President Trump’s SEC Should Level the Playing Field for 403(b) Plans |
A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office does little to calm the nerves of retirees and the millions of Americans planning for retirement. The annual forecast estimates that Social Security’s trust fund will run dry by 2032, a year earlier than previously estimated, at which time benefits will be cut by about a quarter across the board – equal to $18,500 per year for the average couple.
The findings further reaffirm a hard truth: Americans are facing a retirement crisis, and they need access to the full spectrum of investment vehicles to avoid it.
That is doubly true for more than 14 million teachers, pastors and clergy people, healthcare professionals, and non-profit workers, who rely on 403(b) accounts as their primary retirement contribution plans.
403(b) plans are a primary tax-advantaged retirement savings mechanism for public schools, tax-exempt organizations, and churches. Unlike the private sector’s 401(k), 403(b) accounts are subject to outdated regulations that exclude collective investment trusts (CITs) – modern, low-cost wealth-building financial instruments.
This month, I joined conservative leaders to call on the U.S. Securities and Exchange........