Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021
Bill: S.1730 | Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth (D-MA)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021
This bill establishes an online Retirement Savings Lost and Found (RSLF), managed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), to assist individuals in locating certain employer-sponsored retirement accounts. The RSLF must provide plan participants or beneficiaries only with the ability to view contact information for the administrator of a plan that is sufficient to locate the plan.
The bill sets forth additional reporting and notification requirements for retirement plans.
The PBGC must take precautions to (1) safeguard the privacy and security of participants' plan information, and (2) permit plan participants to opt out of inclusion in the RSLF.
The bill also revises provisions that permit mandatory distributions of the balances of small retirement accounts using a rollover into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The bill modifies the investment options available for the distributions and increases the maximum account balance that may be subject to such a distribution.
A plan must transfer unclaimed mandatory distributions that are $1,000 or less to the RSLF, and the RSLF must pay the balance upon locating a plan participant or beneficiary.

To increase portability of and access to retirement savings, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Retirement Savings Lost and Found 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. RETIREMENT SAVINGS LOST AND FOUND.

    (a) Retirement Savings Lost and Found.--
            (1) Establishment.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                Labor, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary 
                of Commerce, in cooperation, shall establish an online 
                searchable database (to be managed by the Pension 
                Benefit Guaranty Corporation in accordance with section 
                4051 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
                1974) to be known as the ``Retirement Savings Lost and 
                Found''. The Retirement Savings Lost and Found shall--
                            (i) allow an individual to search for 
                        information that enables the individual to 
                        locate the plan administrator of any plans with 
                        respect to which the individual is or was a 
                        participant or beneficiary, and to provide 
                        contact information for the plan administrator 
                        of any plan described in subparagraph (B);
                            (ii) allow the corporation to assist such 
                        an individual in locating any plan of the 
                        individual; and
                            (iii) allow the corporation to make any 
                        necessary changes to contact information on 
                        record for the plan administrator based on any 
                        changes to the plan due to merger or 
                        consolidation of the plan with any other plan, 
                        division of the plan into two or more plans, 
                        bankruptcy, termination, change in name of the 
                        plan, change in name or address of the plan 
                        administrator, or other causes.
                The Retirement Savings Lost and Found established under 
                this subparagraph shall include information reported 
                under section 4051 of the Employee Retirement Income 
                Security Act of 1974 and other relevant information 
                obtained by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
                    (B) Plans described.--A plan described in this 
                subparagraph is a plan to which the vesting standards 
                of section 203 of part 2 of subtitle B of title I of 
                the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
                apply.
            (2) Administration.--The Retirement Savings Lost and Found 
        established under paragraph (1) shall provide individuals 
        described in paragraph (1)(A) only with the ability to view 
        contact information for the plan administrator of any plan with 
        respect to which the individual is or was a participant or 
        beneficiary, sufficient to allow the individual to locate the 
        individual's plan in order to recover any benefit owing to the 
        individual under the plan.
            (3) Safeguarding participant privacy and security.--In 
        establishing the Retirement Savings Lost and Found under 
        paragraph (1), the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the 
        Treasury, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall take all 
        necessary and proper precautions to ensure that individuals' 
        plan information maintained by the Retirement Savings Lost and 
        Found is protected and that persons other than the individual 
        cannot fraudulently claim the benefits to which any individual 
        is entitled, and to allow any individual to opt out of 
        inclusion in the Retirement Savings Lost and Found at the 
        election of the individual.
    (b) Office of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found.--
            (1) In general.--Subtitle C of title IV of the Employee 
        Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.) 
        is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 4051. OFFICE OF THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS LOST AND FOUND.

    ``(a) Establishment; Responsibilities of Office.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Labor, the 
        Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Commerce shall 
        establish within the corporation an Office of the Retirement 
        Savings Lost and Found (in this section referred to as the 
        `Office').
            ``(2) Responsibilities of office.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Office shall--
                            ``(i) carry out subsection (b) of this 
                        section;
                            ``(ii) maintain the Retirement Savings Lost 
                        and Found established under section 2(a) of the 
                        Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) perform an annual audit of plan 
                        information contained in the Retirement Savings 
                        Lost and Found and ensure that such information 
                        is current and accurate.
                    ``(B) Option to contract.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 2 years 
                        after the date of enactment of this section, 
                        the corporation shall conduct an analysis of 
                        the cost effectiveness of contracting with a 
                        third party to carry out the responsibilities 
                        under subparagraph (A)(iii) and, upon a 
                        determination that such contracting would be 
                        more cost effective than carrying out such 
                        responsibilities within the Office, the 
                        corporation may enter into such contracts as 
                        merited by such analysis.
