowable under 

18 this subpart) the lesser of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the amount of the credit determined 

20 under this section with respect to such em21 ployer, or 

22 ‘‘(B) the amount of the payroll taxes of the 

23 employer during the calendar year in which the 

24 taxable year begins. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TAX-EXEMPT ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.—For 

2 purposes of this section, the term ‘tax-exempt eligi3 ble employer’ means an eligible employer which is 

4 any organization described in section 501(c) which is 

5 exempt from taxation under section 501(a). 

6 ‘‘(3) PAYROLL TAXES.—For purposes of this 

7 subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘payroll 

9 taxes’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) amounts required to be withheld 

11 from the employees of the tax-exempt eligi12 ble employer under section 3401(a), 

13 ‘‘(ii) amounts required to be withheld 

14 from such employees under section 

15 3101(b), and 

16 ‘‘(iii) amounts of the taxes imposed on 

17 the tax-exempt eligible employer under sec18 tion 3111(b). 

19 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—A rule similar to 

20 the rule of section 24(d)(2)(C) shall apply for 

21 purposes of subparagraph (A).’’. 

22 (b) CREDIT TO BE MADE PART OF BUSINESS CRED23 IT.—Subsection (b) of section 38 of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end 

25 of paragraph (31), by striking the period at the end of 


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•S 1053 IS

1 paragraph (32) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at 

2 the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(33) in the case of an eligible employer, the 

4 minimum employer contribution credit determined 

5 under section 45T(a).’’. 

6 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

7 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

8 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in9 serting after the item relating to section 45S the following 

10 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45T. Credit for minimum employer contributions.’’. 

11 (d) TRANSFERS TO FEDERAL OLD-AGE AND SUR12 VIVORS INSURANCE TRUST FUND.—There are hereby ap13 propriated to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust 

14 Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund 

15 established under section 201 of the Social Security Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 401) amounts equal to the reduction in reve17 nues to the Treasury by reason of the enactment of section 

18 45T(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Amounts 

19 appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be trans20 ferred from the general fund at such times and in such 

21 manner as to replicate to the extent possible the transfers 

22 which would have occurred to such Trust Fund had such 

23 amendments not been enacted. 


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

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL CREDIT FOR INDIVIDUALS MAKING 

5 RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 is amended by inserting after section 25B the fol9 lowing new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 25BB. ADDITIONAL CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INDIVID11 UALS MAKING RETIREMENT CONTRIBU12 TIONS. 

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

15 the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an 

16 amount equal to 50 percent of so much of the qualified 

17 retirement contributions of the individual for the taxable 

18 year as do not exceed the base amount. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

20 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an individual 

21 whose employer does not provide a defined benefit plan 

22 (as defined in section 414(j)), defined contribution plan 

23 (as defined in section 414(i)), or participation in an UP 

24 Account under section 805 of the Employee Retirement 


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1 Income Security Act of 1974, or who is not employed, at 

2 the time the qualified retirement contributions are made. 

3 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS, 

4 ETC.—For purposes of this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified retire6 ment contributions’ means, with respect to any tax7 able year, any amounts paid in cash by an individual 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(A) an individual retirement plan, or 

10 ‘‘(B) an UP Account established under 

11 section 805 of the Employee Retirement Income 

12 Security Act of 1974, 

13 for the benefit of the individual. 

14 ‘‘(2) BASE AMOUNT.—The base amount for any 

15 taxable year is an amount equal to the amount in 

16 effect under section 802(a)(3)(i) of the Employee 

17 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 for such 

18 year. 

19 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) INVESTMENT IN THE CONTRACT.—Rules 

21 similar to the rules of section 25B(f) shall apply for 

22 purposes of this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH SAVER’S CREDIT.— 

24 The credit under this section and the credit under 


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1 section 25B shall each be determined without regard 

2 to the other.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

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

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in6 serting after the item relating to section 25B the following 

7 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25BB. Additional credit for certain individuals making retirement contributions.’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 7. INCREASE IN HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX 

12 RATE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each of the tables contained in 

14 subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) of section 

15 1(j)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘37%’’ in the last line and inserting ‘‘39.6%’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Clause (iii) of sec18 tion 1(j)(4)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘37 percent’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘39.6 percent’’, 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘37-percent’’ in subclause (II) 

23 and inserting ‘‘39.6-percent’’, and 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘37-PERCENT’’ in the heading 

2 and inserting ‘‘39.6-PERCENT’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2019. 

6 SEC. 8. INCREASE IN CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 11 of the 

8 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘21 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘23 percent’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

12 December 31, 2019. 

Æ 


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