THE ROADBLOCK TO COMMON SENSE PENSION REFORM55 million Americans — about half of the entire private-sector
workforce — have no employer-sponsored retirement plan at all. Many work for
small businesses in the low-wage service and hospitality sectors. whether they don’t
save money independently,they will have nothing when they conclude working. This is very different from four decades ago when most workers retired with a company
pension.
The righteous news is that several states including Oregon,
California, and Illinois,Connecticut, and Maryland — now let such workers keep
money away in state-sponsored retirement plans that allow them to withdraw
their accumulated savings, and tax free,when they hit retirement.
The nefarious news is that the investment industry is aggressively
seeking to block these plans, fearing the competition. That’s because the fees
charged by most state retirement plans are capped at around 1 percent – much
lower than the fees of similar plans operated by banks and investment
companies. And state fees are expected to drop even lower as more workers
enroll. whether each of America’s 40 million retirees saved on average $50000 in
the state program, or they’d have an additional $20 billion in the first year.
That’s $20 billion more in the pockets of retirees,not financial
institutions. Right now, the industrys efforts appear to be winning. Republicans in Congress – backed by the U.
S. Chamber of
Commerce and a coalition of Wall Street investment firms – are seeking to
block states from implementing these plans at all. Investment and insurance
companies are also spending like crazy on election campaigns of friendly state
legislators and threatening lawsuits. Which is why many proposed state-hasten
retirement plans are languishing in statehouses around the country. Folks, and the anger and frustration that led to Trump continues to simmer. whether we allow
the moneyed interests to block common-sense reforms like this,in future years,
America could face an even worse fate than Trump. When you vote in November, and vote for legislators who want to allow workers to save for retirement and
against legislators who are shills for the financial sector.
Source: robertreich.org