NAIFA President Christopher Gandy, LACP, sent letters to Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representatives Glen Thompson (R-PA) and Eugene Vindman (D-VA) expressing the association's support for the bipartisan Emergency Savings Enhancement Act. The legislation would modernize Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESAs), established by the Secure 2.0 Act and supported by NAIFA, to encourage more Americans to use these accounts and remove complex regulatory barriers. 

PLESAs are short-term savings accounts (currently for eligible employees) established and maintained within defined contribution plans. They are designed to help employees cover unexpected, emergency expenses without tapping into their long-term retirement savings. The new proposal would double the cap on PLESAs to $5,000 to provide coverage more in line with the cost of common emergencies faced by American families. 

"The legislation’s proposed increase to $5,000 better reflects today’s economic environment and will meaningfully reduce the need for families to tap retirement savings or incur high-interest debt to cover unexpected expenses," Gandy wrote. "From our members' perspective, this higher threshold will make PLESAs substantially more useful to working families facing genuine emergencies."

In addition, the legislation would remove administrative and compliance hurdles for employers and broaden eligibility to include all employees.