Congress lets workers raid retirement to pay for fertility treatment
H.R. 9753 — Fertility Cost Relief Act · Filed by Mike Levin (D-CA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 16, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill allows people to withdraw up to $20,000 per year from retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs, etc.) without the usual 10% early-withdrawal penalty, as long as the money is used for fertility treatments like IVF, egg freezing, or fertility medications within one year. The $20,000 limit is adjusted annually for inflation and applies to a lifetime aggregate of $20,000 total per person.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to reduce financial barriers to fertility treatment by allowing penalty-free early retirement withdrawals for a specific medical purpose. It is a targeted healthcare-access measure, not a tax cut or subsidy to industry.
What the text implies
- Individuals with lower retirement savings may still be unable to afford fertility treatment even with penalty-free access, potentially widening access gaps between wealthy and lower-income households.
- The one-year spending window may create pressure on individuals to rush fertility decisions or treatment timelines to comply with the rule.
- Repayment rules (similar to CARES Act provisions) are referenced but not fully detailed in this text; the actual repayment mechanics and consequences are unclear.
- The bill does not address whether insurance coverage or employer-sponsored fertility benefits interact with this withdrawal; coordination with existing benefits is not specified.
Who it affects
Ordinary people seeking fertility treatment face significant out-of-pocket costs ($15,000–$30,000+ per IVF cycle). This bill reduces a financial barrier to family-building by allowing penalty-free access to retirement savings for a legitimate medical expense, without requiring repayment. The benefit is broad-based (applies to any individual using any retirement plan) and addresses a real public health access issue.
Who stands to gain
- fertility clinics and reproductive medicine providers
- pharmaceutical companies (fertility medications)
- genetic testing laboratories
- egg/sperm donation agencies
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Code Section 72, 401(k) plans, IRAs, eligible retirement plans, HHS (Secretary), COST (mapped stock reference)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jul 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 16, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 21, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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