In the Senate of the United States,
November 7, 1997.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1377) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encour-
age retirement income savings.’’, do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
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
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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.
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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 MADE AVAILABLE.—The in-
formation to be made available 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 avail-
able to individuals and employers for creating and
maintaining retirement income savings, specifically
including information explaining to employers, in
simple terms, the characteristics and operation of the
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different retirement savings vehicles, including the
steps to establish each such vehicle, 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,
‘‘(D) savings principles,
‘‘(E) the importance of prudence and diver-
sification in investing,
‘‘(F) the importance of the timing of invest-
ments, 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 re-
tirement income goal as a percentage of their pre-
retirement income;