,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bbag ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #i1 #bjbe,mr4 ,cassidy introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd and the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf regarding pension plans for independent workers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,independent ,retirement ,fairness ,act4 #b4 ,pooled employer plans for independent workers ,section #c7dc7 of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb7dc77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,e7 ,treatment of independent workers as employees 7i7 ,in general 7,i7 ,independent workers ,for purposes of a pooled employer plan1 an independent worker may be enrolled in the pooled employer plan as if the independent worker were an employee of an employer in the plan and shall be considered a participant for purposes of the plan4 7,,ii7 ,trade associations ,for purposes of a pooled employer plan1 a trade association may be in a pooled employer plan as if the trade organization were an employer and may enroll an independent worker in the plan in accordance with subclause 7,i74 7ii7 ,data harmonization ,for purposes of an independent worker who is a participant in a pooled employer plan1 an employer of an independent worker or a trade organization that enrolls an independent worker may share data regarding the independent worker with any person as necessary to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of the pooled employer plan4 7iii7 ,rule of construction regarding employment status ,the status of an independent worker as a participant in a pooled employer plan of an employer or a trade association and any contributions made to such a pooled employer plan by the employer on behalf of an independent worker shall not be construed to mean that the independent worker is an employee of the employer or trade association in the plan for purposes of any ,federal1 ,state1 or local law4 7iv7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this subparagraph3 7,i7 ,independent worker ,the term independent worker means an individual who1 with respect to an employer1 performs work for remuneration for the employer and is not an employee of the employer4 7,,ii7 ,trade association ,the term trade association includes any labor organization1 worker cooperative1 employee organization1 association of workers in related or unrelated industries1 or association of related companies or contractors4 4 #c4 ,simplified employee pensions for independent workers 7a7 ,in general ,subsection 7k7 of section #djh of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by redesignating paragraph 7#aj7 as paragraph 7#aa7 and by inserting after paragraph 7#i7 the following new paragraph3 7#aj7 ,independent workers 7,a7 ,in general ,at the election of the employer1 an independent worker may be treated for purposes of this subsection in the same manner as an employee1 as provided in this paragraph4 7,b7 ,participation ,in the case of independent workers-- 7i7 ,participation ,an employer may elect to exclude such workers in applying paragraph 7#b74 7ii7 ,employees electing ,paragraph 7#f77;,a77ii7 shall not apply4 7,c7 ,independent workers treated separately ,for purposes of applying paragraphs 7#c77;,c71 7#e71 and 7#f77;,a77iii71 the employer may elect to treat independent workers separately from employees4 7,d7 ,not counted in employer size ,independent workers shall not be taken into account as employees in applying paragraph 7#f77;,b74 7,e7 ,contribution of bonuses ,notwithstanding paragraphs 7#c77;,c7 and 7#e71 in the case of any independent worker who is entitled to receive a cash bonus from the employer1 at the election of the independent worker such bonus may be contributed to the account or annuity of the worker pursuant to the simplified employee pension and not paid to the worker in cash4 ,any bonus so contributed shall not be taken into account in determining the percentage of compensation contributed with respect to the worker4 7,f7 ,deposits into suspension account ,an account or annuity shall not fail to be treated as a simplified employee pension solely because the terms of the pension allow the employer1 at the election of the independent worker1 to deposit contributions into a suspension account instead of into the account or annuity1 if such contributions are either-- 7i7 returned to the independent worker in cash1 or 7ii7 contributed into the account or annuity pursuant to the terms of the pension1 within the same taxable year or not later than the last date on which contributions may be made for such taxable year4 ,amounts contributed to the account or annuity pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be treated for purposes of this subsection as if contributed directly to such account or annuity1 and amounts returned to the independent worker in cash shall be treated as never contributed under the simplified employee pension4 7,g7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this paragraph-- 7i7 ,independent worker ,the term independent worker has the meaning given the term in section #c7dc77;,e7 of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd4 7ii7 ,suspension