On April 15, the American Retirement Association joined with other industry stakeholders in releasing a statement to the Senate Finance Committee working group on Savings and Investment. The statement highlights the significance of the employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual savings arrangements that have introduced tens of millions of American workers to retirement saving.
In January, the Senate Finance Committee — the committee with jurisdiction over tax policy — announced that Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) were launching tax reform working groups to develop recommendations for comprehensive federal tax reform. Each of the five bipartisan working groups is co-chaired by a Republican and a Democratic member. The groups are working with the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to offer legislative proposals to Hatch and Wyden. The Savings and Investment Group, which is charged with developing recommendations on retirement savings, is co-chaired by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). The groups are to produce a final report by Memorial Day.
Hatch and Wyden had requested input from stakeholders in March. “By opening up our bipartisan working groups to public input, we hope to gain a greater understanding of how tax policy affects individuals, businesses, and civic groups across our nation,” Hatch and Wyden said. “In doing so, we will also equip our working groups with valuable input, and we hope these suggestions will help guide the groups through the arduous task of putting forth substantive ideas to reform the tax code in each of their areas.” The letter from the American Retirement Association and other industry groups reminds the Savings and Investment workgroup to do no harm, and to build on an employer-based system that is working well for millions of American workers.
In the last Congress, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, created similar bipartisan groups to analyze the tax code. The result was a devastating tax reform draft that would have frozen retirement plan contribution limits for 10 years and subjected individuals in his proposed new 35% income tax bracket to an additional 10% surtax on contributions to qualified retirement plans.
The American Retirement Association, in concert with ASPPA PAC, continues to educate Congress on the private retirement industry to ensure that harmful proposals, such as those in Camp’s tax reform draft, do not become law. ASPPA PAC supports the legislative activity of the Government Affairs Committee and staff to strengthen the voice of ASPPA members on Capitol Hill. Click here to support ASPPA PAC.
Alisa Wolking is the American Retirement Association’s Political Affairs Manager.
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