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Senior Republican and Democrat lawmakers on appropriations committees, and the Secretary of the Treasury, emerged from negotiations on Thursday with a tentative agreement on a $1.37 trillion spending package to fund the federal government in 2020.

Details of the agreement have yet to be released, and are expected to be formally packaged into spending bills this weekend. The House will vote on the package, and then the Senate, before next Friday's deadline to fund the government.

According to one source, the Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement or SECURE Act will not be a part of the spending package, but could still be attached to another tax extender bill.

"I've heard lawmakers are having trouble putting together a tax extenders bill, which would be the vehicle for SECURE," said Geoff Manville, principal, government relations at Mercer.

The SECURE Act passed the House of Representatives by a 417 to 3 vote in May. It failed to pass the Senate by unanimous consent in the summer and fall, due to several holds on the bill related to non-retirement provisions.

The SECURE Act's vast provisions include relaxed regulation of Open Multiple Employer Plans, new tax incentives for small businesses to sponsor retirement plans, a long-awaited annuity selection safe harbor for sponsors of retirement plans, the extension of the required minimum distribution age for qualified retirement plans, and the removal of the age cap on contributions to traditional IRAs.

Analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation shows the SECURE Act would add $389 million to the federal deficit over the 10-year budget window.

The bill raises $15.7 billion over 10 years by eliminating the so-called Stretch IRA. Under the SECURE Act, distributions from inherited retirement accounts will have to be completed within 10 years, with the exception of accounts bequeathed to spouses, children, or disabled beneficiaries.

Separately, Republicans and Democrats are reportedly negotiating provisions of a tax extender bill.

According to a Wall Street Journal opinion editorial, Republicans want to pass technical corrections to the 2017 tax bill. Democrats want to make the $2,000 child tax credit fully refundable, and allow childless adults to claim the earned income tax credit.

Other tax breaks for alternative energy production and electric vehicles are set to expire, and some lawmakers want to see them extended, the Journal reported.

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No sign of SECURE Act yet as lawmakers reach tentative agreement on spending bill

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