I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5873 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to improve 
part-time coverage for part-time workers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 4, 2021 
Ms. MANNING introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 to improve part-time coverage for part-time 
workers, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Improving Part-Time 
Workers Access to Retirement Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMPROVING PART-TIME COVERAGE FOR PART-TIME 
WORKERS. 
(a) AMENDMENT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN-
COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1052) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PART-TIME EM-
PLOYEES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A pension plan that in-
cludes either a qualified cash or deferred arrange-
ment (as defined in section 401(k) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986) or a salary reduction agree-
ment (as described in section 403(b) of such Code) 
shall not require, as a condition of participation in 
the arrangement or agreement, that an employee 
complete a period of service with the employer (or 
employers) maintaining the plan extending beyond 
the close of the earlier of— 
‘‘(A) the period permitted under subsection 
(a)(1) (determined without regard to subpara-
graph (B)(i) thereof); or 
‘‘(B) the first 24-month period— 
‘‘(i) consisting of 2 consecutive 12- 
month periods during each of which the 
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employee has at least 500 hours of service; 
and 
‘‘(ii) by the close of which the em-
ployee has attained the age of 21. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1)(B) shall not 
apply to any employee described in section 410(b)(3) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RULES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of employ-
ees who are eligible to participate in the ar-
rangement or agreement solely by reason of 
paragraph (1)(B): 
‘‘(i) EXCLUSIONS.—An employer may 
elect to exclude such employees from the 
application of subsections (a)(4), (k)(3), 
(k)(12), 
(k)(13), 
(k)(15)(B)(i)(I), 
and 
(m)(2) of section 401 of such Code and 
section 410(b) of such Code. 
‘‘(ii) TIME OF PARTICIPATION.—The 
rules of subsection (a)(4) shall apply to 
such employees. 
‘‘(B) TOP-HEAVY
RULES.—An employer 
may elect to exclude all employees who are eligi-
ble to participate in a plan maintained by the 
employer solely by reason of paragraph (1)(B) 
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from the application of the vesting and benefit 
requirements under subsections (b) and (c) of 
section 416 of such Code. 
‘‘(4) 12-MONTH PERIOD.—For purposes of this 
subsection, 12-month periods shall be determined in 
the same manner as under the last sentence of sub-
section (a)(3)(A), except that 12-month periods be-
ginning before January 1, 2021, shall not be taken 
into account.’’ 
(2) VESTING.—Section 203(b) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1053(a)) is amended by redesignating paragraph (4) 
as paragraph (5) and by inserting after paragraph 
(3) the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) PART-TIME EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of 
determining whether an employee who is eligible to 
participate in a qualified cash or deferred arrange-
ment or a salary reduction agreement under a plan 
solely by reason of section 202(c)(1)(B) has a non-
forfeitable right to employer contributions— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), each 12-month period for which the em-
ployee has at least 500 hours of service shall be 
treated as a year of service; 
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‘‘(B) paragraph (3) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘at least 500 hours of service’ for 
‘more than 500 hours of service’ in subpara-
graph (A) thereof; and 
‘‘(C) 12-month periods occurring before 
the 24-month period described in section 
202(c)(1)(B) shall not be treated as years of 
service. 
For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods 
shall be determined in the same manner as under 
the last sentence of section 202(a)(3)(A), except that 
12-month periods beginning before January 1, 2021, 
shall not be taken into account.’’. 
(3) PRE-2021 SERVICE.—Section 112(b) of the 
Setting Every Community Up for Retirement En-
hancement Act of 2019 (26 U.S.C. 401 note) is 
amended by striking ‘‘section 401(k)(2)(D)(ii)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2)(D)(ii) and (15)(B)(iii) of 
section 401(k)’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REV-
ENUE CODE OF 1986.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 410(a) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraphs: 
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‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PART-TIME 
EMPLOYEES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a plan 
that includes either a qualified cash or deferred 
arrangement (as defined in section 401(k)) a 
trust of which such plan is a part shall not con-
stitute a qualified trust under section 401(a) if 
the plan requires, as a condition of participa-
tion in the plan or arrangement, that an em-
ployee complete a period of service with the em-
ployer (or employers) maintaining the plan ex-
tending beyond the close of the earlier of— 
‘‘(i) the period permitted under para-
graph (1) (determined without regard to 
subparagraph (B)(i) thereof), or 
‘‘(ii) the first 24-month period— 
‘‘(I) consisting of 2 consecutive 
12-month periods during each of 
which the employee has at least 500 
hours of service, and 
‘‘(II) by the close of which the 
employee has attained the age of 21. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A)(ii) 
shall not apply to any employee described in 
section 410(b)(3). 
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‘‘(C) 
COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER 
RULES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of em-
ployees who are eligible to participate in 
the arrangement or agreement solely by 
reason of subparagraph (A)(ii)— 
‘‘(I) EXCLUSIONS.—An employer 
may elect to exclude such employees 
from the application of subsection (b) 
and of subsections (a)(4), (k)(3), 
(k)(12), (k)(13), (k)(15)(B)(i)(I), and 
(m)(2) of section 401. 
‘‘(II) TIME OF PARTICIPATION.— 
The rules of paragraph (4) shall apply 
to such employees. 
‘‘(ii) TOP-HEAVY
RULES.—An em-
ployer may elect to exclude all employees 
who are eligible to participate in a plan 
maintained by the employer solely by rea-
son of subparagraph (A)(ii) from the appli-
cation of the vesting and benefit require-
ments under subsections (b) and (c) of sec-
tion 416. 
‘‘(D) 12-MONTH PERIOD.—For purposes of 
this paragraph, 12-month periods shall be de-
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termined in the same manner as under the last 
sentence of paragraph (3)(A), except that 12- 
month periods beginning before January 1, 
2021, shall not be taken into account.’’. 
(2) VESTING.—Section 410(a) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(6) PART-TIME EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of 
determining whether an employee who is eligible to 
participate in a qualified cash or deferred arrange-
ment or a salary reduction agreement under a plan 
solely by reason of paragraph (6)(A)(ii) has a non-
forfeitable right to employer contributions— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), each 12-month period for which the em-
ployee has at least 500 hours of service shall be 
treated as a year of service, 
‘‘(B) section 411(a)(6) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘at least 500 hours of service’ for 
‘more than 500 hours of service’ in subpara-
graph (A) thereof, and 
‘‘(C) 12-month periods occurring before 
the 24-month period described in paragraph 
(6)(A)(ii) shall not be treated as years of serv-
ice. 
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For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods 
shall be determined in the same manner as under 
paragraph (6)(D).’’. 
Æ 
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