105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1377
AN ACT
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement In-
come Security Act of 1974 to encourage retire-
ment income savings.
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1377
AN ACT
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 re-
liance 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 retirement.
(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 un-
derstanding of retirement savings and its critical im-
portance to the future well-being of American work-
ers 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 na-
tional prominence; and
(3) to initiate the development of a broad-
based, public education program to encourage and
enhance individual commitment to a personal retire-
ment savings 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
designed to effectively promote retirement income savings
by the public.
‘‘(b) METHODS.—The Secretary shall carry out the
requirements of subsection (a) by means which shall en-
sure effective communication to the public, including pub-
lication of public service announcements, public meetings,
creation of educational materials, and establishment of a
site on the Internet.
‘‘(c) INFORMATION TO BE DISSEMINATED.—The in-
formation to be disseminated by the Secretary as part of
the program of outreach required under subsection (a)
shall include the following:
‘‘(1) a description of the vehicles currently
available to individuals and employers for creating
and maintaining retirement income savings, specifi-
cally including information explaining to employers,
in simple terms, how to establish each of the dif-
ferent retirement 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 sav-
ings early in life,
‘‘(D) savings principles,
‘‘(E) the importance of prudence and di-
versification in investing,
‘‘(F) the importance of the timing of in-
vestments, and
‘‘(G) the impact on retirement savings of
life’s uncertainties, such as living beyond one’s
life expectancy.
‘‘(d) ESTABLISHMENT OF SITE ON THE INTERNET.—
The Secretary shall establish a permanent site on the
Internet concerning retirement income savings. The site
shall contain at least the following information:
‘‘(1) a means for individuals to calculate their
estimated retirement savings needs, based on their
retirement income goal as a percentage of their pre-
retirement income;
‘‘(2) a description in simple terms of the com-
mon types of retirement income savings arrange-
ments available to both individuals and employers
(specifically including small employers), including in-
formation on the amount of money that can be
placed into a given vehicle, the tax treatment of the
money, the amount of accumulation possible through
different typical investment options and interest rate
projections, and a directory of resources of more de-
scriptive information;
‘‘(3) materials explaining to employers in simple
terms how to establish and maintain different retire-
ment savings arrangements for their workers and
what the basic legal requirements are under this Act
and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
‘‘(4) copies of all educational materials devel-
oped by the Department of Labor, and by other
Federal agencies in consultation with such Depart-
ment, to promote retirement income savings by
workers and employers; and
‘‘(5) links to other sites maintained on the
Internet by governmental agencies and nonprofit or-
ganizations that provide additional detail on retire-
ment income savings arrangements and related top-
ics on savings or investing.
‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate
the outreach program under this section with similar ef-
forts undertaken by other public and private entities.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 514 the following new
items:
‘‘Sec. 515. Delinquent contributions.
‘‘Sec. 516. Outreach to promote retirement income savings.’’.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL SUMMIT ON RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as
amended by section 3 of this Act) is amended further by
adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘NATIONAL SUMMIT ON RETIREMENT SAVINGS
‘‘SEC. 517. (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL SUMMIT.—Not
later than June 1, 1998, the President shall convene a
National Summit on Retirement Income Savings at the
White House, to be co-hosted by the President and the
Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader
of the Senate. Such a National Summit shall be convened
thereafter in 2001 and 2005 on or after September 1 of
each year involved. Such a National Summit shall—
‘‘(1) 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) facilitate the development of a broad-
based, public education program to encourage and
enhance individual commitment to a personal retire-
ment savings strategy;
‘‘(3) develop recommendations for additional re-
search, reforms in public policy, and actions in the
field of retirement income savings; and
‘‘(4) disseminate the report of, and information
obtained by, the National Summit and exhibit mate-
rials and works of the National Summit.
‘‘(b) PLANNING
AND DIRECTION.—The National
Summit shall be planned and conducted under the direc-
tion of the Secretary, in consultation with, and with the
assistance of, the heads of such other Federal departments
and agencies as the President may designate. Such assist-
ance may include the assignment of personnel. The Sec-
retary shall, in planning and conducting the National
Summit, consult with the congressional leaders specified
in subsection (e)(2). The Secretary shall also, in carrying
out the Secretary’s duties under this subsection, consult
and coordinate with at least one organization made up of
private sector businesses and associations partnered with
Government entities to promote long-term financial secu-
rity in retirement through savings (including for 1998,
and thereafter as the Secretary may deem appropriate, the
American Savings Education Council).
‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—The purpose
of the National Summit shall be—
‘‘(1) to increase the public awareness of the
value of personal savings for retirement;
‘‘(2) to advance the public’s knowledge and un-
derstanding of retirement savings and its critical im-
portance to the future well-being of American work-
ers and their families;
‘‘(3) to facilitate the development of a broad-
based, public education program to encourage and
enhance individual commitment to a personal retire-
ment savings strategy;
to identify the appropriate authority and entities to
implement such recommendations.
