PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Dec 2, 2019
Higher Education Loan Payment and Enhanced Retirement Act of 2019 or the HELPER Act of 2019
This bill permits annual tax and penalty-free withdrawals of up to $5,250 from 401(k) plans for higher education expenses and penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for student loan expenses.
The bill also excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, distributions up to $5,250 from employer-sponsored student loan and tuition payment plans. It repeals the limitation on the deduction of interest on student loans and increases from $15,000 to $25,000 (adjusted for inflation) the maximum contribution amounts for certain tax-preferred retirement plans.
The bill allows employees an election to treat contributions to a 401(k) plan as Roth contributions (thus exempting withdrawals from such plans from tax at retirement).
People & committees
Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] · R–KY
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 6, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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