,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bdei ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bd1 #bjbe ,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,schmitt1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 and ,mr4 ,moran7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code to allow employers to contribute to ,,able accounts in lieu of retirement plan contributions4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,able ,employment ,flexibility ,act4 #b4 ,protecting working ,,able individuals from losing benefits because of retirement plan rules 7a7 ,in general ,section #dad of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7dd7 ,,able account contributions 7#a7 ,in general ,an applicable employer plan 7as defined in subsection 7v77#f77;,a77 which is a defined contribution plan shall not be treated as failing to meet any requirement of this title solely because the plan provides that an eligible ,,able individual may elect for a plan year that employer contributions which would otherwise be made under the terms of the plan for such plan year shall 7in lieu of contribution to the plan7 be contributed by the employer to a qualified ,,able program described in section #ebi;,a on behalf of such eligible ,,able individual4 7#b7 ,treatment of contributions 7,a7 ,no deduction for amounts contributed to ,,able account ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,b71 a contribution to a qualified ,,able program pursuant to an election under paragraph 7#a7 shall not be treated as a contribution to an applicable employer plan4 7,b7 ,application of nondiscrimination rules ,under rules prescribed by the ,secretary1 for purposes of applying sections #dja7;a77#d71 #dja7k77#c71 #dja7k77#ab71 #dja7k77#ac71 #dja7m77#b71 #djc7;b77#ab71 #djh7k77#c71 #djh7p77#b77;iii71 #djh7p77#b77;,b71 #daj1 and #daf1 contributions made to a qualified ,,able program pursuant to an election under paragraph 7#a7 shall be treated as if such contributions were made to the plan4 7#c7 ,universal availability ,paragraph 7#a7 shall not apply unless the plan provides that the election described therein is available to all eligible ,,able individuals who are eligible to participate in the plan4 7#d7 ,cash or deferred arrangement ,a plan shall not fail to be treated as including a qualified cash or deferred arrangement described in section #dja7k77#a7 solely because such plan provides for the election described in paragraph 7#a74 7#e7 ,eligible ,,able individual ,for purposes of this subsection1 the term eligible ,,able individual means an employee who1 as of the first day of a plan year1 is an eligible individual within the meaning of section #ebi;,a7e77#a7 for the taxable year containing such first day of the plan year4 7#f7 ,treatment of permissive withdrawals ,an eligible ,,able individual may direct amounts eligible for withdrawal from an eligible contribution arrangement pursuant to section #dad7w7 to be contributed to a qualified ,,able program described in section #ebi;,a on behalf of such eligible ,,able individual4 4 7b7 ,treatment as beneficiary contribution ,section #ebi;,a7b77#g7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by redesignating subparagraph 7,b7 as subparagraph 7,c7 and by inserting after subparagraph 7,a7 the following new subparagraph3 7,b7 ,employer contributions ,contributions made to a qualified ,,able program by an employer on behalf of a designated beneficiary described in this paragraph pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 or 7#f7 of section #dad7;dd7 shall be treated as made by the designated beneficiary4 4 7c7 ,clarification of availability of employer contributions ,section #ebi;,a7e7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#g7 ,employer contributions ,an employer of an eligible individual may contribute to any qualified ,,able program for which the eligible individual is the designated beneficiary1 including through a contribution matching a contribution made by such eligible individual to the qualified ,,able program4 4 7d7 ,deduction for contributions remitted by employer to a qualified ,,able program ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall-- 7#a7 amend the regulations under section #afb of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to confirm that contributions made by an employer to a qualified ,,able program described in section #ebi;,a of such ,code on behalf of an eligible ,,able individual described in section #dad7;dd77#e7 of such ,code who is an employee of such employer shall be considered a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal service if such contribution for a year1 taking into account all other contributions to such qualified ,,able program1 does not exceed the maximum contribution described in section #ebi;,a7b77#b77;,b7 of such ,code with respect to such individual2 and 7#b7 update the publications issued for employers to encourage employers offering a retirement plan with automatic enrollment to notify employees who elect not to contribute to the plan and who may be eligible to contribute to a qualified ,,able program to notify such employees of the possibility of a contribution under section #ebi;,a7b77#b77;,b77ii7 of such ,code4 7e7 ,effective date 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the amendments made by this section shall apply to plan and taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7#b7 ,clarifications ,the amendment made by subsection 7c7 and the amendments made pursuant to subsection 7d77#a7 shall apply to plan and taxable years beginning before1 on1 or after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7f7 ,model amendment authority ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or such ,secretary's delegate7 shall promulgate model amendments which plans may adopt to implement contributions to qualified ,,able programs pursuant to the amendments made by this section4