IRI TO SENATE COMMITTEE: ADVANCE RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTMENT CHOICE PARITY FOR TEACHERS, HEALTHCARE WORKERS, AND OTHER NONPROFIT EMPLOYEES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee will hear testimony on the challenges Main Street businesses face in accessing capital and to examine potential legislative solutions and regulatory reforms to promote economic growth.

In a statement submitted for the hearing record, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) urged the committee to modernize federal securities laws that prevent 403(b) retirement plans from offering investment options available in other employer-sponsored plans.

IRI said that addressing this issue advances capital formation by allowing millions of retirement savers to invest through the same institutional vehicles already used in 401(k) plans, the federal Thrift Savings Plan, and other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The trade association advocated that the committee pass the bipartisan Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act (S.424). The bill would provide investment parity for more than 10 million teachers, healthcare workers, and nonprofit employees participating in 403(b) plans by giving them access to low-cost investment options such as collective investment trusts and nonregistered insurance company separate accounts that can provide protected, guaranteed lifetime income.

“Retirement savers shouldn’t be locked out of low-cost investment options simply because they work at a school, hospital, or nonprofit organization,” said Wayne Chopus, President and CEO, IRI. “This legislation completes the work Congress began in SECURE 2.0 by eliminating an outdated legal barrier and ensuring 403(b) participants have access to the same investment options available to other retirement savers, including options that can provide protected, guaranteed lifetime income.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act on December 11, 2025, by a strong bipartisan vote of 302-123 when it was included as Section 202 in the INVEST Act (H.R. 3383).

Last month, 30 CEOs representing leading retirement, investment, insurance, and financial services organizations signed a letter to the Senate Banking Committee leadership in support of the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act.

“We look forward to working with Chairman Scott, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and the bill’s bipartisan Senate cosponsors to enact this important retirement security measure,” Chopus said.

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Contact: Dan Zielinski