Union Calendar No. 62
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1377
[Report No. 105–104]
A BILL
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement In-
come Security Act of 1974 to encourage retire-
ment income savings.
MAY 20, 1997
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 62
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1377
[Report No. 105–104]
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
to encourage retirement income savings.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 17, 1997
Mr. FAWELL (for himself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. POMEROY, Mr.
KNOLLENBERG, Mr. PETRI, Mr. FROST, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. TALENT, Mrs.
ROUKEMA, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. FATTAH,
Mr. HINOJOSA, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MCKEON, Mr.
UPTON, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HILLIARD, Ms. NORTON, Mr.
MCCOLLUM, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. WELLER, and Ms. WATERS) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce
MAY 20, 1997
Additional sponsors: Mr. KOLBE, Mr. OLVER, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MILLER of
California, Mr. CLAY, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. FORD, Mr. OWENS, Mr.
DELLUMS, and Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA
MAY 20, 1997
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 17, 1997]
A BILL
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 to encourage retirement income savings.
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 ‘‘Savings Are Vital to
Everyone’s Retirement Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The impending retirement of the baby boom
generation will severely strain our already overbur-
dened entitlement system, necessitating increased reli-
ance on pension and other personal savings.
(2) Studies have found that less than a third of
Americans have even tried to calculate how much they
will need to have saved by retirement, and that less
than 20 percent are very confident they will have
enough money to live comfortably throughout their re-
tirement.
(3) A leading obstacle to expanding retirement
savings is the simple fact that far too many Ameri-
cans—particularly the young—are either unaware of,
or without the knowledge and resources necessary to
take advantage of, the extensive benefits offered by our
retirement savings system.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—
(1) to advance the public’s knowledge and under-
standing of retirement savings and its critical impor-
tance to the future well-being of American workers
and their families;
(2) to provide for a periodic, bipartisan national
retirement savings summit in conjunction with the
White House to elevate the issue of savings to national
prominence; and
(3) to initiate the development of a broad-based,
public education program to encourage and enhance
individual commitment to a personal retirement sav-
ings strategy.
SEC. 3. OUTREACH BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29
U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
‘‘OUTREACH TO PROMOTE RETIREMENT INCOME SAVINGS
‘‘SEC. 516. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
maintain an ongoing program of outreach to the public de-
signed to effectively promote retirement income savings by
the public.
‘‘(b) METHODS.—The Secretary shall carry out the re-
quirements of subsection (a) by means which shall ensure
effective communication to the public, including publication
of public service announcements, public meetings, creation
of educational materials, and establishment of a site on the
Internet.
‘‘(c) INFORMATION TO BE DISSEMINATED.—The infor-
mation to be disseminated by the Secretary as part of the
program of outreach required under subsection (a) shall in-
clude the following:
‘‘(1) a description of the vehicles currently avail-
able to individuals and employers for creating and
maintaining retirement income savings, specifically
including information explaining to employers, in
simple terms, how to establish each of the different re-
tirement savings vehicles for their workers, and
‘‘(2) information regarding matters relevant to
establishing retirement income savings, such as—
‘‘(A) the forms of retirement income sav-
ings,
‘‘(B) the concept of compound interest,
‘‘(C) the importance of commencing savings
early in life,