,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ajai ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #c1 #bjai ,mr4 ,jones 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,booker1 and ,mr4 ,young7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to allow employers to offer short-term savings accounts with automatic contribution arrangements for financial emergencies4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,strengthening ,financial ,security ,through ,short-,term ,savings ,accounts ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to improve financial security1 facilitate convenient and affordable access to all types of employer sponsored short-term savings accounts1 reduce leakage1 and complement overall retirement savings4 #c4 ,stand-alone short-term savings accounts 7a7 ,in general ,an employer may make available to employees a stand-alone1 short-term savings account1 using an automatic contribution arrangement 7as defined in section #ead7;e77#b7 of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aadd7;e77#b777 in accordance with this ,act4 ,an employer that offers employees a short-term savings account shall deduct amounts from each participating employee's wages in accordance with subsection 7e7 and transfer such amounts to a savings account that meets the requirements of subsection 7b74 7b7 ,account requirements 7#a7 ,in general ,a short-term savings account offered in accordance with subsection 7a7 shall-- 7,a7 have no minimum balance requirements1 reasonable fees as determined by a joint rulemaking by the ,secretary of ,labor and the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 in consultation with other financial regulators1 and a maximum account balance of not to exceed #aj1jjj1 adjusted annually for inflation and by the ,secretary of the ,treasury2 7,b7 have a balance that is made readily available1 in whole or in part1 at any time to an individual who owns the account1 subject to any reasonable1 limited restrictions imposed on withdrawals pursuant to the terms of the arrangement2 and 7,c7 make available to the individual who owns the account1 not later than #e business days after the individual terminates employment1 the entire account balance4 ,an employer may structure and adapt such short-term savings account to assist employees with short-term financial emergencies1 so long as such savings accounts meet the minimum standards set forth in this ,act4 7#b7 ,coordination ,an employer may coordinate with a bank1 credit union1 or payroll card provider that is licensed by the ,federal ,government or a ,state government offering a short-term savings account under subsection 7a71 including-- 7,a7 an ,,fdic insured pooled account that the employer opens in the name of the employer for which the employer maintains responsibility1 subject to reasonable fees as defined in section #ajbb4chj of title #ca1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 and ,new ,opinion ,no4 #h of the ,general ,counsel of the ,federal ,deposit ,insurance ,corporation 7#gc ,fed4 ,reg4 #fgaee 7,november #ac1 #bjjh771 a variation of a savings account for a short-term savings account offered under subsection 7a72 and 7,b7 an individual account opened in the name of the employee for which the employee maintains responsibility4 7#c7 ,regulations ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,labor1 shall promulgate regulations carrying out this subsection4 ,such regulations shall address the responsibility of employers to establish and maintain reasonable claims procedures1 any associated penalties for failure to comply with this ,act1 the timing and notice of benefit determination1 how the funds must be invested and minimum interest requirements1 and the manner and content of benefit determination1 rights of participants in these accounts1 among other things as they determine are necessary4 7#d7 ,applicability ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 an employer may designate an account for direct deposit for a short-term savings account offered under subsection 7a74 7c7 ,account sponsor requirements ,employers-- 7#a7 shall have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that-- 7,a7 any account offered in accordance with subsection 7a7 meets the requirements of subsection 7b72 7,b7 relevant information about participating employees is submitted safely and securely to the insured depository institution or insured credit union2 7,c7 amounts are properly deducted from employees' wages and transferred to the financial institution on behalf of the employees in accordance with subsection 7f72 7,d7 employees have clear instructions and an easy means to make changes to contributions or stop them entirely at any time2 and 7,e7 employees have clear guidance on how they may access their money and how quickly they will receive their money upon request2 and 7#b7 have no other fiduciary responsibility beyond the responsibilities described in paragraph 7#a74 7d7 ,applicability of banking laws 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 ,federal banking laws 7including regulations7 shall apply to short-term savings accounts as if the short-term savings accounts were savings accounts4 7#b7 ,know your customer laws ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 a bank1 credit union1 or payroll card provider offering a short-term savings account under subsection 7a7 shall be treated as if it were an ,,erisa plan1 for purposes of rules relating to ,anti-,money ,laundering1 ,customer ,identification ,program 7,,cip71 ,suspicious ,activity ,report 7,,sar7 requirements1 or any other rules required to establish the identity of the account holder before an account for a short-term savings account is opened in accordance with this ,act4 ,the ,secretary may prescribe regulations which would establish minimum standards that such an arrangement would be required to satisfy in order for this subsection to apply with respect to such an account4 7e7 ,preemption of ,state anti-,garnishment laws ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 this section shall supersede any law of a ,state which would directly or indirectly prohibit or restrict the use an automatic contribution arrangement for a short-term savings account1 as if it were an ,,erisa plan4 ,the ,secretary may prescribe regulations which would establish minimum standards that such an arrangement would be required to satisfy in order for this subsection to apply with respect to such an account4 7f7 ,transfers to accounts ,the account sponsor shall transfer each pay period-- 7#a7 to the short-term savings account an amount equal to the percentage of the employee's compensation1 or a fixed amount1 as the account sponsor determines2 and 7#b7 employees shall have the ability to adjust1 stop1 or pause1 their contributions as they see fit4 7g7 ,disclosure requirements ,an account sponsor shall disclose in writing1 or electronically if the employee so elects1 to the participating employee within #e business days before the commencement of the contributions to the account-- 7#a7 a short-term savings account description1 including the contours1 all terms and conditions1 and fees associated with the short-term savings account2 7#b7 describe the tax treatment of the short-term savings account and the tax treatment of any tax favored account that is offered2 7#c7 any rules with respect to deposits or contributions into the account1 maintenance of the account1 investments1 balances1 escalations not to exceed #d percent and withdrawals1 replenishment of the accounts1 balance caps1 and other features of the account2 and 7#d7 the access and availability to account information and related account information to participating employees4 7h7 ,effective date ,the provisions of this ,act shall be effective upon the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,short-term savings account within a retirement plan 7a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury or the ,secretary's delegate shall issue regulations or other guidance that interprets and applies the rules of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf applicable to tax-qualified plans and arrangements described in sections #bai7;g77#e71 #djh 7including #djh7q7 and #djh;,a71 and #deg7;b7 of such ,code in a manner that facilitates the offering and operation1 including automatic enrollment and automatic escalation1 of short-term savings arrangements as part of or in conjunction or coordination with1 any such tax-qualified plan or arrangement4 7b7 ,requirements ,any short-term savings account that is part of a tax-qualified plans and arrangements described in sections #bai7;g77#e71 #djh 7including #djh7q7 and #djh;,a71 and #deg7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf shall comply with applicable plan requirements1 including provisions for the retention of assets in a qualified trust1 timely payment of assets1 and distribution of assets upon plan or participant termination4 ,any savings account that is not part of a tax-qualified plan1 bank or credit union1 shall be subject to appropriate regulations by the ,department of ,treasury4 #e4 ,pilot program ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury may establish a pilot program that incentivizes employers to set up short-term savings accounts under this ,act4 ,any employer that participates in the pilot program shall be eligible to receive not more than #djj per employee account4 #f4 ,study of effectiveness of short-term savings account options ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall study1 and report to the ,committee on ,finance1 the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs1 and the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives1 the effectiveness of various methods for developing the savings accounts described in this ,act1 including after-tax employee contributions to a plan described in section #dja7k7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 deemed treatment of such plans as a ,roth plan for purposes of such ,code1 and the use of depository accounts1 including payroll cards4