,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adbh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ac1 #bjai,mr4 ,wyden 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,brown1 and ,ms4 ,hassan7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to permit treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of employer matching contributions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,retirement ,parity for ,student ,loans ,act4 #b4 ,treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions 7a7 ,in general ,subparagraph 7,a7 of section #dja7m77#d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking and at the end of clause 7i71 by striking the period at the end of clause 7ii7 and inserting 1 and1 and by adding at the end the following new clause3 7iii7 subject to the requirements of paragraph 7#ac71 any employer contribution made to a defined contribution plan on behalf of an employee on account of a qualified student loan payment4 4 7b7 ,qualified student loan payment ,paragraph 7#d7 of section #dja7m7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,d7 ,qualified student loan payment ,the term qualified student loan payment means a payment made by an employee in repayment of a qualified education loan 7as defined in section #bba7;d77#a77 incurred to pay qualified higher education expenses of the employee1 but only-- 7i7 to the extent such payments in the aggregate for the year do not exceed an amount equal to-- 7,i7 the limitation applicable under section #djb7;g7 for the year 7or1 if lesser1 the employee's compensation 7as defined in section #dae7;c77#c77 for the year71 reduced by 7,,ii7 the elective deferrals made by the employee for such year1 and 7ii7 if the employee certifies to the employer making the matching contribution under this paragraph that such payment has been made on such loan4 ,for purposes of this subparagraph1 the term qualified higher education expenses means the cost of attendance 7as defined in section #dgb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife1 as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of the ,taxpayer ,relief ,act of #aiig7 at an eligible educational institution 7as defined in section #bba7;d77#b774 4 7c7 ,matching contributions for qualified student loan payments ,subsection 7m7 of section #dja of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by redesignating paragraph 7#ac7 as paragraph 7#ad71 and by inserting after paragraph 7#ab7 the following new paragraph3 7#ac7 ,matching contributions for qualified student loan payments 7,a7 ,in general ,for purposes of paragraph 7#d77;,a77iii71 an employer contribution made to a defined contribution plan on account of a qualified student loan payment shall be treated as a matching contribution for purposes of this title if-- 7i7 the plan provides matching contributions on account of elective deferrals at the same rate as contributions on account of qualified student loan payments1 7ii7 the plan provides matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments only on behalf of employees otherwise eligible to make elective deferrals1 and 7iii7 under the plan1 all employees eligible to receive matching contributions on account of elective deferrals are eligible to receive matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments4 7,b7 ,treatment for purposes of nondiscrimination rules1 etc 7i7 ,nondiscrimination rules ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a77iii71 subsection 7a77#d71 and section #daj7;b71 matching contributions described in paragraph 7#d77;,a77iii7 shall not fail to be treated as available to an employee solely because such employee does not have debt incurred under a qualified education loan 7as defined in section #bba7;d77#a774 7ii7 ,student loan payments not treated as plan contribution ,except as provided in clause 7iii71 a qualified student loan payment shall not be treated as a contribution to a plan under this title4 7iii7 ,matching contribution rules ,solely for purposes of meeting the requirements of paragraph 7#aa77;,b7 or 7#ab7 of this subsection1 or paragraph 7#aa77;,b77i77,,ii71 7#ab77;,b71 or 7#ac77;,d7 of subsection 7k71 a plan may treat a qualified student loan payment as an elective deferral or an elective contribution1 whichever is applicable4 4 7d7 ,simple retirement accounts ,paragraph 7#b7 of section #djh7p7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,f7 ,matching contributions for qualified student loan payments 7i7 ,in general ,subject to the rules of clause 7iii71 an arrangement shall not fail to be treated as meeting the requirements of subparagraph 7,a77iii7 solely because under the arrangement1 solely for purposes of such subparagraph1 qualified student loan payments are treated as amounts elected by the employee under subparagraph 7,a77i77,i7 to the extent such payments do not exceed-- 7,i7 the applicable dollar amount under subparagraph 7,e7 7after application of section #dad7v77 for the year 7or1 if lesser1 the employee's compensation 7as defined in section #dae7;c77#c77 for the year71 reduced by 7,,ii7 any other amounts elected by the employee under subparagraph 7,a77i77,i7 for the year4 7ii7 ,qualified student loan payment ,for purposes of this subparagraph-- 7,i7 ,in general ,the term qualified student loan payment means a payment made by an employee in repayment of a qualified education loan 7as defined in section #bba7;d77#a77 incurred to pay qualified higher education expenses of the employee1 but only if the employee certifies to the employer making the matching contribution that such payment has been made on such a loan4 7,,ii7 ,qualified higher education expenses ,the term qualified higher education expenses has the same meaning as when used in section #dja7m77#d77;,d74 7iii7 ,applicable rules ,clause 7i7 shall apply to an arrangement only if1 under the arrangement-- 7,i7 matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments are provided only on behalf of employees otherwise eligible to elect contributions under subparagraph 7,a77i77,i71 and 7,,ii7 all employees otherwise eligible to participate in the arrangement are eligible to receive matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments4 4 7e7 #djc7;b7 plans ,subparagraph 7,a7 of section #djc7;b77#ab7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,the fact that the employer offers matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments as described in section #dja7m77#ac7 shall not be taken into account in determining whether the arrangement satisfies the requirements of clause 7ii7 7and any regulation thereunder744 7f7 #deg7;b7 plans ,subsection 7b7 of section #deg of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,a plan which is established and maintained by an employer which is described in subsection 7e77#a77;,a7 shall not be treated as failing to meet the requirements of this subsection solely because the plan1 or another plan maintained by the employer which meets the requirements of section #dja7;a71 provides for matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments as described in section #dja7m77#ac744 7g7 ,regulatory authority ,the ,secretary shall prescribe regulations for purposes of implementing the amendments made by this section1 including regulations-- 7#a7 permitting a plan to make matching contributions for qualified student loan payments1 as defined in sections #dja7m77#d77;,d7 and #djh7p77#b77;,f7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 as added by this section1 at a different frequency than matching contributions are otherwise made under the plan1 provided that the frequency is not less than annually2 7#b7 permitting employers to establish reasonable procedures to claim matching contributions for such qualified student loan payments under the plan1 including an annual deadline 7not earlier than #c months after the close of each plan year7 by which a claim must be made2 and 7#c7 promulgating model amendments which plans may adopt to implement matching contributions on such qualified student loan payments for purposes of sections #dja7m71 #djh7p71 #djc7;b71 and #deg7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7h7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to contributions made for years beginning after ,december #ca1 #bjai4