The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) recently released its 2017 Retirement Security Blueprint, which lays out its policy agenda to help Americans save for retirement.
“The principle of protecting and expanding access for American retirement savers is the foundation of our 2017 agenda,” IRI President and CEO Cathy Weatherford said. “Our blueprint identifies policy proposals that expand access to workplace retirement plans, increase lifetime income options to help Americans ensure their savings will not be outlived, protect access to professional financial advice, improve access to the education American savers need to make better-informed decisions regarding their finances, and preserve the current tax treatment and structures for Americans’ retirement plans.”
IRI urges lawmakers to “do no harm” to current retirement policy.
It also asks Congress or the Department of Labor to clarify employer fiduciary responsibility in the annuity selection regulations. Specifically, it seeks legislation to enable annuity portability to ensure workers are not harmed if their employer decides to make a recordkeeping change. Also, IRI asks lawmakers to remove regulatory and legal barriers to facilitate small businesses use of multiple employer plans.
To help savers better prepare for retirement, the blueprint suggests lifetime income estimates on workers’ benefit statements. Also, it would like to see Congress update required minimum distribution rules to reflect longer lifespans.
Further, IRI says Congress or the Department of Labor should preserve employer choice, competition and protections on retirement plan coverage options by revoking the state and local savings arrangements rules, and instead authorize states and local governments to rely on existing requirements for private sector plans. In addition, the Securities Exchange Commission should adopt a variable annuity summary prospectus and annual update to improve consumers’ understanding of their investment choices and reduce regulatory burdens.
Finally, the blueprint says the president should implement the national insurance licensing clearinghouse by appointing the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers board and establish a one-stop federal licensing clearinghouse for financial professionals holding state insurance licenses in multiple states.