Retirement Savings Modernization Act

Retirement Savings Modernization Act

This bill specifies that fiduciaries for employee-sponsored retirement plans are permitted to diversify a plan's investments across certain asset classes, such as digital assets, hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4973 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4973

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify 
             the fiduciary duties regarding asset classes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 28, 2022

 Mr. Toomey (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, and Ms. Lummis) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify 
             the fiduciary duties regarding asset classes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Retirement Savings Modernization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FIDUCIARY DUTIES REGARDING ASSET CLASSES UNDER ERISA.

    Section 404(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3)(A) A fiduciary shall not be liable for a breach of fiduciary 
duties under this section solely for--
            ``(i) recommending, selecting, or monitoring any covered 
        investment as an investment option for a plan; or
            ``(ii) causing the plan to make any payment or incur any 
        expense, associated with such covered investment.
    ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A):
            ``(i) The term `covered investment'--
                    ``(I) means any direct or indirect investment; and
                    ``(II) includes, but is not limited to, any of the 
                following:
                            ``(aa) Commodities.
                            ``(bb) Debt, including public and private 
                        credit.
                            ``(cc) Digital assets.
                            ``(dd) Hedge funds.
                            ``(ee) Infrastructure.
                            ``(ff) Insured products and annuities.
                            ``(gg) Private equity.
                            ``(hh) Real assets.
                            ``(ii) Real estate or real estate-related 
                        securities.
                            ``(jj) Securities that are listed on a 
                        national securities exchange.
                            ``(kk) Venture capital.
                            ``(ll) An investment in any fund, 
                        commingled account, or pooled investment 
                        vehicle that invests in any investment, 
                        including but not limited to an investment 
                        described in items (aa) through (kk).
            ``(ii) The terms `exchange' and `security' have the 
        meanings given the terms in section 3(a) of the Securities 
        Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).
            ``(iii) The term `national securities exchange' means an 
        exchange registered as a national securities exchange pursuant 
        to section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
        78f).
    ``(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as providing an 
exemption or safe harbor from the requirements of paragraph (1).''.
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