                            ``(ii) Report.--The corporation shall 
                        report on the results of the analysis under 
                        clause (i) to the Committees on Finance and 
                        Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
                        Senate and the Committees on Ways and Means and 
                        Education and Labor of the House of 
                        Representatives.
    ``(b) Certain Non-Responsive Participants Entitled to Small 
Benefits.--
            ``(1) General rule.--
                    ``(A) Transfer to the office of the retirement 
                savings lost and found.--The administrator of a plan 
                that is not terminated and to which section 
                401(a)(31)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
                applies shall transfer to the Office the amount 
                required to be transferred under section 
                401(a)(31)(B)(iv) of such Code for a non-responsive 
                participant.
                    ``(B) Information and payment to the office.--Upon 
                making a transfer under subparagraph (A), the plan 
                administrator shall provide such information and 
                certifications as the Office shall specify, including 
                with respect to the transferred amount and the non-
                responsive participant.
                    ``(C) Information requirements after transfer.--In 
                the event that, after a transfer is made under 
                subparagraph (A), the relevant non-responsive 
                participant contacts the plan administrator or the plan 
                administrator discovers information that may assist the 
                Office in locating the non-responsive participant, the 
                plan administrator shall notify and provide such 
                information as the Office shall specify to the Office.
                    ``(D) Search and payment by the office following 
                transfer.--The Office shall periodically, and upon 
                receiving information described in subparagraph (C), 
                conduct a search for the non-responsive participant for 
                whom the Office has received a transfer under 
                subparagraph (A). Upon location of a non-responsive 
                participant who claims benefits, the Office shall make 
                a single payment to the non-responsive participant in 
                an amount equal to the sum of--
                            ``(i) the amount transferred to the Office 
                        under subparagraph (A) for such participant; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) the return on the investment 
                        attributable to such amount under section 
                        4005(j)(3).
            ``(2) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        term `non-responsive participant' means a participant or 
        beneficiary of a plan described in paragraph (1)(A)--
                    ``(A) who is entitled to a benefit subject to a 
                mandatory transfer under section 401(a)(31)(B)(iii) of 
                the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
                    ``(B) for whom the plan has satisfied the 
                conditions in section 401(a)(31)(B)(iv) of such Code.
            ``(3) Regulatory authority.--The Office shall prescribe 
        such regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of 
        this section, including rules relating to the amount payable to 
        the Office and the amount to be paid by the Office.
    ``(c) Information Collection.--Within such period after the end of 
a plan year as the Office may by regulations prescribe, the 
administrator of a plan to which the vesting standards of section 203 
apply shall submit the following information, and such other 
information as the corporation may require, to the corporation in such 
form as the corporation may require:
            ``(1) The information described in paragraphs (1) through 
        (4) of section 6057(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            ``(2) The information described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 
        (E), and (F) of section 6057(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 
        of 1986.
    ``(d) Effective Date.--The requirements of subsections (b) and (c) 
shall apply with respect to plan years beginning after the second 
December 31 occurring after the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
section.''.
            (2) Establishment of fund for transferred assets.--Section 
        4005 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
        U.S.C. 1305) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j)(1) A ninth fund shall be established for the payment of 
benefits under section 4051(b)(1)(D).
    ``(2) Such fund shall be credited with the appropriate--
            ``(A) amounts transferred to the Office of the Retirement 
        Savings Lost and Found under section 4051(b)(1)(A); and
            ``(B) earnings on investments of the fund or on assets 
        credited to the fund.
    ``(3) Whenever the corporation determines that the moneys of any 
fund are in excess of current needs, it may request the investment of 
such amounts as it determines advisable by the Secretary of the 
Treasury in obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States.''.
            (3) Conforming amendment.--The table of contents for the 
        Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 
        et seq.) is amended by inserting after the matter relating to 
        section 4050 the following:

``Sec. 4051. Certain non-responsive participants entitled to small 
                            benefits.''.
    (c) Mandatory Transfers of Rollover Distributions.--
            (1) Investment options.--
                    (A) In general.--Subparagraph (B) of section 
                404(c)(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
                Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104(c)(3)) is amended by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting ``, and, 
                to the extent the Secretary provides in guidance or 
                regulations issued after the enactment of the 
                Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021, is made 
                to--
                            ``(i) a target date or life cycle fund held 
                        under such account;
                            ``(ii) as described in section 2550.404a-2 
                        of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, an 
                        investment product held under such account 
                        designed to preserve principal and provide a 
                        reasonable rate of return;
                            ``(iii) the Office of the Retirement 
                        Savings Lost and Found in accordance with 
                        section 401(a)(31)(B)(iv) of the Internal 
                        Revenue Code of 1986 and section 2(c)(2)(A)(ii) 
                        of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 
                        2021; or
                            ``(iv) such other option as the Secretary 
                        may so provide.''.
