PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Nov 19, 2004
Retirement Enhancement Revenue Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise rules relating to tax-exempt retirement and employee benefit plans.
Imposes new qualification, reporting, and disclosure requirements for public employee pension plans.
Revises pension rules to provide for: (1) automatic enrollment of all eligible employees in 401(k) plans; (2) diversification of defined contribution plans that hold employer securities; (3) an increase to age 75 for beginning mandatory distributions from retirement plans; (4) restrictions on the exclusion of unionized employees from 401(k) plan participation; and (5) removal of the $5,000 limit on certain mandatory retirement plan distributions.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Makes the tax credit for retirement savings contributions refundable and permanent. Allows certain small employers a business tax credit for contributions to employee pension plans.
Modifies requirements for joint and survivor annuities and for railroad retirement benefits for divorced and former spouses.
Revises rules for defined benefit plans to permit such plans to include 401(k) plans. Modifies certain defined benefit plan eligibility rules.
Allows: (1) an exemption from prohibited transaction restrictions for certain transactions between an employee benefit plan and a plan participant (i.e., aborted emergent transactions); (2) loans from retirement plans for health insurance and job training expenses; (3) income averaging of corrected civil service annuity benefit payments; and (4) an exemption from prohibited transaction penalties for certain employer-provided investment advice.
People & committees
Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1] · D–NJ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 18, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5398 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5398 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5398 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5398 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.