Sponsors (2)
Introduced April 30, 2025 by John Wright Hickenlooper · Last progress April 30, 2025
The bill greatly expands retirement coverage and boosts savings for low- and middle-income Americans through automatic enrollment and federal matching, but it shifts costs and administrative burdens to employers and taxpayers, exposes participants to investment/fee risks and liquidity limits, and adds fiscal and program complexity.
Millions of workers — including employees, independent contractors, gig and freelance workers, and many middle-class families — gain automatic, easy access to a professionally managed, pooled national retirement plan with default enrollment and a 3% default contribution, raising participation in retirement saving.
Low- and middle-income workers receive refundable tax credits and government matching (including a 100% match up to 3% of income), which directly increases retirement balances and disposable income for lower-earning households.
Low-income individuals under age 65 can retain AWRF account balances and Treasury matches without losing eligibility for federal public assistance, encouraging saving without jeopardizing benefits.
Small businesses and other employers must enroll qualifying workers, remit contributions, and comply with penalties (and may face 2–10% penalties plus lost-earnings payments), creating new administrative burdens and costs for employers.
The bill increases federal outlays and exposes taxpayers to new fiscal costs — from refundable credits, Treasury contributions, government matches, and additional Fund payments — which could pressure federal budgets and Social Security financing over time.
Participant accounts are exposed to investment risk and fee-driven erosion: investment losses, use of Fund assets to pay administrative/Board expenses, and limits on investment flexibility could reduce net returns for retirees.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Treasury-held retirement fund with participant accounts, a new investment board, and a refundable matching tax credit that deposits into accounts.
Creates a new federal pooled retirement fund in the Treasury with individual participant accounts for workers who lack access to an employer retirement plan or an automatic-enrollment IRA. The fund is financed by participant contributions and a refundable government matching tax credit that is deposited directly into accounts; participants can take loans and distributions under defined rules and must complete short financial-literacy interventions before certain withdrawals or loans. Establishes a presidentially appointed five-member investment board to run the fund, sets rules to protect account balances from most claims and from being counted for federal means-tested benefits for people under 65, and amends the tax code to create a refundable match credit that phases out by income and forfeits if contributions are withdrawn within six months. The tax-credit provisions apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2024.