Rep. Cuellar Votes to Strengthen Americans’ Retirement Security

Bipartisan Bill Includes Fix for Unintended Tax Increase Impacting Gold Star Families & Surviving Children

Washington, D.C— Last week, Congressman Cuellar (TX-28) voted in support of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. This bill, which passed in the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, helps working Americans save for retirement and long-term financial stability. It would make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to employees, give flexibility to workers in apprenticeship programs, and provide retirement benefit opportunities to home care workers.  

SECURE Act also includes a provision to ensure spouses of service members killed in action receive the benefits they have earned. Under the 2017 tax law, a surviving child’s tax burden increased by an average of 12 to 15 percent from the previous year. This tax increase required military families and survivors to pay thousands of additional dollars in taxes on survivor benefits during the 2018 tax year. This legislation would correct this mistake for Gold Star Families, children of fallen first responders, and other surviving children.

“Too many Texans are in danger of not having enough in retirement to maintain their standard of living and avoid sliding into poverty. One-third of American workers believe they will either face significant financial hardship during retirement or will never retire, and almost two-thirds of workers have no retirement account assets whatsoever,” said Congressman Cuellar.

“The SECURE Act is an important step forward in helping Americans save for retirement. I am proud to support and pass bipartisan legislation that ensures a lifetime of hard-work will be met with dignity, respect and economic security. I urge the Senate to pass the first major retirement reform in over a decade so we can strengthen retirement security and confidence in the United States.”

The SECURE Act includes numerous provisions to make it easier for American workers to save for retirement, expand opportunities for them to increase their retirement savings and ensure that all Americans are paying their fair share in taxes, including:

• Making it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to employees;
• Helping provide retirement benefit opportunities to home care workers;
• Allowing long-time, part-time workers to participate in a 401(k) plan;
• Providing relief to Cooperative and Small Employer Charity pension plans; and
• Closing down the Stretch IRA loophole used by the wealthy to obtain beneficial tax status on inherited income.

With the SECURE Act’s passage in the House, it will now head to the Senate.