Rep. Johnson said his vote in favor of H.R. 4931 is crucial to the Baby Boom Generation who is nearing retirement; women who may have missed several years of work due to raising their families; an American workforce, half of which have no current pension plan; and small business owners who are presently unable to provide a pension plan for employees.

“My support for lifting the expiration date from existing pension reform protects millions of working Americans who would be left out of a retirement program if their retirement date is expected later than December 31, 2010,” stated Johnson.

The Retirement Security Savings Act of 2002 makes permanent, the following provisions:

· Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): The current-law $2,000 IRA contribution limit (established in 1981) for both traditional and Roth IRAs will be increased to $5,000 by 2008 and indexed for inflation thereafter; 
· Increased Contributions to 401(k) Plans and Other Pensions: The limit on individual contributions to 401(k)-type plans will be increased to $15,000 by 2006; and the limit on an employer's deduction for contributions to certain types of defined contribution plans will be raised to 25 percent of compensation; 
· Catch-up Contributions: Additional "catch-up" contributions for workers age 50 and above will be permitted for 401(k)-type plans and IRAs; 
· Faster Vesting and Pension Portability: The vesting requirements for employer matching contributions will be reduced from five to three years. Additionally, pensions will be made portable so workers can more easily roll over retirement plan assets when they change jobs; and 
· Regulatory Relief to Encourage Small Business Pension Growth: Pension laws will be modernized and streamlined to encourage small businesses to offer pension plans.