Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) lauded the passage of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act—also known as the SECURE Act 2.0—in the House of Representatives. This robust retirement savings package, which passed yesterday by a bipartisan vote of 414-5, includes H.R. 2944, a bill that Sewell introduced to make it easier for part-time workers to start contributing to their employer’s 401k plan. Sewell’s bill incentivizes saving by reducing the number of years of service required for part-time workers to make retirement contributions. As women are more likely to work part-time than men, this provision is particularly impactful for women in the workforce.

“We know that Alabama’s working families are facing a retirement crisis,” said Rep. Sewell. “Too often, incentives to save are designed to benefit the wealthy and the upper-middle class, leaving many families without adequate savings even after a lifetime of work. My bill addresses this fundamental inequity in our tax code by rebalancing incentives to save and making it easier for part-time workers to save sooner in their careers. I’m thrilled that this bill passed the House and will continue to advance policies that ensure all working people can retire with dignity and financial security!”

H.R. 2944, the Reducing the Maximum Service Requirement for Long-term Part-time Workers to Make Elective Deferrals to 401(k) Plans Act, amends the long-term part-time years of service 401(k) participation requirement included in the 2019 SECURE Act. The SECURE Act provides that except in the case of collectively bargained plans, employers maintaining a 401(k) plan must have a dual eligibility requirement under which an employee must complete either a one year of service requirement (with the 1,000-hour rule) or three consecutive years of service where the employee completes at least 500 hours of service. H.R. 2944 reduces the three-year rule to two years, allowing for part-time employees to begin saving for retirement sooner.

H.R. 2944 can be found here.