Sponsors (12)
The bill substantially expands retirement coverage and incentives — giving many workers and the self‑employed access to federal‑style benefits and targeted tax relief — but does so by imposing new withholding, reporting, compliance requirements, and penalty risks that raise costs for employers, create fiscal pressure, and introduce administrative and legal uncertainty.
Millions of workers — including employees, federal workers, and self‑employed people — gain regular access to retirement coverage (including the Thrift Savings Fund/TSP) and stronger incentives to save, increasing long‑term retirement security.
Small employers and lower‑income self‑employed individuals receive targeted tax credits and phasedown/refund relief that lower the net cost of offering or making retirement contributions.
Workers employed at enactment keep their existing pay levels when enrollment is mandated, protecting take‑home pay and removing a major disincentive to enrollment.
Employers (especially small businesses) and self‑employed individuals face substantial new administrative, payroll‑withholding, and compliance costs to offer covered plans, remit deemed withholdings, and manage enrollments.
New recurring daily penalties and joint‑and‑several liability rules can expose employers to large, ongoing liabilities (e.g., per‑employee daily taxes) and risk one entity being liable for another's failures.
Expanding FERS coverage and providing tax credits reduces federal revenue and increases long‑term retirement obligations, adding fiscal pressure on taxpayers and the deficit unless offset elsewhere.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Requires employers and self‑employed persons to offer or join FERS or an approved comparable plan, expands FERS coverage, adds a tax credit for contributions, and creates excise penalties for noncompliance.
Official title: To require every employer to provide to their employees a retirement program with benefits equivalent to the Federal Employees Retirement System or to elect for their employees to participate in the Federal Employees Retirement System, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Delia Ramirez · Last progress February 12, 2026
Requires every employer and every self-employed person to either offer a qualifying non‑Federal retirement plan or enroll workers (or themselves) in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), and extends FERS coverage rules to certain non‑Federal employees and self‑employed individuals. Creates a new refundable tax credit to subsidize employer and self‑employed contributions, and imposes a daily excise tax on failures to offer or participate; it also bars employers from cutting compensation for employees employed when the law is enacted because of enrollment requirements.