Women's Retirement Protection Act

The Women's Retirement Protection Act would modify federal retirement plan rules to strengthen protections for workers' retirement savings. Currently, under federal law, one spouse can withdraw money or take loans from a 401(k) plan without the other spouse's knowledge or consent. For many families, a 401(k) is their largest asset besides their home, making such unilateral withdrawals potentially devastating. This bill would require spousal consent for most distributions from defined contribution plans like 401(k)s, bringing them in line with protections that already exist for traditional pension plans.

The legislation addresses broader retirement security challenges that disproportionately affect women. Women face systematic barriers to retirement savings, including earning less over their careers due to the gender pay gap, taking time out of the workforce for caregiving responsibilities, and being more likely to work part-time. These factors result in women having significantly lower retirement income than men. The bill would also address other retirement security issues, including reducing legal fees that prevent divorced spouses from securing retirement benefits they are entitled to and expanding retirement plan access for part-time workers.