Women's Retirement Protection Act

Increased Spousal Protection: The bill requires that individual account plans provide spousal consent for distributions and beneficiary changes, providing protections similar to traditional defined benefit plans (Section 3(a)).

Access to Financial Education: Financial product or service providers must provide an easily accessible link to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection website to help consumers access retirement planning resources (Section 5(b)).

Improved Financial Literacy for Women: The Secretary of Labor will award grants to community-based organizations to develop programs that increase women's knowledge of retirement planning and economic concepts (Section 6).

Assistance with Legal Orders: Grants will be available to help low-income women and survivors of domestic violence prepare, obtain, and effectuate qualified domestic relations orders (Section 7).

Restrictions on Distributions: Under the new rules, certain distributions or changes to beneficiary designations cannot be made without the written consent of a spouse, which must be witnessed by a plan representative or a notary public (Section 3(a)(e)).

Administrative Requirements for Plans: Plan administrators must provide a written explanation of rights to participants and their spouses within a reasonable period of time before a distribution or designation occurs (Section 3(a)(e)(1)(A)).