CONDEMNING THE TERRORIST ATTACK AT NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019, HONORING THE MEMBERS OF THE NAVY WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE ATTACK, AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT AND PRAYERS...
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2019-12-18

several times on the floor of the Senate I have talked about the issue of retirement security. It has been a priority for me during my entire career in the U.S. Congress. prgtoken When the United States has led the world in just about every economic indicator, there is always one in which the United States is not doing well; that is international savings, particularly retirement savings. prgtoken When we take a look at recent figures, we find that 48 percent of those who are near retirement--over 55 years of age--have zero amounts in retirement funds. Almost half of our near elderly have no retirement funds and pensions at all. Twenty-nine percent have zero savings. So we need to do a lot better. prgtoken The issue is very much compromised because we have seen a major trend in the employment world from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans. prgtoken In the defined benefit world, the employer guarantees certain benefits to their employees who take the risks of the market. In a defined contribution plan, it requires the employee to put his or her own money aside and be disciplined in order to do that. As a result, we find less retirement security for many wage earners today. This puts pressure on our Social Security system. prgtoken Social Security is a very, very important program, but it is only supposed to be one leg of a three-legged stool of retirement security, including private retirement and private savings. prgtoken We have responded in the past, and we have taken action. I am very proud of the work I first started doing in the House of Representatives with then-Congressman Rob Portman. The two of us worked on pension legislation. We were able to get it enacted, and it made a big difference. prgtoken I hope we will be voting on these Omnibus appropriations bills tomorrow. We are going to have a chance to take a major step forward on retirement security with the passage the SECURE Act. prgtoken The SECURE Act, Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, is a bill that was first acted upon by the Senate Finance Committee back in 2016, so this has been a long time in coming. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 417 to 3, so you see that there is very strong bipartisan support for this next chapter in retirement security. It expands opportunities for Americans to increase their retirement savings and improve the portability of lifetime income options. prgtoken Many provisions are included in the SECURE Act. I want to talk about just a few, several of which I was very proud to be part of working to include within the SECURE Act. prgtoken First, for the first time in many years, we do something about the required minimum distribution. Under current law, once you reach 70\1/ 2\ years of age, you are required to take out a certain amount of your retirement income. The problem with that is, people are living longer and longer and longer, and their retirement in