WASHINGTON — Hours before the adjournment for the August recess, the House passed several key provisions of interest to credit unions.

In the early morning hours on July 29, legislators passed a bill for the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that would make permanent the Saver's Credit, which was first established on a temporary basis in 2001. CUNA has been a strong supporter of the Saver's Credit, which can be used by low- and moderate-income savers to offset up to $1,000 contributions made to traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts or to other qualified employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, annuities, SIMPLEs and SEPs. The pension bill also increased to $5,000 the ceiling for annual contributions to traditional, Roth, and spousal IRAs, and included "catch up" provisions that give savers over the age of 52 higher limits for retirement saving. John Hildreth, CUNA legislative manager, said the trade group lobbied hard for a permanent Saver's Credit, as well as for raising ceilings on IRA contributions and adding catch-up provisions for IRAs.