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ARCHIVE
In Case You Missed It: “On Retirement Policy, Don't Mess with Success”
By Ianthé Zabel
January 28, 2013
In an op-ed for InvestmentNews, ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens explains the importance of preserving incentives that help Americans save for retirement. An excerpt:
America's fiscal challenges have led some to contemplate an alarming course reversal on the policies that help ensure retirement security for working Americans. In the hunt for revenue, Washington could target the tax deferral on compensation Americans set aside for retirement.
A recent story in the New York Times reflected that viewpoint, musing: “The money that the government spends to encourage Americans to save for retirement is money that cannot be spent on deficit reduction, education, health care or other priorities” (since when, one might ask, has retirement provision slipped from our list of national priorities?).
And from the Jan. 1 fiscal cliff agreement, lawmakers expect to reap $12 billion in revenue, thanks to a provision that allows more 401(k) savers to convert part of their account balances to Roth 401(k)s—voluntarily paying taxes now that otherwise would be deferred until retirement. Although that change brings additional flexibility to retirement planning, it raises concerns that Congress and the White House could consider tapping retirement savings further to help meet budget targets.
As difficult as America's fiscal situation may be, backtracking on retirement policy would be a mistake.
Read Stevens’ full op-ed at the InvestmentNews website, and learn more about 401(k) plans at ICI’s 401(k) Resource Center.
Ianthé Zabel is ICI’s Deputy Chief Public Communications Officer.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
401(k) Plans: Key in Helping Americans Achieve Secure Retirement
By Paul Schott Stevens
September 19, 2012
I submitted the following letter to the New York Times in response to a recent column on 401(k) plans:
The recent article, “Should the 401(k) be Reformed or Replaced” (Business Day, September 11), asks the wrong question.
401(k) plans play a key role in helping Americans achieve a secure retirement. 401(k)s have a remarkable track record of success in providing Americans incentives to save, invest, and think long-term. As of March 2012, Americans held $3.4 trillion in 401(k) plans.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy401(k)
Fortune’s Assessment of Industry Stance on 401(k) Fees Is Misguided
By Sarah Holden and David Abbey
June 25, 2012
An article in the July 2 issue of Fortune about the 401(k) system mischaracterizes 401(k) fees and requires correction.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy401(k)
The Future of Retirement and the Strengths of the 401(k) System
By Paul Schott Stevens
June 7, 2012
What is the future of retirement? In remarks today to Town Hall Los Angeles, I made the case that the 401(k) system will play a crucial role in building that future.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Facts and Common Sense Undercut Distorted Demos View of 401(k)s
By Brian Reid
May 31, 2012
By many measures, the 401(k) system has been a tremendous success, helping millions of American workers prepare for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
An Important Step in the Process of Enhancing 401(k) Fee Disclosure
By Ianthé Zabel
February 3, 2012
On February 2, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations concerning 401(k) disclosures. The rule requires companies that administer defined contribution plans to disclose administrative and investment costs to employers who sponsor the plans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
New York Times Editorial Misrepresents the Behavior of 401(k) Investors
By Brian Reid
August 23, 2011
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
401(k) Plans Help Keep Americans on Track
By Paul Schott Stevens
August 1, 2011
ICI sees strong evidence that the features of 401(k) plans help Americans avoid overreaction to financial turmoil, by countering extremes in investor behavior that hard times often produce.
This was one of the key points that I made recently at the Ayco Summer InnerCircle Benefits and Compensation Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York. I invite you to look over my full presentation, which contains a trove of data and charts pertinent to retirement policy.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
The Comprehensive Regulatory Framework Around IRAs
By Mary S. Podesta and Elena B. Chism
July 28, 2011
We occasionally encounter the puzzling misperception that individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are under-regulated—as in this recent Wall Street Journal story.
The truth is, IRA investors benefit from a comprehensive regulatory framework, one that governs the IRA itself, IRA providers, and, in most cases, the investments that are held within the account.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
Numbers Show the Success of Automatic Enrollment
By Paul Schott Stevens
July 7, 2011
A July 7 story in the Wall Street Journal makes the assertion that a recently-enacted 401(k) law “suppresses” retirement savings. The assertion rests on faulty data interpretation. Look at the proper numbers, and the truth becomes clear—the 401(k) system, thanks in part to reforms brought about by the law, known as the Pension Protection Act of 2006, in fact promotes and increases retirement saving.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
DOL Should Allow E-Delivery as Default for Plan Communications, Says ICI
By Anna Driggs
June 17, 2011
Given dramatic changes in technology over the last decade, the Department of Labor (DOL) should allow retirement plans to make e-delivery the default method for communicating plan information, ICI said in a recent comment letter. E-delivery will enhance communication and improve the security and privacy of personal and account information.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
Let’s Set the Record Straight on 401(k)
By Paul Schott Stevens
April 13, 2011
As states and localities struggle to control their budgets, more and more policymakers are considering fundamental changes in the retirement plans offered to public employees. This year, at least eight states have taken up legislation to change part or all of their public retirement plans from traditional defined benefit (DB) pensions to defined contribution (DC) plans similar to the 401(k)s that that are now the most common plans in the private sector. Many more public employers are likely to consider such changes in coming years.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
The Facts on Mutual Funds and Securities Lending
By Michael L. Hadley, Tamara K. Salmon, and Gregory M. Smith
March 18, 2011
Recent stories in the press have addressed the issue of securities lending, particularly in the context of 401(k) plans. For example, a March 16 story in the Wall Street Journal (“Disclosure Sought on Fund Lending”) suggests that securities lending’ in 401(k) plans “prevented some employers and investors from withdrawing their money during the financial crisis.”
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
For the Sake of Retirement Savers, ERISA Rules Defining “Fiduciary” Need Clarity
By Paul Schott Stevens
March 3, 2011
Fiduciary status entails one of the highest obligations known to the law. Essentially, a fiduciary is one who takes it upon himself or herself to act for or advise another, thus inviting the other’s confidence and trust.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
ICI Urges Caution on DOL Fiduciary Duty Proposal
By Mary S. Podesta
February 4, 2011
When is a person a fiduciary by virtue of providing investment advice to a retirement plan or its participants? That’s the question we addressed in a letter filed yesterday with the Department of Labor (DOL), which issued a proposal last October to revise its interpretation of the definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
Candor, Compromise, and Equity Must Guide Policymakers as They Meet Challenges of Aging Societies
By Paul Schott Stevens
November 29, 2010
In London today, at a hearing room of the House of Commons, I addressed The Henry Jackson Society, a nonpartisan think tank focused on human rights, constitutional democracy, and institutional reform.
TOPICS: Retirement Policy
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