                    (B) Regulations.--Not later than 270 days after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                Labor shall promulgate regulations identifying the 
                target date or life cycle funds, or specifying the 
                characteristics of such a fund, that will be deemed to 
                meet the requirements of section 404(c)(3)(B)(i) of the 
                Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
                U.S.C. 1104(c)(3)(B)), as amended by subparagraph (A).
            (2) Expansion of cap; authority to transfer lesser 
        amounts.--
                    (A) Cap.--Sections 401(a)(31)(B)(ii) and 
                411(a)(11)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                section 203(e)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income 
                Security Act of 1974 are each amended by striking 
                ``$5,000'' and inserting ``$6,000''.
                    (B) Distribution of larger amounts to individual 
                retirement plans only.--Section 401(a)(31)(B)(i) of 
                such Code is amended by adding at the end the 
                following: ``The Office of the Retirement Savings Lost 
                and Found established by section 2 of the Retirement 
                Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021 shall not be treated 
                as a trustee or issuer which is eligible to receive 
                such distributions.''.
                    (C) Lesser amounts.--Section 401(a)(31)(B) of such 
                Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
                clauses:
                            ``(iii) Treatment of lesser amounts.--In 
                        the case of a trust which is part of an 
                        eligible plan, such trust shall not be a 
                        qualified trust under this section unless such 
                        plan provides that, if a participant in the 
                        plan separates from the service covered by the 
                        plan and the nonforfeitable accrued benefit 
                        described in clause (ii) is not in excess of 
                        $1,000, the plan administrator shall (either 
                        separately or as part of the notice under 
                        section 402(f)) notify the participant that the 
                        participant is entitled to such benefit or 
                        attempt to pay the benefit directly to the 
                        participant.
                            ``(iv) Transfers to retirement savings lost 
                        and found.--If, after a plan administrator 
                        takes the action required under clause (iii), 
                        the participant does not--
                                    ``(I) within 6 months of the 
                                notification under such clause, make an 
                                election under subparagraph (A) or 
                                elect to receive a distribution of the 
                                benefit directly, or
                                    ``(II) accept any direct payment 
                                made under such clause within 6 months 
                                of the attempted payment,
                        the plan administrator shall transfer the 
                        amount of such benefit to the Office of the 
                        Retirement Savings Lost and Found in accordance 
                        with section 4051(b) of the Employee Retirement 
                        Income Security Act of 1974.
                            ``(v) Income tax treatment of transfers to 
                        retirement savings lost and found.--For 
                        purposes of determining the income tax 
                        treatment of transfers to the Office of the 
                        Retirement Savings Lost and Found under clause 
                        (iv)--
                                    ``(I) such a transfer shall be 
                                treated as a transfer to an individual 
                                retirement plan under clause (i), and
                                    ``(II) the distribution of such 
                                amounts by the Office of the Retirement 
                                Savings Lost and Found shall be treated 
                                as a distribution from an individual 
                                retirement plan.''.
                    (D) Effective date.--The amendments made by this 
                paragraph shall apply to vested benefits with respect 
                to participants who separate from service connected to 
                the plan in plan years beginning after the second 
                December 31 occurring after the date of the enactment 
                of this Act.
    (d) Better Reporting for Mandatory Transfers.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (2) of section 6057(a) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) by striking ``during such plan year'' 
                        in clause (i) and inserting ``during the plan 
                        year immediately preceding such plan year'';
                            (ii) by adding ``and'' at the end of clause 
                        (i); and
                            (iii) by striking clause (iii);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 
                subparagraph (G);
                    (C) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (D); and
                    (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
                following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(E) the name and taxpayer identifying number of 
                each participant or former participant in the plan--
                            ``(i) who, during the current plan year or 
                        any previous plan year, was reported under 
                        subparagraph (C), and with respect to whom the 
                        benefits described in subparagraph (C)(ii) were 
                        fully paid during the plan year,
                            ``(ii) with respect to whom any amount was 
                        distributed under section 401(a)(31)(B) during 
                        the plan year, or
                            ``(iii) with respect to whom a deferred 
                        annuity contract was distributed during the 
                        plan year,
                    ``(F) in the case of a participant or former 
                participant to whom subparagraph (E) applies--
                            ``(i) in the case of a participant 
                        described in clause (ii) thereof, the name and 
                        address of the designated trustee or issuer 
                        described in section 401(a)(31)(B)(i) and the 
                        account number of the individual retirement 
                        plan to which the amount was distributed, and
                            ``(ii) in the case of a participant 
                        described in clause (iii) thereof, the name and 
                        address of the issuer of such annuity contract 
                        and the contract or certificate number, and''.
