For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) appreciates the U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican Tax Reform Task Force for recognizing the importance of retirement savings in America. ERIC cautions the Task Force to focus on the security employer-sponsored retirement plans provide to millions of Americans and not the revenue raised by adjusting the tax favorability of these plans.
ERIC is the only national trade association advocating solely for the employee benefit and compensation interests of the country’s largest employers. ERIC member companies provide retirement benefits to their employees and strongly support the employer-sponsored retirement option.
“The employer-sponsored retirement plan system has been incredibly successful at providing retirement benefits to workers and getting them to save,” said Will Hansen, Senior Vice President of Retirement Policy, ERIC. “Employers need to be able to design plans that work effectively and efficiently based on the needs of their workforces and the industries in which they operate. As work is done to ‘consolidate and reform’ retirement savings measures, ERIC urges Congress not to disrupt the success of the employer-sponsored system and to allow employers to retain the flexibility they need to tailor retirement plans to their workforce.”
ERIC firmly believes the current limits on contributions to retirement plans should not be subject to further reductions, nor should changes be made to the taxation of the benefit; to do otherwise would almost certainly jeopardize the retirement security of millions of American workers and their families. Changes to the tax treatment of retirement plans that would reduce contributions or discourage the establishment and maintenance of plans could negatively impact the role of these pivotal players in the capital markets as well as the capital markets themselves.
Tax reform as a whole, as well as any changes to the employer tax exclusion for health coverage or to retirement savings incentives, must focus on policies that will result in better long-term outcomes for Americans, rather than on short-term revenue needs or deficit reduction.
“It is important that Congress protect the value provided by the current retirement plan system and avoid unnecessary changes that could result in likely unintended adverse consequences to the country, its workers, and retirees,” said Hansen.