The largest section of the Family Savings Act of 2018 covers the treatment of Multiple Employer Plans. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The 88-page Family Savings Act of 2018, released with two other bills under the aegis of Tax Reform 2.0 by Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, includes a patchwork of retirement plan and savings reforms that range from revolutionary to technical. The bill would establish Universal Savings Accounts, which allow after-tax contributions to investment accounts that would grow tax-free. Withdrawals could be made penalty-free for any purpose. Annual contributions would be capped at $2,500, lower than limits previously suggested. The bill also makes intricate changes to defined contribution plan non-discrimination testing, amendments to existing 401(k) safe harbor rules, prohibitions on plan loans made through credit cards, and relaxes required minimum distribution rules from DC plans, among many other things. It also calls on a new study for single and multiemployer plan premium payments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The bill's 17 sections make for a challenging read -- as digestible as a cut of charred skirt steak. Its largest section is committed to the treatment of Multiple Employer Plans. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, has said the bill will be taken up in committee this week, with the goal of bringing it to a full floor vote by the end of the month. If passed and signed into law, the MEP provisions of the Family Savings Act would apply to plan years beginning after December 31, 2019. Here, in English, is an interpretation of how the bill would impact the treatment of pooled retirement plans going forward: