Women's Retirement Protection Act

The Women’s Retirement Protection Act aims to increase financial security for women by expanding access to employer-sponsored retirement plans and strengthening legal protections for spouses. The bill would require 401(k) and other defined contribution plans to obtain a spouse’s written consent before a participant can take a distribution or name a different beneficiary, a protection that currently only applies to traditional pensions. Additionally, it lowers the eligibility barriers for long-term, part-time workers to participate in retirement plans and provides grants for financial literacy programs specifically designed for low-income women and survivors of domestic violence.