‘‘(d) SCOPE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—The scope of
the National Summit shall consist of issues relating to in-
dividual and employer-based retirement savings and shall
not include issues relating to the old-age, survivors, and
disability insurance program under title II of the Social
Security Act.
‘‘(e) NATIONAL SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes
of the National Summit, the National Summit shall
bring together—
‘‘(A) professionals and other individuals
working in the fields of employee benefits and
retirement savings;
‘‘(B) Members of Congress and officials in
the executive branch;
‘‘(C) representatives of State and local
governments;
‘‘(D) representatives of private sector insti-
tutions, including individual employers, con-
cerned about promoting the issue of retirement
savings and facilitating savings among Amer-
ican workers; and
‘‘(E) representatives of the general public.
‘‘(2) 
STATUTORILY
REQUIRED
PARTICIPA-
TION.—The participants in the National Summit
shall include the following individuals or their des-
ignees:
‘‘(A) the Speaker and the Minority Leader
of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(B) the Majority Leader and the Minority
Leader of the Senate;
‘‘(C) the Chairman and ranking Member of
the Committee on Education and the Workforce
of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(D) the Chairman and ranking Member
of the Committee on Labor and Human Re-
sources of the Senate;
‘‘(E) the Chairman and ranking Member
of the Special Committee on Aging of the Sen-
ate; and
‘‘(F) the parties referred to in subsection
(b).
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS.—There shall
be not more than 400 additional participants. Of
such additional participants—
‘‘(A) one-fourth shall be appointed by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(B) one-fourth shall be appointed by the
Minority Leader of the House of Representa-
tives;
‘‘(C) one-fourth shall be appointed by the
Majority Leader of the Senate; and
‘‘(D) one-fourth shall be appointed by the
Minority Leader of the Senate.
Such remaining participants shall be selected with-
out regard to political affiliation or past partisan ac-
tivity and shall be representative of the diversity of
thought in the fields of employee benefits and retire-
ment income savings.
‘‘(4) 
PRESIDING
OFFICERS.—The 
National
Summit shall be presided over equally by representa-
tives of the executive and legislative branches.
‘‘(f) NATIONAL SUMMIT ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this
section, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) request the cooperation and assist-
ance of such other Federal departments and
agencies and other parties referred to in sub-
section (b) as may be appropriate in the carry-
ing out of this section;
‘‘(B) furnish all reasonable assistance, in-
cluding financial assistance, to State agencies,
area agencies, and other appropriate organiza-
tions to enable them to organize and conduct
conferences in conjunction with the National
Summit;
‘‘(C) make available for public comment a
proposed agenda for the National Summit that
reflects to the greatest extent possible the pur-
poses for the National Summit set out in this
section;
‘‘(D) prepare and make available back-
ground materials for the use of participants in
the National Summit that the Secretary consid-
ers necessary; and
‘‘(E) appoint and fix the pay of such addi-
tional personnel as may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this section without regard
to provisions of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive serv-
ice, and without regard to chapter 51 and sub-
chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating
to classification and General Schedule pay
rates.
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall, in carrying
out the responsibilities and functions of the Sec-
retary under this section, and as part of the Na-
tional Summit, ensure that—
‘‘(A) the National Summit shall be con-
ducted in a manner that ensures broad partici-
pation of Federal, State, and local agencies and
private organizations, professionals, and others
involved in retirement income savings and pro-
vides a strong basis for assistance to be pro-
vided under paragraph (1)(B);
‘‘(B) the agenda prepared under paragraph
(1)(C) for the National Summit is published in
the Federal Register; and
‘‘(C) the personnel appointed under para-
graph (1)(E) shall be fairly balanced in terms
of points of views represented and shall be ap-
pointed without regard to political affiliation or
previous partisan activities.
‘‘(g) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare a report
describing the activities of the National Summit and shall
submit the report to the President, the Speaker and Mi-
nority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Major-
ity and Minority Leaders of the Senate, and the chief exec-
utive officers of the States not later than 90 days after
the date on which the National Summit is adjourned.
‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘State’ means a State, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, and any other territory or possession
of the United States.
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal years beginning on or after
October 1, 1997, such sums as are necessary to
carry out this section.
‘‘(2) RELIANCE ON PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—
The Secretary may accept private contributions, in
the form of money, supplies, or services, to defray
the costs of the National Summit. The Secretary
shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that at least
one-half of the funds available to the Secretary for
each fiscal year to carry out the provisions of this
section consist of such private contributions.
‘‘(j) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may enter into con-
tracts to carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under
this section, but only to the extent, or in such amounts,
as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1 of such Act (as amended by section 3
of this Act) is amended further by inserting after the item
relating to section 516 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 517. National Summit on Retirement Savings.’’.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FIS-
CAL YEAR 1998.—Notwithstanding subsection (i) of sec-
tion 517 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (added by this section), the amount authorized
to be appropriated for fiscal year 1998 to carry out such
section is an amount equal to $1,000,000.
Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 1997.
Attest:
Clerk.