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H.R. 5169 119th Congress House

Retire through Ownership Act

Official title: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide a clear definition of adequate consideration for certain closely held stock, and for other purposes.

Introduced: September 8, 2025 Introduced by: Rick W. Allen Republican · Georgia See on congress.gov
Labor and Employment Employee benefits and pensionsFinancial services and investmentsSecurities
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 Everywhere this bill has been 6 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 14, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-448.
Jan 14, 2026
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 383.
Sep 17, 2025
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 35 - 0.
Sep 17, 2025
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Sep 8, 2025
Introduced in House
Sep 8, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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What's happening now January 14, 2026

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 383.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Retire through Ownership Act

This bill allows the fiduciary of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to rely on a valuation provided by an independent valuation or business appraiser in determining the fair market value of the plan's securities if the securities are not traded on a national securities exchange (i.e., not publicly traded) and the expert or appraiser follows specified methodologies. 

In general, ESOPs are defined contribution pension plans where employees accrue shares of their employers' stock in individual accounts as part of their compensation. After separating from employment or retiring, employees receive the cash value of their shares.

Under the bill, an independent appraiser or expert must adhere to the methodology established under the Internal Revenue Service Ruling 59-60, which prescribes the factors a professional business appraiser should consider in forming a valuation of the stock for a closely held business. 

 Related & companion bills 1
  • S 2403 Retire through Ownership Act
 Bill text 2 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 13

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 13 filings →
 Cosponsors 4
All 4 Democratic 1 Republican 3
R
Baumgartner, Michael
Washington · Oct 10, 2025
 D
McBath, Lucy
Georgia · Oct 10, 2025
 R
Messmer, Mark B.
Indiana · Sep 18, 2025
 R
Edwards, Chuck
North Carolina · Sep 16, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5169: Retire through Ownership Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-5169/
MLA
"H.R. 5169: Retire through Ownership Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-5169/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5169, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-5169/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5169: Retire through Ownership Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-5169/)
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