Pensions & Investments Seeks Insight From Brad Campbell on the Future of the SECURE Act 2.0

In the Pensions & Investments article “SECURE 2.0 getting good reviews but fate uncertain,” benefits and executive compensation partner Brad Campbell discussed a possible path forward for the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (SECURE Act 2.0), which may include attaching the bill to larger legislation.

The publication detailed how leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee — Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Ranking Member Kevin Brady, R-Texas — reintroduced the SECURE Act 2.0 on May 4 and held a markup on May 5. Members approved the bill unanimously. It now heads to the full House, but a vote has not yet been scheduled.

In order for the SECURE Act. 2.0 bill to pass the Senate, it’s likely that the bill will be attached to a larger piece of legislation, said Campbell. In 2019, the SECURE Act passed after it was attached to a year-end spending bill.

“There are just some realities of the legislative process that make even widely supported bipartisan legislation sometimes difficult to move,” Campbell added. “Attaching it to a broader vehicle is sometimes the best way to resolve those issues, but you have to have a larger vehicle that’s moving and that’s appropriate for it to be attached to.”

Campbell said that the impending retirements of Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and of Brady and the support from both powerful Republicans and Democrats are a good recipe for the bill’s success. “Nothing is ever certain, but I think this bill is very likely to pass,” he said. “The goal is pretty likely; how you get there is still up in the air.”

The full article is available for Pensions & Investments subscribers.