Mercer President and CEO Martine Ferland commended key House lawmakers’ leadership in developing sweeping bipartisan retirement legislation, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (HR 2954), which passed the House on March 29.

In a March 28 letter to leaders of the House committees that combined previous bills into a unified package, Ferland wrote that the legislation “would build on the success of the employer-sponsored retirement system” and represents “a great opportunity for bipartisan progress on the urgent issue of retirement security.” Ferland noted several helpful provisions for plan sponsors and participants, including measures to:

• Expand the IRS self-correction programs


• Encourage student loan match programs in 401(k) and 403(b) plans


• Create a retirement savings “lost and found” for former employees


• Make several enhancements to 403(b) plans

House approval of the legislation sets the stage for action in the Senate, where the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Finance Committee are working on their own SECURE 2.0 proposals. The committees will work toward reconciling those bills, perhaps while negotiating with the House on final legislation that the president could sign later this year.

During a visit to Capitol Hill on April 5, Ferland will meet with House and Senate lawmakers and several benefits-focused trade groups to exchange views and advocate for sound retirement, healthcare and workplace policies.

Related resources

Non-Mercer resources

• HR 2954, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (Congress, March 29, 2022)
• Section-by-section explanation of HR 2954 (House Committee on Ways and Means, March 28, 2022)
• Estimated revenue effects of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (Joint Committee on Taxation, March 28, 2022)

Mercer resource

• Martine Ferland’s letter to House committee leaders (March 28, 2022)