I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1439 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide 
a fiduciary safe harbor for the selection of a lifetime income provider, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2019 
Mr. WALBERG (for himself, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of 
Tennessee, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. LOEBSACK, and Mr. MITCH-
ELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 to provide a fiduciary safe harbor for the selec-
tion of a lifetime income provider, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing Access to 
a Secure Retirement Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FIDUCIARY SAFE HARBOR FOR SELECTION OF LIFE-
TIME INCOME PROVIDER. 
Section 404 of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) SAFE HARBOR FOR ANNUITY SELECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the selec-
tion of an insurer for a guaranteed retirement in-
come contract, the requirements of subsection 
(a)(1)(B) will be deemed to be satisfied if a fidu-
ciary— 
‘‘(A) engages in an objective, thorough, 
and analytical search for the purpose of identi-
fying insurers from which to purchase such con-
tracts; 
‘‘(B) with respect to each insurer identified 
under subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) considers the financial capability 
of such insurer to satisfy its obligations 
under the guaranteed retirement income 
contract; and 
‘‘(ii) considers the cost (including fees 
and commissions) of the guaranteed retire-
ment income contract offered by the in-
surer in relation to the benefits and prod-
uct features of the contract and adminis-
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trative services to be provided under such 
contract; and 
‘‘(C) on the basis of such consideration, 
concludes that— 
‘‘(i) at the time of the selection, the 
insurer is financially capable of satisfying 
its obligations under the guaranteed retire-
ment income contract; and 
‘‘(ii) the relative cost of the selected 
guaranteed retirement income contract as 
described in subparagraph (B)(ii) is rea-
sonable. 
‘‘(2) FINANCIAL
CAPABILITY
OF
THE
IN-
SURER.—A fiduciary will be deemed to satisfy the 
requirements of paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (1)(C)(i) 
if— 
‘‘(A) the fiduciary obtains written rep-
resentations from the insurer that— 
‘‘(i) the insurer is licensed to offer 
guaranteed retirement income contracts; 
‘‘(ii) the insurer, at the time of selec-
tion and for each of the immediately pre-
ceding 7 plan years— 
‘‘(I) operates under a certificate 
of authority from the insurance com-
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missioner of its domiciliary State 
which has not been revoked or sus-
pended; 
‘‘(II) has filed audited financial 
statements in accordance with the 
laws of its domiciliary State under ap-
plicable statutory accounting prin-
ciples; 
‘‘(III) maintains (and has main-
tained) reserves which satisfies all the 
statutory requirements of all States 
where the insurer does business; and 
‘‘(IV) is not operating under an 
order of supervision, rehabilitation, or 
liquidation; 
‘‘(iii) the insurer undergoes, at least 
every 5 years, a financial examination 
(within the meaning of the law of its domi-
ciliary State) by the insurance commis-
sioner of the domiciliary State (or rep-
resentative, designee, or other party ap-
proved by such commissioner); and 
‘‘(iv) the insurer will notify the fidu-
ciary of any change in circumstances oc-
curring after the provision of the represen-
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tations in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) which 
would preclude the insurer from making 
such representations at the time of 
issuance of the guaranteed retirement in-
come contract; and 
‘‘(B) after receiving such representations 
and as of the time of selection, the fiduciary 
has not received any notice described in sub-
paragraph (A)(iv) and is in possession of no 
other information which would cause the fidu-
ciary to question the representations provided. 
‘‘(3) NO
REQUIREMENT
TO
SELECT
LOWEST 
COST.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 
to require a fiduciary to select the lowest cost con-
tract. A fiduciary may consider the value of a con-
tract, including features and benefits of the contract 
and attributes of the insurer (including, without lim-
itation, the insurer’s financial strength) in conjunc-
tion with the cost of the contract. 
‘‘(4) TIME OF SELECTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the time of selection is— 
‘‘(i) the time that the insurer and the 
contract are selected for distribution of 
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‘‘(5) LIMITED
LIABILITY.—A fiduciary which 
satisfies the requirements of this subsection shall not 
be liable following the distribution of any benefit, or 
the investment by or on behalf of a participant or 
beneficiary pursuant to the selected guaranteed re-
tirement income contract, for any losses that may 
result to the participant or beneficiary due to an in-
surer’s inability to satisfy its financial obligations 
under the terms of such contract. 
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) INSURER.—The term ‘insurer’ means 
an insurance company, insurance service, or in-
surance organization, including affiliates of 
such companies. 
‘‘(B) GUARANTEED RETIREMENT INCOME 
CONTRACT.—The term ‘guaranteed retirement 
income contract’ means an annuity contract for 
a fixed term or a contract (or provision or fea-
ture thereof) which provides guaranteed bene-
fits annually (or more frequently) for at least 
the remainder of the life of the participant or 
the joint lives of the participant and the partici-
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pant’s designated beneficiary as part of an indi-
vidual account plan.’’. 
Æ 
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