            (2) Rules relating to direct trustee-to-trustee 
        transfers.--
                    (A) In general.--Paragraph (6) of section 402(e) of 
                such Code is amended--
                            (i) by striking ``transfers.--Any'' and 
                        inserting ``transfers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following new 
                        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) Notification of trustee.--In the case of a 
                distribution under section 401(a)(31)(B), the plan 
                administrator shall notify the designated trustee or 
                issuer described in clause (i) thereof that the 
                transfer is a mandatory distribution required by such 
                section.''.
                    (B) Penalty.--Subsection (i) of section 6652 of 
                such Code is amended--
                            (i) by striking ``to Recipients'' in the 
                        heading and inserting ``or Notification'';
                            (ii) by striking ``402(f),'' and inserting 
                        ``402(f) or a notification as required by 
                        section 402(e)(6)(B),''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``such written 
                        explanation'' and inserting ``such written 
                        explanation or notification''.
                    (C) Reports.--Subsection (i) of section 408 of such 
                Code is amended--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
                        (B) of paragraph (2) as clauses (i) and (ii), 
                        respectively, and by moving such clauses 2 ems 
                        to the right;
                            (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
                        (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 
                        and by moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the 
                        right; and
                            (iii) by striking ``as the Secretary 
                        prescribes'' in subparagraph (B)(ii), as so 
                        redesignated, and all that follows through ``a 
                        simple retirement account'' and inserting ``as 
                        the Secretary prescribes.
            ``(3) Simple retirement accounts.--In the case of a simple 
        retirement account'';
                            (iv) by striking ``Reports.--The trustee 
                        of'' and inserting ``Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The trustee of'';
                            (v) by striking ``under paragraph (2)'' in 
                        paragraph (3), as added by clause (iii), and 
                        inserting ``under paragraph (1)(B)''; and
                            (vi) by inserting after paragraph 
                        (1)(B)(ii), as redesignated by the preceding 
                        clauses, the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Mandatory distributions.--In the case of an account, 
        contract, or annuity to which a transfer under section 
        401(a)(31)(B) is made (including a transfer from the individual 
        retirement plan to which the original transfer under such 
        section was made to another individual retirement plan), the 
        report required by this subsection for the year of the transfer 
        and any year in which the information previously reported in 
        subparagraph (B) changes shall--
                    ``(A) identify such transfer as a mandatory 
                distribution required by such section,
                    ``(B) include the name, address, and taxpayer 
                identifying number of the trustee or issuer of the 
                individual retirement plan to which the amount is 
                transferred, and
                    ``(C) be filed with the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
                Corporation as well as with the Secretary.''.
            (3) Notification of participants upon separation.--
        Subsection (e) of section 6057 of such Code is amended by 
        inserting ``, and, with respect to any benefit of the 
        individual subject to section 401(a)(31)(B), a notice of 
        availability of, and the contact information for, the 
        Retirement Savings Lost and Found established under section 
        2(a)(1) of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2021'' 
        before the period at the end of the second sentence.
            (4) Effective date.--The amendments made by this paragraph 
        shall apply to distributions made in, and returns and reports 
        relating to, years beginning after the second December 31 
        occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (e) Requirement of Electronic Filing.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (2) of section 6011(e) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
                clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and by moving such 
                clauses 2 ems to the right;
                    (B) by striking ``regulations.--In prescribing'' 
                and inserting ``regulations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In prescribing''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding subparagraph 
                (A), the Secretary shall require returns or reports 
                required under--
                            ``(i) sections 6057, 6058, and 6059, and
                            ``(ii) sections 408(i), 6041, and 6047 to 
                        the extent such return or report relates to the 
                        tax treatment of a distribution from a plan, 
                        account, contract, or annuity,
                to be filed on magnetic media, but only with respect to 
                persons who are required to file at least 50 returns 
                during the calendar year which includes the first day 
                of the plan year to which such returns or reports 
                relate.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this paragraph 
        shall apply to returns and reports relating to years beginning 
        after the second December 31 occurring after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (f) Rulemaking To Clarify Fiduciary Duties.--
            (1) Request for information.--Not later than 1 year after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall issue a 
        request for information relating to the rulemaking described in 
        paragraph (2).
            (2) Issuance of final rule.--Not later than 3 years after 
        such date, the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of the Treasury, shall issue a final rule that 
        defines the following:
                    (A) The steps a plan sponsor must take to locate a 
                deferred vested participant in order to meet its 
                fiduciary duty under section 404 of the Employee 
                Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with respect to 
                locating that participant.
                    (B) The ongoing practices and procedures a plan 
                sponsor must institute in order to meet such fiduciary 
                duty with respect to maintaining up-to-date contact 
                information on deferred vested participants.
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