Service Members Financial Planning Assistance Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-6493
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33]
Introduced: 2016-12-08
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Latest action: action_date: 2016-12-08
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-12-08
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Service Members Financial Planning Assistance Act of 2016</strong></p> <p>This bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, effective as of January 1, 2018, to require the department concerned (Department of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Homeland Security, or Commerce) to ensure that certain members of the uniformed services who will be eligible to make an election of lump sum payment of certain military retired pay have access to retirement planning assistance with a certified financial planner, at no cost, by December 30, 2017, to help weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of making such election and of selecting a particular payment percentage.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6493 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 8, 2016 Mr. Veasey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To ensure that members of the uniformed services will have access to information to make informed choices regarding the retirement options to be made available to members.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Service Members Financial Planning Assistance Act of 2016 . 2. Retirement planning assistance for members of the Armed Forces who will be eligible to make an election of lump sum payment of certain military retired pay (a) Availability of assistance Effective as of January 1, 2018, and as if included therein as enacted, subsection (b) of section 1415 of title 10, United States Code, to be added by section 633 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 ( Public Law 114–92 ; 129 Stat. 847), is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (7) Assistance in making election The Secretary concerned shall ensure that an eligible person has access to retirement planning assistance with a certified financial planner, at no cost to the eligible person, to help the eligible person weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of making the election under paragraph (1) to receive a lump sum payment of certain retain pay and of selecting a particular payment percentage under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) of such paragraph. . (b) Implementation Notwithstanding the delayed effective date in subsection (a), the Secretary concerned (as defined in section 101(5) of title 37, United States Code) shall take appropriate actions to ensure the availability of the retirement planning assistance required by paragraph (7) of section 1415(b) of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), to members of the uniformed services by December 30, 2017.