WASHINGTON – Several provisions led by
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), former chairman and current member of the Senate
Finance Committee, were included in the Enhancing
American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, which advanced out of committee with
unanimous support yesterday.
“I’m glad several of my proposals were
included in the EARN Act, which will
build on the bipartisan success of the SECURE
Act to expand and improve access to retirement savings. This includes
specific provisions benefiting police officers, firefighters and other first
responders to eliminate unnecessary barriers to the retirement benefits they
deserve. I’ll continue working in a bipartisan manner to help Americans easily
and effectively save for retirement,” Grassley
said.
Grassley also successfully sought an
amendment to modify the
Putting
First Responders First Act
provision to ensure disabled law enforcement officers and other first
responders are, immediately upon enactment of this bill, exempt from paying
taxes on their disability benefits. Before Grassley offered his amendment, this
tax exemption provision was not set to take effect until 2028. The cost
associated with moving up the effective date is offset by the conservation
easements provision, which will hold scam artists accountable and save
taxpayers billions.
Improving Access to Retirement Act
This bill will build off the successful
implementation of the
SECURE
Act and make improvements
to allow more organizations and small businesses to participate in multiple
employer plans (MEPs).
Specifically, the adopted provisions:
- Allow nonprofit
employers to participate in multiple employer plans (MEPs) established by the
original SECURE Act. MEPs allow
employers to band together to offer a pension plan and take advantage of
economies of scale;
- Clarify employers
joining an MEP may claim the start-up credit for the first three years they
participate in an MEP;
- Establish a safe
harbor to allow certain pension plans to correct errors in administering
automatic enrollment and escalation features for plans enrolling in an MEP;
and,
- Permit employers
to increase benefits provided under its retirement plan for a year up until its
tax return due date for such year.
Learn more about the
Improving Access to Retirement Act HERE.
Police and Fire Health Care Protection
Act
This bill is designed to make it easier
for retired first responders to take advantage of a benefit designed to help
them cover health expenses. It allows public safety officers to exclude up to
$3,000 of pension income from tax, and it no longer requires that the payment
be made directly from the pension plan to the health insurer.
Learn more about the
Police and Fire Health Care Protection Act HERE.
Bipartisan Effort to End Abuse of
Conservation Easements
When serving as chairman of the Finance
Committee, Grassley
opened a bipartisan investigation into the abuse of syndicated
conservation-easement transactions, which may have allowed a number of
taxpayers to profit from gaming the tax code and deprived the federal
government of billions of dollars in revenue.
Based on the information gathered in this
investigation, Grassley concluded that the IRS had strong reason for taking
enforcement action against syndicated conservation-easement transactions. The
full report can be found
HERE.
Grassley then reintroduced the Charitable Conservation Easement Program
Integrity Act to stop the abuse of conservation easements, save taxpayers
billions of dollars and promote conservation in the U.S. Specifically, the
proposal would generally disallow a charitable deduction if it exceeds 2.5
times (250 percent) of a partner’s original investment.
Learn more about Grassley’s years-long
effort to end abuse of conservation easements
HERE.
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