IRI VISION: MAKE RETIREMENT MORE “SECURE”

The SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act are two new laws embodying sweeping changes that will generate billions more in retirement savings to help our nation’s workers and retirees build economic equity, strengthen their financial security, and protect their income in a way that can sustain them throughout their retirement years.

What’s Next?

These new laws will significantly improve retirement savings opportunities for millions of workers. They also have inspired the industry to innovate new paths for individuals to achieve a secure and dignified retirement. But more is still needed. So, the question for policymakers and advocates is, “what’s next?”

IRI answers that question with its 2023 Federal Retirement Security Blueprint, which includes 28 proposals that build upon the solid foundation of common-sense policies enacted by the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act.

Boost Access to Retirement Plans

First, IRI supports new laws to expand retirement savings opportunities for workers at all income levels.

• Require that all but the smallest of employers offer their employees an automatic retirement savings plan.
• Automatically re-enroll employees who have opted out of a plan every three years so that they can periodically reevaluate their decision.
• Allow workers who have left the workforce to be full-time caregivers for a dependent family member to make catch-up contributions to their retirement accounts before age 50.

Produce Retirement Income that Lasts

IRI also proposes ways to address the anxiety and insecurity workers and retirees have about outliving their retirement savings.

• Provide parity for 403(b) plan participants so that they, like all other retirement plan participants, can choose more cost-efficient investment options that are prohibited from being offered in their plan.
• Lift the barriers that prevent plan sponsors from offering an annuity option that provides a guaranteed return on investment and a delayed liquidity feature to a retirement saver who has not made an investment selection as a default investment vehicle for a portion of their contributions.
• Allow qualifying longevity annuity contracts (QLACs) to be offered through a diverse slate of indexed and variable annuity contracts with guaranteed benefits.

Optimistic for Future Success

We have come a long way toward addressing the nation’s retirement crisis, but more can be done to address concerns that too many people will not have enough income to last throughout their retirement years.

As the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act have shown, retirement security measures are popular measures that attract bipartisan support even when our nation’s political environment is highly polarized. Therefore, we are optimistic that our 2023 Blueprint proposals will achieve a similar consensus in Congress and that the Administration will create a further opportunity to improve the financial future of America’s workers and retirees.