H.R. 5543 (110th): Women’s Retirement Security Act of 2008

Introduced:
Mar 06, 2008 (110th Congress, 2007–2009)
Sponsor:
Rep. Thomas “Tom” Allen [D-ME1]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on March 6, 2008, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Mar 06, 2008
Cosponsors
6 cosponsors (4D, 2R) (show)
Committees

House Education and the Workforce

House Ways and Means

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to increase the retirement security of women and small business owners, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated Mar 06, 2008.
126 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

3/6/2008--Introduced.
Women's Retirement Security Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain small employers who do not provide retirement plans for their employees to allow eligible employees to participate in a payroll deposit individual retirement account arrangement (automatic IRA); (2) expand eligibility for the tax credit for retirement savings contributions (saver's credit) and make such credit refundable; (3) allow certain part-time employees to participate in qualified cash or deferred arrangements; (4) allow the transfer of up to $500 of unused health plan benefits to qualified retirement plans; (5) treat wage replacement income (e.g., disability pay or unemployment compensation) as earned income for purposes of IRA contribution limits; (6) allow a limited tax exclusion for certain lifetime annuity payments and for qualified retirement planning services; (7) allow certain small employers a tax credit for contributions to employee pension plans; and (8) allow self-employed individuals to deduct pension plan contributions from their self-employment income.
Sets forth special rules for: (1) preservation of retirement plan assets distributed under a qualified domestic relations order; (2) eligibility of surviving and divorced spouses for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act; and (3) military retired pay subject to court orders in domestic relations proceedings. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make grants to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics to provide retirement savings counseling to low-income taxpayers.
Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to prepare a financial reference handbook and a retirement readiness checklist for distribution to social security recipients.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums; (2) allow a phased-in tax credit ($1,000 in 2008, increasing by $500 each year to $3,000 in 2012) for family caregivers of spouses and dependents who have long-term care needs; (3) apply certain consumer protection standards to long-term care insurance contracts; and (4) allow tax-free exchanges of such contracts.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Other Citations

  • 5 U.S.C. Chapter 84