Present Law and Analysis Relating to Individual Retirement Arrangements

[Excerpt] The House Committee on Ways and Means, Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee, has scheduled a public hearing to take place on June 26, 2008, on the role of individual retirement arrangements (“IRAs”) in our retirement system. The hearing is scheduled to focus on the recently issued report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), entitled “Individual Retirement Accounts, Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees,” June 2008; the role of IRAs in our retirement system; and legislative proposals for automatic IRA enrollment. This document,1 prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, includes a description of present law and analysis relating to IRAs