Washington, D.C. - Rep. Nathan Deal served as a cosponsor for House Resolution 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001, and joined the bipartisan majority of the House in passing this fair and balanced plan.

"I am proud to have cosponsored such an important piece of legislation. We need to allow Americans to plan and save more for their retirement, and H.R. 10 does just that. It gets the government out, and lets people make their own decisions about how to plan for the future," Deal stated.

Under H.R. 10 the current $2000 Individual Retirement Account (IRA) annual contribution limit will be raised to $5000 over a three year period, and will be indexed for inflation thereafter. Contribution levels for 401(k) plans and other similar retirement savings vehicles will be increased as well. These provisions will take effect immediately for workers over age 50, who will also be able to contribute up to $5000 in "catch-up" contributions for 401(k) plans. In addition, regulatory relief and pension law modernization will encourage more small businesses to offer retirement plans.

"The fact that seventy million Americans, about half the workforce, do not have any kind of pension is just stunning, and we need to make it easier for small businesses to offer these types of plans. Also, women often have financial hardship later in life because they take time off to raise children and do not have access to a pension plan. This plan will give them a chance to save more money tax-free, because they will be able to contribute larger amounts of money to an IRA. Right now IRAs are stuck back at 1980s levels, not allowing hard working Americans to put away enough money for the longer lives we are now living," Deal stated.

Since 1990, pension coverage has declined from 40 percent to 33 percent for workers making less than $20,000 a year, and less than 20 percent of small businesses offer pension plans. "The federal government taxes Americans more than enough, and has implemented too many regulations to allow many businesses to provide pension plans for their employees. We need to give Americans choice to save more for the future, and this bill is a step in that direction," Deal concluded.