{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "deskKey": "GAO-15-16:congressional-matter",
  "title": "Large IRA balances and tax expenditures",
  "page": "https://america.co/oversight/large-ira-tax-expenditures",
  "selectedAction": "Congressional matter",
  "actorType": "congress",
  "owner": "Congress",
  "source": {
    "report": "GAO-15-16",
    "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-16",
    "published": "2014-10-20",
    "publiclyReleased": "2014-11-19",
    "consulted": "2026-10-05",
    "statusInConsultedSource": "Open – Partially Addressed",
    "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-02"
  },
  "progressSummary": "GAO’s February 2026 comment recognizes partial action from the 2019 SECURE Act’s limits on certain inherited-account deferrals. It says limits on owner accumulation had not been enacted as of that comment. Separate IRS recommendations in the original report have been implemented; they are not the selected congressional matter.",
  "annualContext": {
    "report": "GAO-26-108505",
    "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505",
    "published": "2026-05-12",
    "benefitType": "tax-expenditure",
    "estimateAsReported": "$10 billion or more",
    "timeHorizon": "Unspecified in annual example",
    "estimateAttribution": "JCT and Treasury, as cited by GAO in May 2026",
    "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action",
    "basis": "The annual report cites potential financial benefits of $10 billion or more, sourced to the Joint Committee on Taxation and Treasury. The table does not specify a time horizon. This desk will not convert it into an annual rate or compare it as if its period matched other estimates."
  },
  "boundary": "Different legislative designs have different distributional effects, effective dates, behavioral responses, and revenue baselines. A prior proposal is not current law. This record is not personal tax, retirement, or investment advice.",
  "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Congressional action that satisfies the matter’s intent, assessed by GAO. An inherited-account change can count as partial action without resolving the separate accumulation issue.",
  "proposedEvaluation": {
    "notOfficialProcedure": true,
    "test": "Compare defined legislative options using the same budget window. Ask who is affected, how existing balances are treated, what valuations are required, and how administrative costs and behavior change the estimate.",
    "questions": [
      "Which exact proposal generated the cited estimate?",
      "What budget window and behavioral assumptions were used?",
      "How do the proposal’s distributional effects compare with its stated purpose?"
    ]
  },
  "cashAvailable": false,
  "actualSavingsAsserted": false,
  "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report",
  "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed"
}