- Congress released the text of its new government spending bill.
- It includes changes to Americans’ retirement savings, like raising the age of required withdrawal.
- But some advocates say these changes would benefit the wealthiest.
Americans might be able to retire with more money in their savings accounts — but it probably won’t help the people who need it most.
On Tuesday, the House appropriations committee released over 4,000 pages of text on its plans to allocate government spending for the upcoming fiscal year. It touched on a range of topics from TikTok to higher education to healthcare.
A significant element of the bipartisan government spending plan included changes to Americans’ retirement funds. Specifically, the bill would allow people to be able to save longer for retirement. By raising the age people are required to start taking out money from their retirement accounts to 75, workers can spend more years contributing pre-tax earnings.
It also allows an increased contribution in retirement savings for older workers and paves the way for automatic enrollment for workers starting in 2025. Employees with student debt will also get some assistance through this bill — it would allow them to receive matching contributions in their retirement plans by way of repaying their student loans.