HR 185119th CongressIn Committee

Responsible Legislating Act

Introduced: Jan 3, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Responsible Legislating Act is a multi-title bill that would (1) extend a livestock reporting deadline, (2) expand education and information resources related to registered apprenticeships for separating service members and veterans, (3) create a broad set of retirement and disability provisions aimed at federal employees and certain agency personnel who become ill or injured in the line of duty, and (4) overhaul several retirement and saving provisions for private-sector workers, including automatic enrollment rules, small-employer start-up credits, the Saver’s Credit, 403(b) and IRA/required minimum distribution provisions, and catch-up contributions for older workers. In short, the bill mixes targeted tweaks to agricultural reporting with major expansions of retirement savings incentives and protections for injured federal workers, plus stronger support and information for veterans pursuing apprenticeships. The pension-related provisions would (a) expand who can transfer creditable service after on-duty injuries and require agencies to reappoint injured workers into suitable roles within the same agency, (b) require regulatory and agency actions to implement these changes, (c) raise several tax credits and incentives for small employers to start and contribute to retirement plans, (d) broaden automatic enrollment requirements and increase catch-up contributions for older savers, and (e) index certain credits and extend ages for required minimum distributions. Many changes are effective for plan years or taxable years beginning after specific dates, with some provisions applying to injuries occurring two years after enactment.

Key Points

1Livestock reporting extension (Title I)
2- Extends the statutory reporting deadline from 2024 to 2025 for Section 260 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 and a conforming provision in the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999.
3Education and outreach on apprenticeships for veterans and separating service members (Title II)
4- Adds to the list of employment opportunities for separating members of the armed forces by including National Apprenticeship Act programs and related Title 38 apprenticeship authorities.
5- Requires a new veteran-focused apprenticeship website (and updates to apprenticeship.gov) that lists program details such as costs, contact information, endorsements, veteran hiring preferences, and the credentials earned, with searchability by occupation and location.
6Retirement protections for injured federal employees and special agents (Title III)
7- Establishes a “sense of Congress” that federal agencies should retain specialized knowledge by reappointing injured workers to non-covered positions within the same agency, at the same location and near the prior pay grade, when feasible.
8- Expands retirement rules across CSRS, FERS, CIA, Foreign Service, and Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System for employees who become ill or injured in the line of duty, allowing creditable service in certain post-disability positions to count toward retirement annuities unless the employee opts out.
9- Requires agency-level certification that the illness/injury was job-related and that the individual could still serve in Federal service in a non-covered role.
10- Establishes implementation regulations due within a year, with agency-specific rules to guarantee reappointment and proper treatment of service for creditable years.
11- Applies to injuries/illnesses described in the amendments and, for some sections, to individuals suffering such injuries two years after enactment.
12Expanded automatic enrollment and retirement savings incentives (Title IV)
13- Adds a new 414A section to require automatic enrollment for eligible retirement arrangements, with a default contribution ramping from 3% to 10% in the first year and increasing by 1 percentage point each subsequent plan year up to 15% (unless the participant opts out or changes the amount).
14- Provides exceptions for simple plans, pre-enactment plans, governmental/church plans, and new/small businesses, and handles multi-employer plans with separate treatment for each employer.
15- Sets plan-year timing for the automatic enrollment requirements to begin after December 31, 2025.
16Enhanced small-employer retirement startup credits (Title IV, Sec. 402)
17- Increases the startup credit for small employers from 50% to 100% for eligible employers with 50 employees (and expands the definition of eligible employers accordingly).
18- Adds a new subsection to provide an additional credit for employer contributions to eligible employer plans, with a per-employee cap of $1,000 and a phase-down after the first year based on the number of employees over 50.
19- Establishes a tiered, year-by-year applicable percentage schedule (100% first year, then 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% thereafter) for the credit related to new employer plans.
20- Disallows deductions for startup costs or employer contributions to the extent they are offset by the new credit.
21- Applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
22Promotion and enhancement of Saver’s Credit (Title IV)
23- Directs the Treasury to promote the Saver’s Credit (Section 25B) more aggressively; requires a Congress-report within 90 days detailing outreach plans, including translated materials and distribution to states for use with state-facilitated programs.
24Enhancement of Saver’s Credit and 403(b) plan provisions (Titles IV and V)
25- Saver’s Credit: increases the base credit rate to 50% (instead of the prior applicable percentage) and tightens/adjusts AGI phaseouts with new threshold and phaseout amounts plus inflation indexing after 2028.
26- 403(b) enhancements: broadens permissible investment vehicles within 403(b) custodial accounts (adding group trusts and broader RIC investments) and updates related conforming language, with an effective date for investments after December 31, 2024.
27Retirement distribution timing changes (Title IV)
28- Raises the required minimum distribution (RMD) age from 72 to an “applicable age” that increases in phases: 73 for some recipients starting after certain ages in the 2020s and 74/75 for later cohorts, as specified, with conforming changes to other related sections. Applies to distributions after December 31, 2024 for those reaching age 72 in future years.
29IRA catch-up limit indexing (Title IV)
30- Indexes the $1,000 catch-up limit for IRA contributions to inflation starting in years after 2025.
31Higher catch-up limits for ages 62-64 (Title IV)
32- Increases the catch-up contribution limits for participants who would reach ages 62 through 64 in the taxable year (with separate treatment for simple plans), providing substantially larger catch-up contributions for older workers.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Farm and livestock industry: livestock reporting requirements are extended by one year.- Veterans and separating service members: better access to information about registered apprenticeships and a centralized veteran-focused apprenticeship resource.- Federal employees and agencies with hazardous-duty roles (law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers, etc.) and CIA/Foreign Service personnel: new options to preserve retirement benefits when injured on duty, plus potential reappointment within the same agency to maintain continuity and knowledge.Secondary group/area affected- Private-sector workers and employers: expanded automatic enrollment requirements, larger and more accessible startup credits for small employers, enhanced Saver’s Credit, and expanded 403(b) investment options; higher catch-up contributions for older savers; inflation indexing of credits and caps.Additional impacts- Tax administration and regulatory burden: multiple sections require regulatory rulemaking by OPM, CIA, State Department, and Treasury; new website development and ongoing outreach; and adjustments to a broad set of tax provisions with phased-in effective dates.- Administrative and compliance considerations for retirement plans: plan sponsors will need to implement automatic enrollment with specified contribution schedules, and ensure investment defaults comply with the new investment requirements.- Potential federal budgetary impact: expanded credits and front-loaded incentives for small employers could increase federal outlays; extended and enhanced Saver’s Credit and distribution rules could affect taxpayer behavior and revenues.Many provisions become effective for plan years or taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024, or after enactment. Several Title III provisions include a two-year post-enactment applicability window for injury-related retirement changes, meaning benefits would apply to eligible injuries occurring on/after that window.The bill designates broad implementation responsibilities to federal agencies and the Office of Personnel Management, requiring regulations within specified timeframes.

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