Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a new tax bill that includes sweeping reforms to federal retirement policy. For proponents of the reforms, the best news may be that the Retirement Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018 and the Taxpayer First Act of 2018 are being introduced apart from more politically contentious legislation that would make permanent the cuts to the individual tax rates in last year's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. "This broad, bipartisan package builds on the economic successes we continue to see throughout our country," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX, outgoing chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, in a statement. "The policy proposals in this package have support of Republicans and Democrats in both chambers. I look forward to swift action in the House to send these measures to the Senate." Moreover, the bill does not include Universal Savings Accounts, which were advanced in the Family Savings Act, a bill that also included major retirement reforms and passed out of the House in September. Many of the retirement provisions are modeled off the Retirement Enhancement Savings Act, a bill first introduced by retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, that has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. There are 18 scheduled legislative days remaining in the 115th Congress. Lawmakers are expected to take up debate on the bills as early as this week. The slides here show some of the key retirement provisions in the bill. READ MORE: Amendment to Family Savings Act adds annuity selection safe harbor Can Open MEPs close the access gap with small employers? Labor's 'MEP Lite' proposal rooted in legacy of MEWA fraud The DOL's MEP proposal: Is Labor picking winners?

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.