Savings are Vital to Everyone's Retirement Act of 1997
PL 105-92 (H.R.1377), enacted 11/19/1997

PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
111 STAT. 2139 
Public Law 105-92 
105th Congress 
An Act 
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to 
Nov. 19, 1997 
encourage retirement income savings. 
[H R 13771 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of Savings Are Vital 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
to Everyone's 
Retirement Act 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
29 USC 1001 
This Act may be cited as the "Savings Are Vital to Everyone's »»<«. 
Retirement Act of 1997". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
29 USC 1146 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
^°^' 
(1) The impending retirement of the baby boom generation 
will severely strain our already overburdened entitlement 
system, necessitating increased reliance 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 Americans—^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 understanding 
of retirement savings and its critical importance to the future 
well-being of American workers and their families; 
(2) to provide for a periodic, bipartisan national retirement 
savings summit in conjimction 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 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: 
I l l STAT. 2140 
PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
"OUTREACH TO PROMOTE RETIREMENT INCOME SAVINGS 
29USC1146. 
"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 ensure effective communica-
tion to the public, including publication of public service announce-
ments, public meetings, creation of educational materials, and 
establishment of a site on the Internet. 
"(c) INFORMATION TO BE MADE AVAILABLE.—The information 
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 available 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 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 savings; 
"(B) the concept of compound interest; 
"(C) the importance of commencing savings early in 
life; 
"(D) savings principles; 
"(E) the importance of prudence £uid diversification 
in investing; 
"(F) the importance of the timing of investments; 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 retire-
ment 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 preretirement income; 
"(2) a description in simple terms of the common types 
of retirement income savings arrangements available to both 
individuals and employers (specifically including small employ-
ers), including information on the amount of money that can 
be placed into a given vehicle, the tax treatment of the money, 
the amoimt of accumulation possible through different typical 
investment options and interest rate projections, and a directory 
of resources of more descriptive information; 
"(3) materials explaining to employers in simple terms, 
the characteristics and operation of the different retirement 
savings arrangements for their workers and what the basic 
legal requirements are under this Act and the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, including the steps to establish each such 
arrangement; 
"(4) copies of all educational materials developed by the 
Department of Labor, and by other Federal agencies in con-
sultation with such Department, to promote retirement income 
savings by workers and employers; and 
PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
111 STAT. 2141 
"(5) links to other sites maintained on the Internet by 
governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations that provide 
additional detail on retirement income savings arrangements 
and related topics on savings or investing. 
"(e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate the out-
reach program under this section with similar efforts underteiken 
by other public and private entities.". 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 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 by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
"NATIONAL SUMMIT ON RETIREMENT SAVINGS 
"SEC. 517. (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL SUMMIT.—Not later than 
President. 
July 15, 1998, the President shall convene a National Summit 29USC1147. 
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 Representatives £m.d 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) advEince the public's knowledge and understanding of 
retirement savings and its critical importance 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 retirement savings strategy; 
"(3) develop recommendations for additional research, 
reforms, and actions in the field of private pensions and individ-
ual retirement savings; and 
"(4) disseminate the report of, and information obtained 
by, the National Summit and exhibit materials and works 
of the National Summit. 
"(b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The National Summit shall 
be planned and conducted under the direction of the Secretary, 
in consultation with, £ind with the assistance of, the heads of 
such other Federal departments and agencies as the President 
may designate. Such assistance may include the assignment of 
personnel. The Secretary shall, in planning and conducting the 
National Simimit, consult with the congressional leaders specified 
in subsection (e)(2). The Secretary shall also, in carrjdng out the 
Secretary's duties imder 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 security in retirement through savings. 
"(c) PURPOSE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—Tne purpose of the 
National Summit shall be— 
"(1) to increase the public awareness of the vgJue of 
personal savings for retirement; 
I l l STAT. 2142 
PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
"(2) to advance the public's knowledge and understanding 
of retirement savings and its critical importance to the future 
well-being of American workers and their families; 
"(3) to facilitate the development of a broad-based, public 
education program to encourage and enhance 
individual 
commitment to a personal retirement savings strategy; 
"(4) to identify the problems workers have in setting aside 
adequate savings for retirement; 
"(5) to identify the barriers which employers, especially 
small employers, face in assisting their workers in accumulating 
retirement savings; 
"(6) to examine the impact and effectiveness of individual 
employers to promote personal savings for retirement among 
their workers and to promote participation in company savings 
options; 
"(7) to examine the impact and effectiveness of government 
programs at the Federal, State, and local levels to educate 
the public about, and to encourage, retirement income savings; 
"(8) to develop such specific and comprehensive rec-
ommendations for the legislative and executive branches of 
the Government and for private sector action as may be appro-
priate for promoting private pensions and individual retirement 
savings; and 
"(9) to develop recommendations for the coordination of 
Federal, State, and local retirement income savings initiatives 
among the Federal, State, and local levels of government and 
for the coordination of such initiatives. 
"(d) SCOPE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—The scope of the National 
Summit shall consist of issues relating to individual 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 institutions, 
including individual employers, concerned about promoting 
the issue of retirement savings and facilitating savings 
among American workers; and 
"(E) representatives of the general public. 
"(2) 
STATUTORILY REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—The partici-
pants in the National Summit shall include the following 
individuals or their designees: 
"(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 Chairmsin and ranking Member of the Commit-
tee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Rep-
resentatives; 
"(D) the Chairman and ranking Member of the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate; 
PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
111 STAT. 2143 
"(E) the Chairman and ranking Member of the Special 
Committee on Aging of the Senate; 
"(F) the Chairman and ranking Member of the Sub-
committees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education of the Senate and House of Representatives; 
and 
"(G) the parties referred to in subsection (b). 
"(3) ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS.— 
"(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be not more than 200 
additional participants. Of such additional participants— 
"(i) one-half shall be appointed by the President, 
in consultation with the elected leaders of the Presi-
dent's party in Congress (either the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives or the Minority Leader of 
the House of Representatives, and either the Majority 
Leader or the Minority Leader of the Senate; and 
"(ii) one-half shall be appointed by the elected 
leaders of Congress of the party to which the President 
does not belong (one-half of that allotment to be 
appointed by eimer the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives or the Minority Leader of the House of 
Representatives, and one-half of that allotment to be 
appointed by either the Majority Leader or the Minor-
ity Leader of the Senate). 
"(B) 
APPOINTMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The 
additional 
participants described in subparagraph (A) shall be— 
"(i) appointed not later than January 31, 1998; 
"(ii) selected without regard to political affiliation 
or past partisan activity; and 
"(iii) representative of the diversity of thought in 
the fields of employee benefits and retirement income 
savings. 
"(4) PRESIDING OFFICERS.—The National Summit shall be 
presided over equally by representatives of the executive and 
legislative brancnes. 
"(f) NATIONAL SUMMIT ADMINISTRATION.— 
"(1) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this section, the 
Secretary shall— 
"(A) request the cooperation and assistance of such 
other Federal departments and agencies and other parties 
referred to in subsection (b) as may be appropriate in 
the carrying out of this section; 
"(B) furnish all reasonable assisteince to State agencies, 
area agencies, and other appropriate organizations to 
enable them to organize and conduct conferences in 
conjunction with the National Summit; 
"(C) make available for public comment a proposed Public 
agenda for the National Summit that reflects to the great- information, 
est extent possible the purposes for the National Summit 
set out in this section; 
"(D) prepare and make available background materials 
for the use of participants in the National Summit that 
the Secretary considers necessary; and 
"(E) appoint and fix the pay of such additional person-
nel 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 
Ill STAT. 2144 
PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
service, and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter 
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 Secretary under this sec-
tion, and as part of the National Summit, ensure that— 
"(A) the National Summit shall be conducted in a man-
ner that ensures broad participation of Federal, State, and 
local agencies and private organizations, professionals, and 
others involved in retirement income savings and provides 
a strong basis for assistance to be provided under para-
graph (1)(B); 
Federal Register, 
"(B) the agenda prepared under paragraph (1)(C) for 
publication. 
the National Summit is published in the Federal Register; 
and 
"(C) the personnel appointed under paragraph (1)(E) 
shall be fairly balanced in terms of points of views rep-
resented and shall be appointed without regard to political 
afiiliation or previous partisan activities. 
"(3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—The provisions of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
to the National Summit. 
"(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 Minority Leader of the House 
of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Sen-
ate, and the chief executive 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) AUTHORIZATION TO ACCEPT PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
In order to facilitate the National Summit as a public-private 
partnership, the Secretary may accept private contributions, 
in the form of money, supplies, or services, to defi*ay the costs 
of the National Summit. 
"(j) FINANCIAL OBLIGATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998.—The finan-
cial obligation for the Department of Labor for fiscal year 1998 
shall not exceed the lesser o
f
— 
"(1) one-half of the costs of the National Summit; or 
"(2) $250,000. 
The private sector organization described in subsection (b) and 
contracted with by the Secretary shall be obligated for the balance 
of the cost of the National Summit. 
"(k) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may enter into contracts to 
carry out the Secretar/s responsibilities under this section. The 
Secretary shall enter into a contract on a sole-source basis to 
ensure the timely completion of the National Summit in fiscal 
year 1998.". 
*Cfl»^3> 
PUBLIC LAW 105-92—NOV. 19, 1997 
111 STAT. 2145 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in section 
1 of such Act, as amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 516 the following 
new item: 
"Sec. 517. National Summit on Retirement Savings.". 
Approved November 19, 1997. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1377: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105-104 (Comm. on Education and the Workforce). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 143 (1997): 
May 21, considered and passed House. 
Nov. 7, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Nov. 9, House concurred in Senate amendment. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 33 (1997): 
Nov. 19, Presidential statement.