Those of us with a little gray in our hair likely remember the fun “I’m Just a Bill” song and the Saturday morning cartoon character from the Schoolhouse Rock! series. It is, indeed, a long way through Capitol Hill!
In July, I once again attended the annual NAPA DC Fly-in Forum*. The first day focuses on policy and legislative topics and the next morning focuses on Capitol Hill meetings with elected representatives and their staff. My visits included the following offices:
- Senator Ernst
- Senator Grassley
- Congresswoman Hinson
- Congresswoman Miller-Meeks.
Fortunately, in addition to meeting with staff from each office, our delegation of several advisors from Iowa also met with Senator Ernst and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks.
Staying abreast of retirement policies and related legislative issues — and participating in the process to help Bill journey through Capitol Hill to become a law — benefits the financial well-being of all of us. Here is a brief summary of thematic messages conveyed to our representatives and their staff.
- Tens of Millions of Moderate and Middle-Income Workers Depend on 401(k) Plans to Save for Retirement
- 61% earn less than $100,000 a year and 89% earn less than $200,000
- The majority of these workers are saving for retirement only because they have access to a 401(k) plan^
- Looking to the Future with a Potential SECURE 3.0 Act
- Proven success building on SECURE and SECURE 2.0 Act
- Opportunities for enhancements
- Small business adoption of retirement plans
- Encourage 401(k) plans to include options that pay out steady, guaranteed income during retirement
- Allow Roth IRA rollovers into workplace-based retirement plans
- Equalizing options and incentives for non-profit retirement plans
- Level the Playing Field for Savers in Non-Profit 403(b) Plans
- Allow 403(b) plans to utilize Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) in the investment line-up similar to how 401(k) plans are allowed to do so
- Collective Investment Trusts may offer lower cost options than a similar mutual fund
- Allow 403(b) plans to utilize Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) in the investment line-up similar to how 401(k) plans are allowed to do so
You are welcome to contact me at 319-232-6122 if you have questions about these topics, are interested in discussing the retirement plan you offer your employees, or want to discuss starting a retirement plan to offer as a benefit to your team.
* NAPA - National Association of Plan Advisors – An association within the American Retirement Association (ARA), the leading organization on advocating for improved retirement outcomes for Americans.
^ ICI, American Views on Defined Contribution Savings, 2024
I'm Just a Bill - Schoolhouse Rock
Featuring a song of the same title written by Dave Frishberg. The segment debuted as part of "America Rock", the third season of the Schoolhouse Rock series, in 1975. The song featured in the segment is sung by Jack Sheldon (the voice of the Bill) and his son (the boy learning the process). It is about how a bill becomes a law, how it must go through Congress, and how it can be vetoed, etc.