WASHINGTON – A bill that seeks to increase deposit insurance also includes coverage expansion for individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley and Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus recently introduced legislation that may receive initial committee consideration in March. In addition to increasing deposit insurance coverage to $130,000 on most accounts, current limits on retirement plans would increase to $260,000. Beginning in 2010, the proposed limits would also be indexed to inflation going forward and adjusted at 10-year intervals. The legislation would increase, for the first time since 1980, the cap on how much money is guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Oxley said the legislation "will protect the retirement savings of millions of hard-working men and women while preventing unnecessary economic volatility."