For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) appreciates that the Republicans’ United Framework for Tax Reform encourages retirement security and is hopeful that as lawmakers move forward crafting legislation, they will preserve the pre-tax treatment of employer-sponsored benefits.
ERIC is the only national association that advocates exclusively for large employers on health, retirement, and compensation public policies at the federal, state, and local levels. ERIC members –the nation’s largest employers, across all industries – are strongly committed to maintaining their ability to continue to offer tax-preferred benefits to their workforces which employees greatly value and have contributed to improved retirement savings and a healthier workforce.
“In the past, the federal government has repeatedly made it more difficult and expensive to operate a retirement plan due to unnecessary and burdensome laws and regulations,” said Annette Guarisco Fildes, president and CEO, ERIC. “Decreasing the incentive to save for retirement would have devastating effects on retirement security, thwarting decades of effort by employers and employees to improve planning, saving, and investing responsibly. Instead, tax reform should build on the current successful incentives in the tax code that encourage employers and workers to maximize retirement security.”
ERIC encourages the congressional tax-writing committees to also include in tax reform repeal of the 40 percent “Cadillac” excise tax on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, and not to replace this extremely flawed tax with a new tax on benefits. The “Cadillac” tax specifically puts women, seniors, low-income families, the disabled, and traditional employers with diverse workforces at a dangerous disadvantage. Tax reform is also an opportunity to improve the tax rules governing Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and high-deductible plans, to ensure that beneficiaries have access to supplemental benefits, improve savings incentives and opportunities, and maximize flexibility in HSA-eligible plan design.
“ERIC will work closely with the Administration and Congress on tax reform to ensure that employer-sponsored benefits are protected and that ERIC members can continue to offer the voluntary benefits that best suit their individual workforces,” said Guarisco Fildes.