account ,the term suspension account has the meaning given the term in section #e of the ,independent ,retirement ,fairness ,act4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,simplification of auditing requirements for groups of plans ,section #bjb of the ,setting ,every ,community ,up for ,retirement ,enhancement ,act of #bjai 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #fjeh et seq47 is amended by-- 7#a7 by striking relate only and inserting the following3 7,a7 relate only 2 and 7#b7 by striking the period and inserting the following3 2 and 7,b7 be based on the same accounting principles applicable to opinions with respect to pooled employer plans 7as defined in section #c7dc7 of such ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb7dc7771 except that such an opinion shall take into account the limitations on the use of the assets of a plan to pay benefits and expenses only with respect to such plan and shall take into account that plans in a group of plans described in subsection 7c7 may have separate trusts4 4 #e4 ,simplification of auditing for pooled employer plans 7a7 ,in general ,section #c7dc7 of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb7dc771 as amended by section #b of this ,act1 is further amended by adding at the end the following3 7,f7 ,audit requirement ,any opinion required by section #ajc7;a77#c7 with respect to a pooled employer plan shall relate only to the portions of such a plan attributable to a participating employer for which such an opinion would be required if the participating employer maintained such portion as a single-employer plan separate from the pooled employer plan4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to plan years beginning after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #f4 ,pilot programs for the gig economy 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury and the ,secretary of ,labor shall1 in cooperation and after reviewing a survey of relevant academic literature and consulting with relevant companies1 establish pilot programs to encourage independent workers to save for retirement1 including-- 7#a7 a program that allows an independent worker to round down any compensation paid to the independent worker to the nearest whole dollar amount and automatically contribute the amount of compensation in excess of such whole dollar amount as an elective employee contribution to a pooled employer plan in which the independent worker is enrolled1 a solo #dja7k7 of the independent worker1 or a suspension account2 and 7#b7 a program that allows an independent worker to designate an amount that will be automatically deducted from the compensation paid to the independent worker for1 as selected by the independent worker1 each pay period or monthly1 quarterly1 semi-annually1 or annually and automatically contributed as an elective employee contribution to a pooled employer plan in which the independent worker is enrolled1 a solo #dja7k7 of the independent worker1 or a suspension account4 7b7 ,coordination with safe harbor plan rules ,as provided by the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or such ,secretary's delegate71 the pilot programs under subsection 7a7 may be conducted in or through the use of safe harbor plans1 and any such plan participating in such a pilot program shall not be treated as failing to meet any requirement applicable to such plan by reason of such participation4 ,for purposes of the preceding sentence1 the term safe harbor plan means any qualified cash or deferred arrangement which meets the requirements of paragraph 7#aa71 7#ab71 7#ac71 or 7#af7 of section #dja7k7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7c7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,independent worker ,the term independent worker has the meaning given the term in section #c7dc77;,e7 of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb7dc77;,e774 7#b7 ,pooled employer plan ,the term pooled employer plan has the meaning given the term in section #c7dc7 of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb7dc774 7#c7 ,solo #dja7k7 ,the term solo #dja7k7 means a qualified cash or deferred arrangement 7as defined in section #dja7k77#b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf7 covering a single participant 7or a single participant and such individual's spouse74 7#d7 ,suspension account ,the term suspension account means an account that is established and maintained on behalf of an independent worker that-- 7,a7 allows for the deposit of amounts by the independent worker1 including the amounts described in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of subsection 7a72 7,b7 allows for the independent worker to withdraw amounts deposited in the account and-- 7i7 contribute such withdrawn amounts to a pooled employer plan in which the independent worker is enrolled2 or 7ii7 contribute such withdrawn amounts into a simplified employee pension as provided under section #djh7k77#aj7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 and 7,c7 provides that any amount remaining in the account at the end of each year1 after any withdrawals under subparagraph 7,b71 shall be returned to the independent worker in a lump sum4